Ditka Offers Picks For Williams

April 7, 1999 / 10:53 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Just when Mike Ditka thought he'd never love again, the New Orleans Saints coach saw Ricky Williams and fell hard.

How hard? Well, the man who judges all running backs by Walter Payton is willing to give up every draft pick this year, some from next year, and a few players as well to get the Heisman Trophy winner.

"We're going to talk to the five teams one through five and see who has an interest in taking all of our picks," Saints general manager Bill Kuharich said on Wednesday. "Maybe all our picks and some other things. We want him. We think he can have an immediate impact on our whole team and our season."

The Saints don't have a second-round pick; that was traded to St. Louis for wide receiver Eddie Kennison. Kuharich said that could be a deal breaker. But if a deal can be made, the Saints want to make it.

"I think this player has an opportunity to make us better all around," Kuharich said. "He'll make our receivers better, our line better, our quarterback better."

Williams arrived at the Saints camp in the afternoon with little knowledge of the team -- "I know they never won a playoff game, right?" -- and worries about meeting Ditka.

"All I knew about him was just what I'd seen of him walking up and down the sidelines -- yelling," Williams said. "I didn't like the look on his face. You know, that mean expression he has. He never looked happy, ever. I thought I'd hate to play for him, he doesn't smile. I was even afraid of him at the combine, I didn't want to meet him. But he's the nicest guy in the world."

Ditka spent some time reminiscing about the glory years in Chicago, the days when Payton was carrying the ball and the Bears were dominating the NFC Central. He also told Williams he wants to transfer that game plan to the Saints.

"He said that when he had Walter, they needed a quarterback," Williams said. "And he said, `It wouldn't have mattered because any quarterback I had was just going to hand the ball off to Walter.'

"He said he likes to run the ball. He's not going throw the ball around and turn it over, he's just going to run the ball. They'll get mad at him and it'll be boring but he'll win."

The Saints' offense was 28th in the NFL last season, dead last in rushing.

The Saints are scheduled to pick 12th in the first round. They have picks in every round except the second.

"We have to get a feel for who would be interested in dropping down to the 12th spot," Kuharich said. "In dropping down to that spot, you get a very different group of players than you get in the top 10."

Williams said he hoped the Saints could work out a deal, but didn't believe it would happen. He speculated he'd go on the fifth or sixth pick. Cleveland Browns director of football operations Dwight Clark sid Williams impressed him during the workout, and Cleveland is the first team New Orleans should talk to.

"If the Saints want to make sure they get him, that's the place to go," Clark said. "To me, you've got a great player with little knowns vs. a quarterback with a larger amount of unknowns."

Williams' agent agreed. Leland Hardy said he believed after seeing Williams on Tuesday, the Browns will need only about five seconds to make him the No. 1 pick on draft day.

"This is all about minimizing risk," Hardy said. "Now you tell me, what's the greater risk, an unproven quarterback who might work out, or a proven running back who was the greatest college player in the history of the sport?"

Kuharich said if a deal can't be made with the Browns, that doesn't mean there won't be a deal.

"The Browns are where we start, but that doesn't mean we have to go that high," Kuharich said. "Speculation is that the first three teams will take quarterbacks. Of course, the closer you get to the sixth spot, the more problematic it becomes."

Williams went to St. Louis Wednesday morning. He was going to Washington and Philadelphia on Thursday and Cleveland and Indianapolis of Friday.

He would like to be headed back to New Orleans after the draft, however.

"I don't think it's going to happen," Williams said of the deal the Saints hope to work. "I want it to. Ideally for me, the Saints trade to No. 1 and I'm the No. 1 pick."