At least he's not done for the year
Last night, we saw a team who got royally screwed by their first round choice. The Chicago Bears took OT Chris Williams one pick ahead of the Chiefs who took OT Branden Albert. While Chiefs fans moan and groan about Albert's rolled ankle and Dorsey's sprained knee, we need to take a step back and be thankful our front office made the proper back ground checks one Williams' injury history.
The Bears took Williams at #14 when some teams had taken Williams OFF THEIR DRAFT BOARD ALL TOGETHER because of past back injuries. The Bears claim Williams' injury (slipped disk) is not related to his past back issues, but that because of his back surgery this week, he will probably miss the ENTIRE 2008 SEASON.
I for one was very disappointed when i was Williams' name come off the board one pick ahead of us because i thought he would be the best OT to come out this year. But knowing what i know now about his past back issues, I'm happy with the Chiefs' pick of Branden Albert and I'm glad they didn't feel the need to jump ahead of Chicago to grab Williams. I have a feeling if the upper management had drafted Williams with his back issues being so public and then he had to miss this entire season for the Chiefs, I think that by itself would be enough to fire Carl and Herm.
I don't care how good a player may be, if he has BACK issues as a big lineman, I don't think you can take that risk. That being said, I'm still nervous about Dorsey's knee but after the Williams thing just happened, I have a little more confidence in the Chiefs' ability to identify health risks. I think Williams was probably rated higher as a LT than Albert, but Albert will probably end up being the better pick. Chiefs fans have seen how successful an OT can be with back problems, these past two years of Kyle Turley have taught us all a lesson in back issues for linemen.
The Chiefs had the pieces to jump Chicago for Williams but decided to sit at 15 and take Albert. I think this will be a great move by the organization.
