At some point this weekend, Branden Albert and Duane Brown will receive phone calls that tell them, in effect, they just hit the lottery.

And even though they are among the best football players in the country, they will have basketball, in part, to thank for their good fortune.

The NFL draft starts tomorrow at 3 p.m. and concludes Sunday evening around 7 p.m.

Tomorrow afternoon, Albert, from the University of Virginia, is expected to be selected with one of the first 20 picks in the draft.

He might go as early as No. 5 to Kansas City or No. 7 to New England. He could go as late as No. 23 to Pittsburgh. Chances are he will not slip past Chicago at No. 14.

Brown, from Virginia Tech by way of Hermitage High School in Henrico County, might be selected in the second round Saturday.

He might have to wait until Sunday when rounds three through seven will be completed. Brown isn't expected to last past the fourth round.

Albert, 6 feet 6 and 316 pounds, and Brown, 6 feet 4 and 309 pounds, are offensive linemen.

They aren't just any offensive linemen, though. They are tackles. Both are athletic enough to play left tackle, one of the highest paid positions in the NFL.

Both were high school basketball players of note. Albert was named to the Baltimore Sun's All-Metro second team, and was recruited by Niagara University.

Brown was recruited as a basketball player by James Madison, Towson and American University.

Brown went to Virginia Tech as a tight end. At the beginning of his redshirt sophomore year, the Hokies were in need of offensive tackles, and Brown was in need of playing time.

He was asked to make the switch, and he accepted the challenge.

"I was the second-string tight end, and moving was an opportunity to start," Brown said. "A lot of people told me about the future I could have as a tackle. I didn't listen until I started to get more attention as a tackle."

Brown certainly caught the attention of ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr.

"I'd be surprised if he's not gone by the end of the second round," Kiper said. "He's one of the faster left tackles in the draft, and he did 24 reps on the bench press at the combine."

Players bench press 225 pounds as many times as they can as part of their NFL combine workout.

"You can make the argument he's the fifth-best tackle in the draft, the sixth-best at worst," Kiper said.

Albert left Virginia with a year's eligibility remaining. He played guard for the Cavaliers, although he slid to left tackle for two games last season. As a guard, Albert was expected to be taken between 20th and 25th in the first round.

But the more NFL personnel evaluators watched him work out, and the more they studied film of his two games at left tackle, against Pittsburgh and Middle Tennessee State, the more Albert's stock rose.

"He has great feet, great athleticism," Kiper said. "His ability to get to the second level and hit the target is phenomenal."

Albert grew up in Rochester, N.Y., and moved to Baltimore in 2002 to live with his brother.

Albert was a basketball player before he played football. In fact, he played just two years of football in high school. He then honed his skills with a post-graduate year at Hargrave Military Academy.

"A lot of things you do on the basketball court transfer to football, like the footwork when you pass block," Albert said.

"That's a key thing for a left tackle. You've got to be able to move your feet. Playing defense in basketball is the same thing. You've got to be able to move your feet to play basketball."

All that movement is about to pay handsomely for Albert and Brown.
Contact Paul Woody at (804) 649-6444 or pwoody@timesdispatch.com.