CHARGERS HOPE TO AVOID ANOTHER CHILL FROM DRAFT.

Byline: Billy Witz Staff Writer

The rest of the world looks at San Diego and sees priceless ocean views, cool breezes and a laid-back lifestyle. America's Finest City, indeed.

The NFL looks at San Diego and says, uh, we'll take Manhattan. (But we'll gladly settle for East Rutherford.)

Archie Manning, the father of the top quarterback in this year's draft, says he'd rather his son, Eli, play elsewhere. Which is an idea even the Chargers themselves are considering if they can't get a new stadium. Even commissioner Paul Tagliabue, when the Super Bowl was held in San Diego little more than a year ago, expressed surprise that he was there.

The NFL gets another chance to beat up on San Diego today when its two-day, seven-round draft begins at 9 a.m.

The Chargers, owner of the No. 1 pick for the second time in four years, are considering how to come out of this one better than the past two times they had a high pick. They were saddled with Ryan Leaf in 1998 and dealt away Michael Vick three years later - though the trade netted their one bonafide talent, tailback LaDainian Tomlinson.

Chargers general manager A.J. Smith, so eager to talk when he was fanning trade winds the past two weeks, was not available for interviews for the second day in a row Friday - a policy that might have served him well on Wednesday, when he told reporters that Archie didn't want the Chargers to pick Eli.

This was either a bold stroke of genius by Smith - giving the Chargers an out with their fans by painting Manning as the bad guy and allowing them to take a player they truly coveted, tackle Robert Gallery or quarterback Philip Rivers - or, well, given the Chargers' track record ...

With the word out that Manning doesn't want to play for them, so too leaked any leverage the Chargers had with the New York Giants, who sit at No. 4 and have been the most ardent pursuers of Manning.

So, as they prepare for today, these are the Chargers' options:

--Deal with the Giants and hope they can get more than they did for Vick: in this case, receiver Ike Hilliard, the No. 4 pick and at least two other high picks.

--Swallow hard, draft Manning and hunker down for a long contentious summer and fall. For Manning, holding out might be better than the alternative - starting behind an offensive line that lost four starters and throwing to a cast whose best returning receiver, tight end Antonio Gates, didn't even play football in college.

--Choose Gallery, then watch the Raiders take Manning, ensuring that they see him twice a year for the next 15 years. Which might leave the Chargers to wonder: What's next, Ryan Leaf making a comeback with the Kansas City Chiefs?

--Work a deal with Cleveland, which desperately wants Gallery - the Browns are also talking to Oakland - and can offer safety Earl Little and receiver Dennis Northcutt and draft picks, including No. 7. There they should get Philip Rivers, the quarterback they really like but aren't about to spend the top pick on.

Once the Chargers pick, the rest of the top 10 should begin to take shape. The Raiders, always a wild card, are said to be leaning toward Gallery though they like the speed of receiver Roy Williams and the dynamic play of safety Sean Taylor. Arizona appears set on receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who once worked as a ball boy for the Vikings when Cardinals coach Dennis Green was in Minnesota.

Next up are the Giants, followed at No. 5 by the Redskins, who have one pick in the first four rounds, which suits free-agent fiends Daniel Snyder and Joe Gibbs just fine. They're likely to settle on either of the Miami duo, tight end Kellen Winslow or safety Taylor - who might be the best talents in the draft but don't play a marquee position. Detroit, at No. 6, will likely take the other if it doesn't trade down.

With USC receiver Mike Williams bounced from the draft by this week's court ruling, Trojans defensive end Kenechi Udeze will be the first local player chosen, though it might not be as early as Jacksonville, at No. 9, as had long been anticipated. Udeze's agents have been busy disputing rumors that he's suffered torn shoulder ligaments, dismissing them as the occasional smoke screen sent up by teams that hope Udeze slips to them.

Two fellow Trojans, receiver Keary Colbert and tackle Jacob Rogers, along with UCLA defensive back Matt Ware and defensive end Dave Ball, might be drafted today, which will conclude at the end of the third round. Also expected to be picked today is Tulane quarterback J.P. Losman, who began his career at UCLA. The final four rounds will be Sunday.

This draft class, say NFL evaluators, is well stocked overall. It might be shy on offensive linemen beyond Gallery, or running backs beyond Oregon State's Steven Jackson, but if there is one position that is swimming in talent it is receiver - even with Mike Williams out of this draft.

Beyond Fitzgerald and Roy Williams, there are several others considered first-round timber: Reggie Williams, Lee Evans, Rashaun Woods, Michael Clayton and Michael Jenkins. There just won't be enough spots for them. The talent is thick enough that a team might find somebody like Colbert in the third round.

The quality depth won't just affect this weekend. It's had an impact on the free-agent market. For example, Dallas told receiver Joey Galloway last month it was going to release him June 1 for salary-cap purposes, but it gave his agent, Leigh Steinberg, the option of working out a trade before then.

``On June 1, we'd be dealing with a free-agent market ... with this massive influx of high-quality draft picks, which would limit the appetite teams might have for wide receivers,'' Steinberg said. ``The 49ers, had they not thought the draft was so loaded, might have taken a different position in the Terrell Owens case.''

As for the Chargers, they might be re-thinking their position at the end of the day. The weather forecast in San Diego calls for 72 degrees under sunny skies today. The Chargers would like to say the same.

Billy Witz, [phone]

billy.witz(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

Top NFL Draft prospects, from left, Roy Williams, Robert Gallery, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, DeAngelo Hall and Kellen Winslow face the media.

John Marshall Mantel/Associated Press