Draft 1987 : Raiders : Question Is, Will Kelly Stouffer Be Available?

It’s draft time for the Raiders and everyone gets the chance to try the impossible: Think along with Al Davis.

You get the feeling that the Raider boss would rather seek work as a public relations intern in the league office rather than do what he’s expected to do in a draft. This year the consensus is that he’ll take Colorado State quarterback Kelly Stouffer with the Raiders’ No. 15 pick on the first round.

You know what that means, don’t you?

Adios Kelly.

But with Davis, who ever knows? For better or worse, these four players seem to be the top contenders for that first Raider pick:

--John Clay, 6-feet 4 1/2 inches, 290 pounds-plus, an offensive tackle from Missouri. A superior athlete who was supposed to go in the top five until he waddled in at 315 for the Blue-Gray Game. Has been compared favorably to Atlanta’s Bill Fralic by several coaches, including Tampa Bay assistant Larry Beightol, who coached Fralic at Atlanta. Clay has been marked down on work habits and attitude, though less by the Raiders who seem delighted to find themselves with a shot at him.

A Raider official was dispatched to St. Louis over the weekend for a last interview with Clay at his home.

Will Clay last 15 picks? The Philadelphia Eagles at No. 9 are thinking of him, too.

--Harris Barton, 6-3, 275, an offensive tackle from North Carolina. He’s not as gifted as Clay but is a good, big, consistent player whom the Raiders like. Speculation, however, is that the New Orleans Saints, drafting No. 11, will take him.

--Stouffer, 6-3, 212, Colorado State. Coach Tom Flores was one of three coaches--the others were Atlanta’s Marion Campbell and San Diego’s Al Saunders--who went to Fort Collins to work him out. He was born to throw deep in the Raider style and has a terrific release but is said to be raw and a project.

In all, he sounds like someone the Raiders would like. For what it’s worth, two different friends of Davis have told other friends that if Stouffer is on the board, the Raiders will take him. Is this on the level? Are the friends getting carried away with all the local speculation about Stouffer? Could this be the smoke screen of smoke screens?

And will Stouffer be there?

“That Kelly Stouffer thing is not going to happen,” said one NFL personnel director last week. “Atlanta (which has the 13th choice) was up there (Fort Collins) last weekend and they’re really impressed with the guy. I don’t think he’ll last.”

And is everyone sure the Raiders prefer Stouffer to . . .

--Chris Miller, 6-1, 190, a quarterback from Oregon. He’s smaller than any quarterback the Raiders have brought in recently, and without the bomber arm they like, but he’s a fine athlete and much more polished than Stouffer. Some Raider officials believe he’s more polished than Rusty Hilger, too.

An NFL personnel director said that the Raiders sound privately as if they’d choose Miller over Stouffer. Miller may not be the Raider prototype for the position, but do not mistake the organization’s desperation to get a quarterback who can hold the position for the next decade. If things go the way they hope, they won’t be drafting this high again soon.

A darkhorse:

--Haywood Jeffires, 6-2, 198, a wide receiver from North Carolina State. He is considered the best receiver in the draft and a top 10 pick but what if things get messed up and everyone grabs all the quarterbacks and offensive tackles?

With Mervyn Fernandez, James Lofton (the Raiders hope) and holdover Dokie Williams, they need anything but another receiver but if they have to they’ll fall back on the best available athlete: Jeffires.

And a note on:

--Christian Okoye, 6-3, 255 and runs 4.55 in the 40. He’s a 25-year-old discus thrower from Nigeria who took up football three years ago and became a running back at Azusa Pacific.

The Raiders have talked about a big fullback for years and are at least as intrigued as everyone else. Azusa Pacific Coach Jim Milhon said the Raiders worked out Okoye five times, twice in El Segundo. However, the Raider picks--15th and 42nd--aren’t opportune. The top pick is generally thought too high for a project. By No. 42, Okoye may well be gone.