The Latest
Rumors hot and heavy as NFL Draft nears
Posted: Fri April 10, 1998 at 11:33 PM ET
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The Jaguars might be shipping Thomas to the Raiders with a pair of first-round picks
(Scott Halleran/Allsport)
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From The War Room
PHOENIX (CNN/SI) -- The biggest news on the NFL Draft grapevine right now is coming out of Florida, where the Jacksonville Jaguars are still trying to package the Nos. 9 and 25 picks to move up in next Saturday's draft.
The latest scenario has the Jaguars dealing starting cornerback Dave Thomas and the two first-round picks to the Oakland Raiders for their pick (No. 4 overall) and cornerback Eric Allen.
This deal may make sense for the Raiders for a couple reasons. Allen says he won't come to training camp, so trading him may be an option. And, with this trade, they could stockpile picks to fill a lot of defensive needs.
Early speculation was that the Jaguars wanted to make this deal in order to grab Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson, the corner/wide receiver from Michigan. But the guy they may have in mind is Penn State running back Curtis Enis, who would step in for the departed Natrone Means.
The Arizona Cardinals have started to bluff on taking Woodson with the No. 3 pick. Insiders believe they are trying to fool the Raiders into trading up with them to get Woodson, a guy they really need. That would allow the Cards to possibly get a player or a middle-round selection for trading down and still get Florida State defensive end Andre Wadsworth -- the guy they want anyway.
It is reported that the Cardinals will not do this deal unless they can get some sort of written agreement from Al Davis and the Raiders assuring them that they will not double-cross them and select Wadsworth.
Don't look for the Cardinals to do it unless they get that or some other blockbuster deal.
The most fearful team in the draft has to be the St. Louis Rams. They are sitting at No. 6 praying that Enis will drop to them. At this point, that doesn't look likely.
The Chicago Bears are sitting in the No. 5 spot, and they're taking offers to trade down. Owner Mike McCaskey reportedly won't allow the team to pick wideout Randy Moss of Marshall because of the player's checkered past. The Bears are looking for help at linebacker, but there isn't one out there worthy of that high of a pick. Enis, maybe the hottest player in the draft, is getting a lot of attention and a lot of teams are looking to the Bears for a trade in hopes of getting Enis. The Bears have made some noise about taking Enis in an effort to get more offers for their pick.
If a team moves up to No. 5 and takes Enis, that means Moss or Woodson will drop. St. Louis is unlikely to take either one of those players if faced with the choice.
Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway is waffling on the retirement question, and he says he'll let the team know before the draft. A source close to the team reports there is about an 80 percent chance he will retire in the next few days. If he does, look for the Broncos to go after a trade for Baltimore Ravens quarterback Vinny Testaverde. It's pretty likely Testaverde may be waived on June 1. If Elway retires, though, the Broncos may not want to wait.
The Kansas City Chiefs have talked about moving kick returner and wide receiver Tamarick Vanover to running back. It'd be risky. He's a player that always seems to be nicked up. But the Chiefs evidently are not happy with the running backs who will be available to them on draft day when they pick at No. 27. The top back at that deep in the draft likely will be Georgia's Robert Edwards, who reminds the Chiefs of free agent Greg Hill, who they haven't shown any indication of wanting to sign this off-season.
The Aztecs' Kyle Turley is one of the offensive tackles motivating the 49ers to trade up
(Otto Greule/Allsport)
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The New England Patriots are one of the teams talking about trading up for Enis. The Patriots and Jaguars have the best chance to move up, considering they have two first-round picks. With no potential starter, look for them to seriously consider that move.
The San Francisco 49ers are trying to trade up to get their hands on one of the premier offensive tackles in the draft -- San Diego State's Kyle Turley, Michigan State's Flozell Adams or Florida State's Tra Thomas. At No. 28, though, the 49ers have a long way to go. To get one of those guys, they need to make it to at least No. 15. If they can't get that high, they may just trade down.
Word is that the Pittsburgh Steelers will select an offensive lineman in the first round and are intrigued by Auburn lineman Victor Riley. It's surprising; Riley has been an underachiever throughout his career. Yet he has a lot of potential. Pittsburgh has 14 picks in the draft and could deal some of them to move into that Top 15 to grab one of the three top offensive linemen. They have three third-rounders, which could go a long way into getting them their man.
Finally, look for the Cardinals to play with the Nos. 32 and 35 picks (both second-rounders) to get back the third-round pick they lost to the New York Jets in the Adrian Murrell trade. The most likely scenario is for them to use No. 32, grab a safety, then trade down with No. 35 to pick up a third-rounder. They're looking for an offensive linemen with the No. 35, and they can get one of them in the late 40s to early 50s that's just as good as anything they can get at No. 35.
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