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Rumors swirl as NFL draft approaches

Posted: Mon April 13, 1998 at 7:37 PM ET

Both Arizona and Jacksonville deny rumors that the Jaguars would package Kevin Hardy and their two first-round picks to get the Cardinals' pick at No. 3    (Otto Greule Jr./Allsport)

PHOENIX (CNN/SI) -- Something is stirring with the Oakland Raiders, who are rumored to be shopping around veteran defensive tackle Chester McGlockton.

Where will he go? There's still a lot of talk about sending him to Jacksonville, where the Jaguars have two first-round picks.

The Jaguars are involved in other rumors, too. One of the more bizarre emerged over the weekend. There always has been speculation that the Jaguars would have interest in moving to No. 3 or 4 in a trade with Arizona or Oakland, although the player they were going up to get is still not clear.

It could be Charles Woodson, it could be Andre Wadsworth, it could be Curtis Enis. However, the bizarre turn this potential deal has taken in the last 48 hours is throwing linebacker Kevin Hardy into the mix to entice the Cardinals at No. 3.

In this scenario, Jacksonville would give Hardy and pick Nos. 9 and 25 to Arizona for the No. 3 pick. This sounds like a ridiculous scenario and in fact, when contacting people within both the Cardinals and Jaguars organizations, it was totally denied.

Although Hardy had a somewhat mediocre sophomore year after starring as a rookie as the second pick of the '96 draft, it is unlikely that the Jaguars would even consider parting with him this early in his career.

There are rumors coming out of New England that the Patriots may actually draft a corner with one of their first round picks. And there are some people within the organization that think they will pass on a running back in Round 1, even with the loss of Curtis Martin to the New York Jets. The Patriots seem to really like young back Sedrick Shaw, and it is possible that they don't see running back as quite the need that everybody else does.

The most talked about player in the top part of Round 1 continues to be Marshall wide receiver Randy Moss. He seems to be all over everybody's mock draft, depending on whom you talk to.

There are feelings in some NFL circles that Moss is a guy who will drop dramatically on Draft Day. The feeling here is if he gets by Chicago at No. 5 and Mike Ditka does not take him at No. 7, he could actually fall as far as No. 15 in the draft, which is Seattle's pick. Although Moss appears to have done a decent job in his individual workouts and meetings in the postseason, there is still a lot of concern among NFL teams with baggage and off-the-field problems in his past. Some teams have taken him off their board entirely, while others may be posturing and hoping that he drops to their pick.

McElroy appears to be headed out of Arizona after the Cardinals' recent acquisitions of Adrian Murrell and Eric Metcalf    (Stephen Dunn/Allsport)

The Arizona Cardinals are actively shopping running back and former second-round pick Leeland McElroy, who appears to be the odd man out with the free agency acquisitions of Mario Bates (New Orleans) and Adrian Murrell (Jets). With Eric Metcalf handling the return specialist roles, McEloy does not really fit in the new Cardinals offense.

The Sean Gilbert trade from Washington to Carolina has still not been finalized and there seems to be some hangups in terms of compensation that the Panthers will give to the Redskins. It will obviously cost Carolina a No. 1 pick and probably an additional No. 3 pick to finalize the deal. When and if that happens, the Redskins will have the No. 14 pick in this draft. There are reports coming out of New York that the NFL has told both organizations to settle this matter themselves and the league will not decide it.

Finally, the big question of this draft remains: Manning or Leaf? There are stirrings out of Indianapolis that Ryan Leaf is the pick at No. 1 over Peyton Manning, giving Manning to San Diego at No. 2.

Still, it's fairly clear that San Diego would rather have Leaf, and Leaf would rather go to San Diego.

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