NFL DRAFT : Beathard Gets Seau and a Deal : Chargers: That USC linebacker is available is surprising, but nobody who knows team’s new general manager is shocked when he puts together a late trade that will land Idaho quarterback John Friesz today.
His first NFL draft day as Charger general manager could not have started or ended much better for Bobby Beathard.
It opened with linebacker Junior Seau of USC and Oceanside High unexpectedly falling to the grateful Chargers with the fifth pick. And it ended after five rounds with Beathard making his only deal of the day, one that will enable him to take quarterback John Friesz of Idaho when the draft resumes today.
Outside of No. 1 pick Jeff George, whom Beathard said his staff did not fully evaluate, Friesz was his top-rated quarterback.
“He is not the most mobile guy, but he has everything else,” Beathard said. “He has got the arm, the height (6-foot-4 1/2), the quickness in the arm, football awareness. He is a bright kid, extremely accurate.”
Beathard put the Chargers in a position to draft Friesz by making a late trade with Dallas. He gave the Cowboys a third-round pick next year in exchange for three sixth-round picks today, including the first in the sixth.
“Just getting Friesz makes the trade worthwhile,” Beathard said.
In between Seau and the trade, Beathard used the team’s three third-round picks and spent a lot of frustrating time on the telephone trying to make deals that were never done.
But luckily for Beathard and the Chargers, some teams were able to make the big deal. One between New England and Seattle gave the Chargers a welcomed bonus.
Beathard was so sure of his first Charger selection that he immediately called it in to draft headquarters in New York, using virtually none of his allotted 15 minutes. He didn’t even bother to wait on offers from other teams.
“We made the decision that if Junior was there, we would not trade back,” Beathard said.
For the past week, Beathard had been saying the Chargers would likely use their fifth pick overall to take offensive tackle Richmond Webb of Texas A&M.; But those plans took a turn when New England and Seattle set up their deal before the start of the draft.
The Patriots, who Beathard had feared might take Seau with the third pick, arranged to trade their first- and second-round picks to Seattle in exchange for the two picks the Seahawks held in the first round, a third-rounder and a 1991 fourth-rounder. That allowed Seattle to take defensive tackle Cortez Kennedy of Miami.
When Tampa Bay took linebacker Keith McCants of Alabama with the fourth pick, that left Seau to the Chargers and Webb to Miami four picks later.
“If Junior had not been there, we would have taken Richmond Webb,” Beathard said. “We were very fortunate to have Junior fall to us. We just kept our fingers crossed, and it fell our way.”
The Chargers have big plans for Seau. They want him to take over at weak-side inside linebacker, a position played last year by Cedric Figaro and Gary Plummer.
“That gives us the freedom to take advantage of his athletic skills,” Beathard said. “The kid is a very quick, fast aggressive player. The plans that (the coaches) have for him fit Junior just right.”
It also will allow Seau to make his initial adjustment to the NFL without having to worry much about pass coverage. All of this suits Seau fine.
“Playing inside linebacker in San Diego is more of a free type of guy that just plays football, and I love that,” Seau said.
That was how the day started. It ended with Beathard gleefully announcing the trade and his plans to take Friesz when the sixth round begins at 7 a.m. PDT today.
That Beathard failed to make a deal earlier was not for a lack of trying. He said that after selecting Seau, he called almost every team in an effort to bring a pick before the first of their three third-round choices, 57th overall.
He said he tried hard to get Green Bay to trade its second pick in the first round, 21st overall. Failing that, he said, he turned to several teams in an effort to obtain a second-round pick so that he could draft either running back Harold Green of South Carolina or offensive lineman Keith Sims of Iowa State. Beathard said the offers included the Chargers’ first-round pick next year and their first third-round pick this year to the Cowboys in exchange for the first pick in the second round.
When Green and Sims were taken on consecutive picks by Cincinnati and Miami midway through the second, Beathard settled in to make the three third-round choices: outside linebacker Jeff Mills of Nebraska, offensive tackle Leo Goeas of Hawaii and wide receiver Walter Wilson of East Carolina.
Mills, taken with pick obtained from Tampa Bay in the Gary Anderson trade, is envisioned by Beathard as a backup to strong-side outside linebacker Billy Ray Smith. Beathard said that going into the round, he was torn between Mills and cornerback Tony Stargell of Tennessee State. But when the New York Jets took Stargell with the pick just before the Chargers’, his choice was made.
“Mills played the same position as (Nebraska’s) Broderick Thomas last year, and we feel he is a much better player than Broderick Thomas,” Beathard said. “Broderick Thomas was a first-round pick (by Tampa Bay), but we didn’t think he was that good.”
Goeas, who will be tried at tackle but may be switched to guard, could help fill a need at offensive line. It was a choice the Chargers could hardly ignore after passing on Webb.
Wilson caught 43 passes for 771 yards and nine touchdowns last season, including four against Pittsburgh.
“He is a real exciting player with great speed, great hands, a game-breaker type wide receiver,” Beathard said.
But Wilson will have to learn the offense, starting with the quarterback. Asked what he thought of Billy Joe Tolliver, Wilson replied that he had never heard of him. Told he was the starting quarterback, he continued, “Is that right? It doesn’t matter, if he throws it, I hope to catch it.”
Without fourth- or fifth-round picks because of trades made by his predecessor, Steve Ortmayer, Beathard said he tried to make a deal to bring the Chargers picks in those rounds but again failed.
“It was so frustrating,” Beathard said. “I tried and tried, but no one wanted to trade.”
Not until just before the draft recessed for the day, after nearly 11 hours, did Beathard make a deal.
One of the priorities today will be to find a cornerback, the biggest need unfilled Sunday.
Charger Notes
Proving the experts don’t always agree, consider what they say about the Chargers’ first third-round pick, linebacker Jeff Mills of Nebraska. Mel Kiper, ESPN draft analyst, said he heads his all-overrated team. Joel Buchsbaum, who publishes the Scout’s Handbook for Pro Football Weekly, placed him on his most underrated.
THE CHARGER DRAFT, DAY 1 Rd.: 1 No.: 5 Name: Junior Seau School: USC Pos.: LB Hgt.: 6-2 Wgt.: 243 Comment: A surprise he was available; expected to start at weak-side ILB. Rd.: 3A No.: 57 Name: Jeff Mills School: Nebraska Pos.: LB Hgt.: 6-3 Wgt.: 227 Comment: ‘Husker heir to Broderick Thomas; seen as a backup to B.R.Smith at strong-side OLB. Rd.: 3B No.: 60 Name: Leo Goeas School: Hawaii Pos.: OT Hgt.: 6-3 1/2 Wgt.: 278 Comment: Turns 24 in August; will be tried at tackle but might shift to guard. Rd.: 3C No.: 67 Name: Walter Wilson School: East Carolina Pos.: WR Hgt.: 5-10 Wgt.: 181 Comment: Impressed in late workouts, particularly his speed; will be tried as return man. TODAY’S PICKS
Round Overall 6A 138 6B 143 6C 145 6D 163 7A 172 7B 185 7C 187 7D 193 8 201 9 227 10 256 11 283 12 326