It's a Rough Draft for NFL

By BILL PLASCHKE

April 20, 1996 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

The NFL trumpets it as the most exciting moment of the off-season.

Yet it takes two days.

The TV networks fill it with the urgency of a two-minute drill.

Yet the final results will not be known for years.

It is supposed to be about football.

But it makes heroes out of Mel Kiper Jr. and helmet phones.

For those who can tell the difference.

It’s the 61st NFL draft, beginning at 9 a.m. PDT today in New York.

“It’s America,” said Minnesota Viking Coach Dennis Green.

Which proves this country is in far deeper trouble than anyone thought.

Be there early, because wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson is expected to be the first USC player in 19 years chosen first overall.

Shortly after Johnson joins the New York Jets, UCLA tackle Jonathan Ogden is expected to join the Arizona Cardinals as the third overall pick.

It will be the first time that a USC and UCLA player have gone in the top five in the same year.

Enjoy, then sit back. And for seven rounds, or 254 total selections, watch perfectly reasonable football people become liars, fools and thieves.

“If there was just a science to drafting, then anybody could do it,” Jacksonville Jaguar President David Seldin said. “And it’s obvious, not just anybody can do it.”

In this, as in all years, there will also be an element of art.

WHO WILL BE BOLD ENOUGH TO TAKE LAWRENCE PHILLIPS?

This Nebraska running back is the best player in the draft. Scouts say he can transform a team as Marshall Faulk recently transformed the Indianapolis Colts.

But the Jets are apparently going to pass on him because they are worried about his perceived anger problem. After spending a troubled youth in Southern California, Phillips last season pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault and trespassing charges after assaulting a former girlfriend.

Because his ill-informed advisors have not allowed him to talk to the media in recent months, the NFL asked him to stay away from today’s New York ceremonies because of the potential for distraction.

He will probably be selected by the fourth pick, which belongs to the Baltimore Ravens. By then, he may just be waking up in his Culver City condominium, which makes his former caretaker, Tina McElhannon, angry.

“He should be in New York; he should talk about everything that has happened; he should let everyone see that he’s sorry and paid the price,” said McElhannon, who ran the group home in West Covina where Phillips grew up.

“I tell him to talk; I don’t know why he’s not talking. He has nothing to hide. He felt he may have lost the Heisman Trophy because of what happened, and now this.”

WHO WILL BE DUMB ENOUGH TO TAKE THE FIRST PASSER?

It is a terrible year for quarterbacks. For the first time in eight years, there will be none drafted in the first round.

Things are so bad, the top two prospects--Bobby Hoying and Tony Banks--are from the Big Ten. And neither of them is any better than Jim Harbaugh.

There are no game-breakers, or playmakers, or anything but long-term projects in his area. Do you think the Arizona Cardinals would have actually signed Boomer Esiason if there were?

WHO WILL BE SILLY ENOUGH TO TRADE A PICK WITH JIMMY JOHNSON?

One of football’s best-ever personnel evaluators returns to the war room after two years in a TV studio. The newest coach of the Miami Dolphins says he has not lost his touch.

“You remember how you felt in school, just before you took a test where you knew all the answers in advance?” Johnson said. “That’s how I feel about the draft.”

Remember, while with the Dallas Cowboys, Johnson once stole running back Emmitt Smith with the 17th overall pick . . . and safety Darren Woodson in the second round . . . and defensive tackle Leon Lett in the seventh round.

Johnson has the 20th overall pick this year. But he’ll make it work somehow.

WHO WILL BE MAN ENOUGH TO TELL JERRY JONES TO MIND HIS OWN BUSINESS?

The defending Super Bowl champion Cowboys might trade their last pick in the first round, and say it is because they need to save money under the salary cap.

It might also be because they are afraid to make the pick.

Although Jones has proved he can win a Super Bowl without Johnson, he has yet to prove he can build a Super Bowl team without him.

With the exception of guard Larry Allen--a second-rounder in 1994--Jones has had mostly busts among the 17 picks he has made without Johnson.

The Cowboys have already begun dealing picks away, trading fourth- and fifth-round selections Friday for decent safety Roger Harper of the Atlanta Falcons.

“Who knows, maybe Jimmy and I will make a trade,” Jones said with a laugh.

Yeah, and Michael Irvin will go to work for Marriott.

WHO WILL BE SMART ENOUGH TO FIND BILL TOBIN’S MAILMAN?

That is the gentleman, you’ll remember, who Tobin claimed knew more about football than Mel Kiper Jr., the ESPN announcer who annually delights in ripping everyone’s picks.

Ever since Indianapolis boss Tobin and Kiper had their televised spat two years ago, Tobin has drafted nothing but heroes.

“This is one of these days when everybody thinks they know everything,” Tobin said.

Yeah, such as the identity of Devin Bush, Craig Powell, Ty Law, Mark Fields and Trezelle Jenkins.

What, you’ve already forgotten? They were first-round picks.

Last year.

Two days, two long days.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

The First Round

* 1. New York Jets

* 2. Jacksonville

* 3. Arizona

* 4. Baltimore