Well, I doubt the 18th pick in the draft could be considered high 2nd as well. However, if we traded down, giving up 18, we could ask for Brandon and the Chef's 63 pick.
I don't really see a disadvantage to trading for Albert and paying him, if we believe that he can play LT for us at a high level. We were basically willing to pay both Smith and Free big money to play R and LT for us so what's the difference? We could restructure Albert to pay less then what he is currently making and I think that could work. Plus, if he signs in Texas, he will make more money because he won't have to pay the taxes he would elsewhere so it is beneficial for him to make the move financially IMO.
The key here is, do we believe Albert can play LT at a high level and if he can, then if we are at 18 and all of the top players on our board are gone, IE, OTs, Gs, Vaccaro, DLs, whomever we view as high value targets, are we better off taking a Fluker or a player we may not see as worthy of a 1st round pick but forced to take him because he's the next highest rated player on the board?
If one of our guys is there, then we take that guy but if they are all gone and we are forced to take a player we don't think is a good value, then this might be the better solution. Would allow us to move Smith back to his natural position at RT. The other question, of course is, does Albert fit the new scheme we are running. I suspect he would as he was a fit for any scheme coming out from Virginia in 08. Still, that's a determination our Coaching Staff would have to make. If we do believe he is a quality LT, that would give us a proven 28 year old starter at LT and would help our line considerably. Would give us an extra pick at the top of the 3rd round, which would normally be a 2nd round pick in any other year, and would allow us to either use that 3rd for another player or probably move us back up in the 1st round or the top of the 2nd. Would solidify our OT position for at least 5 years or more.
This may not be a bad idea if we can get the terms we want out of KC.
