NFL DRAFT : Rams Come Up With a Gandy : Pro football: After trading down twice, team makes Auburn offensive tackle 15th selection.

Season ticket sales have dropped 13% to date, but that was before Coach Chuck Knox announced Sunday that the Rams had selected Auburn offensive tackle Wayne Gandy in the first round of the NFL draft.

A Ram official said later the team has no plans to have additional ticket sellers on duty today at Anaheim Stadium.

How ‘bout those Rams?

They announced Wednesday without qualification, and repeated it Thursday, Friday and Saturday that they would select a quarterback if one remained available on the fifth pick in round one, but it seems they were fibbing.

Fresno State quarterback Trent Dilfer was available Sunday and the Rams withdrew. They gave their position to Indianapolis, moved back two spots and acquired an additional third-round pick.

“I said we would take a quarterback if he was there,” Knox said. “That’s correct. (But) we had a change of heart on that, to be very candid.

“We got tied up in a deal with a player, and I don’t know exactly what happened there.”

The Rams tried to work a trade for Dallas wide receiver Alvin Harper. The Rams announced earlier in the week they had no intention of trading for Harper if they could pick Dilfer, but it seems they were fibbing about that, too.

Dilfer was there, and the Rams were working overtime to get Harper although the Cowboys informed them they were no longer interested in the trade.

Do the Rams expect their fans to be fired up with Gandy when they had the chance to take Dilfer?

“I think our fans would have been more disappointed had we drafted a quarterback and put him on the bench with the fifth pick in the draft,” said John Shaw, Ram executive vice president.

Ram fans didn’t get Dilfer or Harper. The Rams offered Harper $4.8 million, increased it to $5.1 million early Sunday morning and then went to $5.3 million and won Harper’s approval on a three-year contract.

“We had an agreement sometime during the middle of the third pick,” said Jimmy Sexton, Harper’s agent. “Alvin was back visiting his in-laws in Washington and was running back and forth to a Kinko’s faxing contracts to Dallas.”

New England had the fourth pick and selected USC linebacker Willie McGinest. In Dallas, owner Jerry Jones dropped his head onto his hands.

“There were certain conditions to the trade and once McGinest went at four basically the deal was aborted,” Shaw said. “We still tried to trade for Harper at five and at seven. They weren’t interested in making any deal for Harper once McGinest was gone.”

The Cowboys, however, did offer Harper to the Rams, but no longer included a second-round pick. Instead, Jones asked for the Rams’ first-round pick and an additional second-round choice.

The Rams declined, and completed the trade with Indianapolis. In Washington, Harper tore up his signed contract for $5.3 million.

Tampa Bay, picking sixth, pounced on Dilfer, and the Rams, who were scheduled to pick seventh, called Dallas again.

“I sent the kid back to Kinko’s because the first contract had been ripped up,” Sexton said. “Then I had to tell him that the deal was off; the Rams had made the deal with San Francisco.”

The Rams got nowhere with Jones once again, and moved on to the 49ers. The Rams acquired second- and third-round picks in exchange for the seventh slot and dropped to the 15th position.

The Rams intended to pick Georgia offensive tackle Bernard Williams with the 15th pick, but Philadelphia grabbed him with the 14th selection.

That left Gandy, a 6-4, 289-pound left tackle to protect quarterback Chris Miller. Gandy, according to the Rams, stood No. 10 overall on their draft board.

“He’s a player in the mold of New Orleans’ Willie Roaf,” said Jim Erkenbeck, Ram offensive line coach. “He’s not only physically ready, but mentally ready to play as well.”

Shortly after the Rams made their selection, however, ESPN reported that there were questions about Gandy’s back. An NFL general manager who asked not to be identified concurred.

“There’s a question about his back; we didn’t check it out because we weren’t in a position to take him,” he said.

The Rams said they have no such concerns.

“This year they took X-rays of all spines (at the NFL combine workouts) and it showed a little defect,” said Clarence Shields, the Ram team physician. “But there is no concern, no problem. He missed no time.”

Gandy, who answers to the nickname “G-Man,” becomes the leading candidate to start at left tackle. Erkenbeck said his pass-blocking ability put him well ahead of most players available in the draft.

Gandy’s addition indicates the Rams will probably release tackle Irv Eatman, starting left tackle last season and one of the team’s key free agent acquisitions a year ago, who is due to earn $1.1 million this season.

“I don’t know too much about the Rams’ offense,” Gandy said. “Coach Knox likes to run the ball and they got rid of their quarterback, if I’m reading that right.

“As for my back, everything is fine. It was a minor thing--something common in all linemen. I never had any back problem. It’s just something that they X-rayed.”

The Rams continued to fill needs in the second round with the selection of Memphis State wide receiver Isaac Bruce and Nebraska strong safety Toby Wright.

The Rams considered drafting Alabama wide receiver David Palmer, but went with Bruce (6-0, 178), who runs the 40 in 4.5 seconds, because he was bigger and faster than Palmer (5-8, 167).

“I struggled with that,” said John Becker, Ram director of player personnel. “I’m a David Palmer guy. I woke up at 3:15 in the morning thinking about Palmer. It was a tough call.”

Wright (5-11, 203) replaces Michael Stewart, who signed as a free agent with Miami, and gives the Rams an enforcer in their secondary. He’s a very physical player,” said Rod Perry, Ram defensive backs coach. “He brings us toughness; his temperament is along the lines of Ronnie Lott. He will deliver a blow back there.’

The Rams, who will have seven picks in today’s final five rounds, sought depth for their defensive line after the defection of Tony Woods to Washington with the choice of Wayne State’s Brad Ottis (6-3, 272) on the second-round pick acquired from the 49ers.