Dickerson Trade Will Help Rams in Long Run

The day after The Trade, the deal that sent Eric Dickerson from the Rams to the Indianapolis Colts, Bobby Beathard was asked who he thought made out best.

“Indianapolis,” Beathard, the Washington Redskins’ general manager, said without hesitation. “It makes them an instant contender.”

A year later, nobody is quite so sure.

The Colts indeed became instant contenders--gaining their first playoff berth and first winning record in a decade. And the Buffalo Bills obtained the nucleus that will make them this year’s favorite in the American Football Conference East.

But in the long run, the winner could be the Rams, who lost Dickerson in the three-way deal. It will probably take five years to tell.

Just to get it straight, here is who got what from The Trade:

--The Colts got Dickerson, who someday may be the leading ground-gainer in NFL history.

--The Bills got linebacker Cornelius Bennett, whom the Colts were unable to sign. He may be to the 1990s what Lawrence Taylor has been to the 1980s.

--The Rams got running backs Owen Gill and Greg Bell. But what they really got were draft choices--No. 1s from Indianapolis and Buffalo in 1988 and 1989, and second-round choices from Indianapolis in 1988 and Buffalo in 1989.

So far, that has translated into running back Gaston Green, wide receivers Aaron Cox and Willie Anderson and linebacker Fred Strickland, all promising but still unproven.

Conventional wisdom says the Bills and Rams came out best, provided that the Rams’ draft choices pan out, simply because only a few teams--such as Beathard’s Redskins--seem to be able to trade away draft choices for veterans without losing much.

George Young, general manager of the New York Giants, said: “Anytime you can get a lot of high draft choices, you’ve got a real shot to build a solid nucleus.”

Conventional wisdom agrees with Young--that the Rams benefited in the long term and Indianapolis in the short term. It also holds that five years from now, the Colts may regret what they did.

For example, although Dickerson is a franchise player and got the Colts to the playoffs, will he ever get them to the Super Bowl? He didn’t get there with a Ram team that was as talented as the present Indianapolis group but seemed to lose in the first round of the playoffs every year, as the Colts did last year.

Moreover, Dickerson, 28, may not have more than two or three solid years left. Few running backs who carry 30 times a game can survive the pounding and few--Walter Payton and Tony Dorsett are exceptions--play effectively after they’re 30.

And finally, in giving up Bennett, the Colts surrendered a player who will have an impact for at least a decade at a position that may be more important than running back.

Bennett’s acquisition allowed the Bills to move another prize rookie, Shane Conlan, from outside linebacker to inside, where he is more effective. In Bennett, Conlan, defensive end Bruce Smith and quarterback Jim Kelly, the Bills have a solid nucleus on which to build.

The Bills, who did not have a first-rounder this year, came up in the second round with Thurman Thomas, who may be an instant starter at running back.

The Colts, meanwhile, have been using the old George Allen method--picking up old players at bargain-basement prices.

Two examples: nose tackle Joe Klecko, released by the New York Jets because of chronic knee problems, and defensive end Ezra Johnson, a pass rusher let go by Green Bay. They seem to be working out, but a third veteran signed as a free agent, running back Tony Collins, was recently suspended for drug infractions just as he seemed to be working into Coach Ron Meyer’s scheme.

Picking up veterans is a risky proposition. But it hasn’t stopped Colt owner Robert Irsay.

“We have some surprises we’re working on,” Irsay said recently. “Pleasant ones . . . very pleasant big ones.”

It sounds good, but don’t ticket Dan Marino or John Elway for Indianapolis just yet.