ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 21, 1996 TAG: 9604220065
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: NEW YORK
SOURCE: FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS AND STAFF REPORTS
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on April 22, 1996.
The team that selected Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips in the
NFL draft was identified incorrectly in a headline Sunday. Phillips was
drafted by the St. Louis Rams.
Keyshawn Johnson, wearing an ankle-length, off-white coat and surrounded by an entourage of 20, was the toast of New York, the first pick Saturday in the NFL draft.
It might have been Lawrence Phillips if not for his off-field troubles.
``I feel I'd have been the first pick if I had no problems, definitely,'' the Nebraska running back said after being taken at No.6 by the St.Louis Rams. ``I feel I'm the best player in the draft, I think that by far. I think a lot of teams passed because they were afraid of the off-the-field situation, and that's fine.''
Phillips' no-contest plea to misdemeanor assault caused a couple of teams to back away from him, reshuffling the early selections in the draft. Instead of being predictable, this draft was deceptive.
The top teams did just what they said they wouldn't do, particularly Jacksonville, Arizona and Baltimore, the teams with picks Nos.2-4, respectively.
Virginia Tech's Bryan Still, although he didn't go in the first round, was worth trading up for by the San Diego Chargers. They sent a 1997 first-round pick to Tampa Bay to secure the former Hokies wide receiver with the 41st pick overall.
One of Still's teammates, defensive lineman J.C. Price, went to the Carolina Panthers in the third round with the 88th pick overall.
The draft started innocuously enough, with the New York Jets using only 10 seconds of their allotted 15 minutes to select Johnson, the flamboyant wide receiver from Southern California. It was welcome news to a crowd that was chanting, ``Keyshawn! Keyshawn! Keyshawn!'' even before commissioner Paul Tagliabue officially opened the proceedings.
But then things got strange.
Jacksonville selected Illinois linebacker Kevin Hardy, who then drew faint praise from Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin.
``He's got to improve his quickness and some of his technique,'' Coughlin said.
Arizona, which had said it wanted Hardy or offensive tackle Jonathan Ogden of UCLA, took Hardy's pass-rushing teammate, Simeon Rice, a move that shocked even Rice.
``I had no communication with them prior to this,'' he said.
And Baltimore, in its first draft since leaving Cleveland, took Ogden, although every indication was the Ravens would grab Phillips, perhaps even trade up for him.
``We had Ogden and Phillips there together,'' said Ozzie Newsome, Baltimore's director of player personnel. ``It's obvious who we thought was the better player.''
Better player or better citizen? Ogden, who scored nearly 1,200 on his Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), won as much praise for his character as for his blocking skills.
But Phillips didn't have long to wait.
The New York Giants, who thought they would get Rice, Hardy or Ogden, settled for Oklahoma defensive end Cedric Jones with the fifth pick rather than add another running back to an already stocked position. It was the first time in a decade the Giants had taken a defensive player in the first round - the last was Lawrence Taylor.
Then, Phillips went to the Rams, who had obtained the sixth overall pick 10 days ago when they shipped defensive lineman Sean Gilbert to the Washington Redskins. Unlike some other teams, the Rams weren't scared off by Phillips' off-field problems.
``He's probably been through as much scrutiny as a presidential candidate in the last month leading up to the draft,'' said Rich Brooks, St.Louis' coach.
New England, which might have taken Jones, went instead for Terry Glenn, a wide receiver from Ohio State, at No.7. That conformed to the wishes of owner Robert Kraft rather than those of defensive-minded coach Bill Parcells and gave quarterback Drew Bledsoe the first deep threat he's had in the NFL.
Carolina went for Tim Biakabutuka, the Michigan running back, and Oakland dealt up to grab another Ohio State player, tight end Rickey Dudley, with the ninth pick.
Then came four predictable choices - Auburn offensive tackle Willie Anderson to Cincinnati at No.10, Oregon cornerback Alex Molden to New Orleans at No.11, California defensive end Regan Upshaw to Tampa Bay at No.12 and Mississippi State cornerback Walt Harris to Chicago, which traded with St.Louis to get the 13th selection.
Then, Houston traded back up and took Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, the third Ohio State player in the top 14. The Oilers sent defensive tackle Glenn Montgomery and the 17th pick to Seattle for that right.
Denver ended the first half of the round by taking Kutztown (Pa.) linebacker John Mobley, a relatively unknown Division II player who bloomed in all-star games and at the scouting combine.
With a lot of equally rated talent, there were five trades in the first round, four revolving around the 17th pick and the fifth a deal for the last pick of the round, which Dallas sent to Washington.
Pick No.17 changed hands four times - from Oakland to Houston to Seattle to Detroit, with the Lions finally using it for Texas A&M linebacker Reggie Brown after Minnesota had chosen defensive end-linebacker Duane Clemons of California.
After Clemons and Brown came two wide receivers - Eddie Kennison of LSU to St.Louis and Marvin Harrison of Syracuse to Indianapolis.
Then, Jimmy Johnson made his first pick for Miami - no trades this time - and took Daryl Gardener, a defensive lineman from Baylor. Gardener is a classic Johnson pick - an awesome physical talent who's rarely shown it on the field.
Seattle took offensive lineman Pete Kendall of Boston College with the 21st pick, Tampa Bay chose defensive tackle Marcus Jones of North Carolina and Detroit selected offensive lineman Jeff Hartings of Penn State.
At No.24, Buffalo selected Mississippi State wide receiver Eric Moulds, Philadelphia then took offensive tackle Jermane Mayberry of Texas A&M-Kingsville and Baltimore chose linebacker Ray Lewis of Miami at No.26.
Green Bay chose offensive tackle John Michels of Southern Cal, Kansas City took defensive back Jerome Woods of Memphis with the 28th pick and Pittsburgh went for Jamain Stephens, an offensive tackle from North Carolina A&T.
Washington closed the first round by taking Penn State offensive tackle Andre Johnson with the 30th pick, which it acquired from Dallas for the Redskins' second- and third-round picks.
The first round was split relatively evenly - 17 offensive players, including eight linemen, and 13 defensive players, six of them linemen. For the first time since 1988, no quarterback was taken in the round, not a surprise.
The first quarterback taken was Michigan State's Tony Banks, by the Rams with the 42nd overall pick in the second round.
There also were some rarities.
Keyshawn Johnson, often compared to Dallas' Michael Irvin,
With a typical lack of modesty, Johnson compared himself to Irvin, Jerry Rice and former Virginia standout Herman Moore.
``I hope to be like Jerry, Michael, Herman, all three of them put together,'' Johnson said. ``That's going to be something special.''
Hardy and Rice, at Nos.2-3, marked the first time since 1984 that college teammates had gone back-to-back that high. That's when Fryar and offensive lineman Dean Steinkuhler, both of Nebraska, went 1-2.
LENGTH: Long : 137 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue hands a New Yorkby CNBJets jersey to No.1 overall pick Keyshawn Johnson (right). color.