Monday, April 14, 1997

Some of the so-called draft "experts" aren't, but Brandt is

By LANCE FLEMING / Sports Writer

The NFL's second-biggest event takes place this weekend, and experts of all sorts are starting to show up on televisions everywhere to share their opinions.

No. We're not talking about anything that has to do with an actual game, but rather the NFL Draft, which seems to be second only to the Super Bowl when it comes to what's talked and written about most in the NFL.

And with the draft comes all manner of experts like Mel Kiper, who has made a habit out of popping up on ESPN to share his "draft expertise" with the viewing millions. (What, by the way, does this guy do the other 363 days out of the year?)

But none of those experts has been at it longer than Gil Brandt, the former personnel director for the Dallas Cowboys.

Brandt will again be watching this draft, and once again he'll be doing it on the internet. He and a cast of thousands will be available on the internet at nfl.com to analyze the draft, the draft picks and answer questions from fans.

Already in his draft mode, Brandt said last week that he sees this as a "trade-down draft."

"This might be the most unpredictable draft of all time after the fifth or sixth player," Brandt said. "There are some very good players at the top with Darrell Russell (USC defensive tackle), Orlando Pace (Ohio State offensive lineman), Walter Jones (Florida State offensive lineman), Ron Springs (Ohio State defensive back), Bryant Westbrook (Texas defensive back) and Peter Boulware (Florida State defensive end).

"After that there's about 35 or 40 guys that are all pretty good players," he said. "Everybody is looking at a multitude of guys, and everybody is saying the thing to do is move down. If you're a team like Miami, which has some extra third-round draft picks, you're in a good place. You can move up from where you are in the first round by offering some of those thirds, because teams want quantity in this draft."

The New York Jets of new head coach Bill Parcells have the first pick in the draft, and it appears they're leaning toward taking Russell, even though Pace is regarded as the best player in the draft.

Brandt, however, says the Jets can't go wrong with either player.

"I think Pace is a great player, and will be a Pro Bowl player for the next 10 years," he said. "Russell, though, is a guy who is 320 pounds with huge legs who can dunk a basketball. The negative thing is that he's 20 years old and sometimes doesn't play hard on every play. But Willie McGinest (New England Patriots linebacker) had the same knock when he came out of USC, but he played pretty well last year.

"Sometimes for young guys, things come too easy for them and they don't recognize the need for toughness until they get to the NFL," Brandt said. "Parcells' philosophy is that you can get a good offensive lineman later in the draft, but you don't get a Darrell Russell in the later rounds."

Two of the players that fans should keep an eye on are Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel from Florida and unknown defensive end Marcellus Wiley of Columbia.

Wuerffel isn't that high on many draft lists because of his questionable arm strength. Brandt, though, has him as the fifth-ranked quarterback in the draft, mainly because of his intangibles.

"Wuerffel is interesting," Brandt said. "Some people don't think too highly of him because of his arm. But I think he's a special kid. All he's done is win. He won a state championship in high school and national championship at Florida."

The biggest knock on Wiley is that he's from Columbia, an Ivy League school with absolutely no football tradition.

"He has tremendous pass-rushing ability, but he's as green as the grass," Brandt said. "Everyone wants pass-rushers, and Wiley could be an interesting pick."

Brandt said the Cowboys, in desperate need of help on an aging and thin offensive line, could take a lineman at the 25th spot.

"I think they try to get an offensive lineman, and if they can't get a good one, go for a guy like (Florida wide receiver) Reidel Anthony," he said. "I'm not really sure why they're working out tight ends (David LaFleur of LSU and Tony Gonzalez of California), unless they plan on moving Tyji Armstrong to the offensive line. Otherwise I'm not really sure why they're doing that with Eric Bjornson at tight end."

You can bet, though, that Brandt will have the answers come draft day.