THE NFL DRAFT : Rams, Raiders Try to Hurry Up Offenses : Robinson Passes Twice on Ironhead, Takes Gaston Green

The Rams raved on about Craig (Ironhead) Heyward until they were blue and gold in the face. They wined him, timed him, weighed him, praised him.

The only thing they didn’t do with Heyward was draft him, passing over the beefy Pittsburgh fullback not once but twice in the first round of Sunday’s National Football League draft in favor of local talent and, perhaps, better public relations.

The Rams, who had their choice of any college runner on the board when it came their turn to pick at 14, turned a cold head to Ironhead and went cross-town to UCLA for tailback Gaston Green, who once gained 266 yards in a Freedom Bowl game on the Rams’ home turf at Anaheim Stadium. Don’t think the Rams weren’t watching.

All told, the Rams wouldn’t have traded the day for anything, though all the fun (5 of the first 47 picks) did cost them Eric Dickerson.

With the 20th pick, the Rams selected another local product in Arizona State receiver Aaron Cox, raised in the shadows of the Coliseum and one who mourned the loss of his very favorite team when it moved down the freeway to Anaheim.

With three second-round picks, the Rams grabbed a potential big-time player in Oregon safety/cornerback Anthony Newman and also took UCLA receiver Willie Anderson and Purdue inside linebacker Fred Strickland.

And remember, thanks to Dickerson, the Rams get to hold this draft party (two first-round picks, three seconds) again next year.

And Ironhead? Sunday, he could almost smell Cajun cooking from Pennsylvania, which is a long way from New Orleans, which is where Heyward is headed.

So were we really looking at Craig (Smoke Screen) Heyward all along, a guy who ran public interference for Green?

“We’re not that sophisticated,” Rams Coach John Robinson said. “I’m not flying to Phoenix (Heyward’s training grounds) for a smoke screen. We seriously considered picking him. There were no negative feelings about him at all.”

Robinson, in fact, considered Heyward all along because he thought Green, the splendid sprinter, would be long gone before the Rams could take him.

Houston, which had the sixth overall pick until trading it last week to the Raiders for defensive end Sean Jones, was almost a cinch to take Green had the trade not been made.

But there were other scenarios that did not include Green. The Rams reportedly were ready to trade up four spots with the New York Giants for the 10th pick to get Miami receiver Michael Irvin, the Rams knowing that Dallas was going to take Irvin with the 11th pick.

The deal fell through, though, and the Cowboys did take Irvin, leaving Green to sweat out the next few picks.

After Dallas picked Irvin, only Phoenix and Philadelphia stood between the Rams and Green.

Green, longing to be a Ram, prayed the Cardinals and Eagles would pass on him.

Green’s agent, Leigh Steinberg, equated the next few minutes to the game of Monopoly and “rolling the dice and hoping you don’t land on Broadway with a hotel on it.”

As Green’s luck would have it, the Cardinals took Cal linebacker Ken Harvey and the Eagles opted for Oklahoma tight end Keith Jackson.

“I was thrilled,” Green said. “As I was waiting for that moment, my heart was almost beating out of my chest.”

Green, considered the best pure running talent on the draft board, was knocked down in the first round only because of questions about his durability, questions Green acknowledged and addressed on Sunday.

“It was the one main concern with some people,” said Green, UCLA’s all-time leading rusher with 3,731 yards. “But I believe I am durable. The injuries I’ve had were not something I could control. I do think I am durable and I’d like to prove to people that I am.”

Robinson compared Green to Dallas back Tony Dorsett in style and said he hoped to get the ball into Green’s hands about 20 times per game.

“We felt all along he was the best breakaway runner in the draft by far,” Robinson said. “We’ll use him next year with Charles White, but we’re not going to force him into a carrying-30-times-a-game situation.”

Green is smallish for a back, 5-10 and 189 pounds, but Robinson feels Green will mature and perhaps gain 15 pounds in strength in the next few years.

Of course, the next step is signing the star runner, an event Steinberg insists will not be as painful as say, oral surgery.

Steinberg and Ram Vice President John Shaw are apparently on good terms.

“I think it will be smooth,” Steinberg said. “I look at the Jim Everett signing. It showed that they moved and responded to the market. I wouldn’t be surprised if this worked out quickly. We’re dealing with a bright, analytical mind in John Shaw. It’s clear this is the year they want to move forward on the field.”

Of course, Green wasn’t the only Ram nugget. The Rams were very happy that Cox was still around at the 20th spot in the first round.

The Rams wanted both a receiver and running back in the round and Cox was second on their shopping list only to Tennessee’s Anthony Miller, taken five spots early by the San Diego Chargers.

“But we thought Cox had the quicker opportunity to play,” Robinson said. “He was the best we saw in getting out on the breaks and his hands are as good as anyone’s.”

Cox, a three-year starter at Arizona State, should take over for the void left by Ron Brown, who retired last week to resume a track career.

Cox attended Dorsey High School in Los Angeles and spent many childhood days watching the Rams.

“I was always hanging around the Coliseum,” Cox said. “It was only a 15-minute walk from my house. I was really disappointed when the Rams moved to Anaheim.”

A look at the Rams’ second-round picks:

--Anthony Newman, 35th pick overall. He’s 6-0 and 199 but can play both cornerback and safety for the Rams. He reminds Robinson of Ram corner Jerry Gray. The only problem with Newman is that he’s represented by Stockton-based agent Mike Blatt, who has presided over the holdouts of quarterbacks Kelly Stouffer and Chris Miller. Blatt is also the No. 1 enemy of Ram management, having led Henry Ellard through his difficult 89-day holdout in 1986.

Newman said he wasn’t aware of the strife between his agent and the Rams.

“I really don’t want to be aware of it,” Newman said. “I just want to play ball and take it in stride.”

--Willie Anderson, 46th pick overall. The good news is that Anderson is almost as fast as Bruin teammate Green. Anderson is fast enough to get deep and has good hands, but is lacking in the size department at 6-0 and 170 pounds.

“He gives us a trio of receivers (with Henry Ellard and Cox) that are big-time threats,” Robinson said. “I always felt that Ron Brown, regardless of his number of catches, gave you the threat to go deep. He (Anderson) has that kind of ability.”

--Fred Stickland, 47th pick overall. Strickland, at 6-2 and 244 pounds, can play both linebacker positions, though Robinson sees Strickland playing inside rather than out. He’s another guy Robinson never thought he’d get. “We rated him as off the board,” he said.

Ram Notes

The Rams and Washington swapped places in the third round, the Redskins taking the Rams’ 10th pick in exchange for Washington’s fifth- and sixth-round choices. Picking in 28th spot, the Rams selected defensive tackle Mike Piel (6-4, 263) from Illinois. The Rams then traded their fourth-round pick (91st overall) to the San Diego Chargers for tight end Pete Holohan. The Rams, offensive coordinator Ernie Zampese in particular, had been interested in the 28-year-old Holohan for some time. Holohan, of course, played in Zampese’s offense in San Diego. Holohan’s biggest year was in 1984, when he caught 56 passes for 734 yards. . . . With two picks in the fifth round, the Rams drafted Robert Delpino, a running back from Missouri, and UCLA safety James Washington. RAM DRAFT CHOICES

Round Name,School Pos. 1 Gaston Green, UCLA RB 1 Aaron Cox, Arizona State WR 2 Anthony Newman, Oregon DT 2 Willie Anderson, UCLA WR 2 Fred Strickland, Purdue LB 3 Mike Piel, Illinois DT 5 Robert Delpino, Missouri RB 5 James Washington, UCLA DB