Denver head coach Josh McDaniels is only in his second year at the helm, but there are growing concerns that his draft day strategy is falling well short of expectations, and that noise will only grow louder with news of the trade he put together this afternoon.

According to Michael Lombardi of the NFL Network, the Broncos have shipped cornerback Alphonso Smith to Detroit, obtaining tight end Dan Gronkowski from the Lions in return. Smith was a first round pick in the 2009 draft that McDaniels traded up to select, giving up a first round pick last April to the Seahawks to do so.

Trading him this early in his career for a player that couldn’t find playing time in Detroit reeks of desperation on the part of McDaniels, although there have been issues with Smith’s consistency on the field that have kept him from achieving significant playing time thus far.

The Broncos will definitely put Gronkowski to work in Denver, as they clearly have a need for a tight end that can catch the ball, but it’s doubtful they’re done looking for players to bring in at that spot, with plenty of options sure to come later on today.

As for the Lions, getting a player of Smith’s talent level back in return for Gronkowski has to be seen as a win all the way around, and if they can find a way to get him to play up to his potential, they’ll have a high round player to plug into their beleagured secondary.

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