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With mini-camp going down it seems like a good time to start talking Riders again.
The
Riders are hoping to continue on an upward trend with respect to Chris Jones’
drafting. 2016 was fairly abysmal if we are being honest with ourselves. At
present time all we have to show for it is a back-up Canadian receiver and
Josiah St John diligently standing guard over the sidelines. 2017 was better but not
great (as I will get to in the next section). Be nice to see Jones hit one of
the park this time around.
With
only 2 picks in the top 35 and 5 total there won’t be much room for error if
that is to happen.
Picks: 5 picks, first selection is 5th
overall
2017 Draft Assessment: Certainly a better
draft than 2016 but not a resounding success. A lot depends on the status of #2
overall pick Cam Judge. He got hurt early last year and then went on some
nonsensical twitter tirade that left many questioning if he was done with
football. No one ever really addressed that so while he’s still on the roster,
there are some questions remaining. If he can step into a significant role in
2018 then the combo of him and Bladek make the draft a big success. He could
also be the 2nd straight top Rider pick not to pan out. The
immediate impact of the draft class is minimal. Outside of Bladek no one really
saw any significant playing time. That said, almost all of their draft picks are
returning in 2018 which is definitely a positive for a team that in recent years
has struggled to retain draft picks. Zero 2015 picks and two 2016 picks remain on
the roster
Potential Pipeline: DL David Oneymata (NFL
– New Orleans), TE Anthony Auclair (NFL – Tampa Bay), DB Elie Bouka (NFL –
Philly, we don’t officially own his rights but given that we released him early
I imagine he’ll come back here if he doesn’t stick).
Current Strengths: The repatriation of
Zach Evans solidifies the DT spot with a top end Cdn. Steele and Henry for
depth have things looking good. The combo of Edem/Hecht/Brouillette leave
safety looking solid (not outstanding but sold… though I’m not entirely
convinced Brouillette will be a part of things given that we had to coax him
out of retirement last season). O-line depth has come a long way. Bladek looks
solid so really, as long as one of St John, Zver or Meredith pan out then we are
sitting pretty (I still haven't given up on St John but even an eternal optimist like myself may have to concede defeat if he doesn't take a step forward this year). Good depth at Cdn WR with Bagg, Bailey and Harty. Lastly want
to recognize the strength on special teams. Radford and Moore are beasts on
teams and there is a crop of young LBs waiting in the wings (Bartlett, Grondin, Francis, Chevrier, Gagne) plus Jake Harty has
a reputation for solid play on teams as well. Crapigna and Bartel are a rock solid pair of kickers.
Current Needs: Contributing Canadians
who aren’t old as balls. Four of our projected starting Canadians are over the
age of 30 (5 if Brouilette is included). A youth movement is needed. Additions
like Evans and Bladek (and in theory Judge though I’m still not convinced he’s
all there) help but more is needed. I don’t think any one area is more pressing
than another. If we are set on starting Hurl (which I still pray we aren’t)
then I would be looking for depth there. We have quantity of Cdn LBs but not
sure they are more than special teamers. An impact receiver to replace Demski
would be nice. With both Hecht and Brouilette being 32 and Edem being just
alright, a safety would help. When your best O-linemen are all old, drafting
hoggies is never a bad idea. Also when Dan Clark is one of your best OL
drafting hoggies is never a bad idea. Argument could be made that depth is
needed for Messam but I expect when he subs out (or proves to have passed his
best before date) an American RB will go in and a Cdn WR sub in instead. Pick a
spot we could probably use someone.
Prediction: Ever since the season ended, I fully
expected us to go DL in round 1 of the draft but landing Evans and retaining
Steele completely changed that. I expect the Riders to take a WR and an OL with
their top 2 picks (just not sure what order). I think we are targeting Rashaun
Simonise (for some reason I see an athletic freak with character issues and
drug suspensions appealing to Chris Jones) but I think we
gamble that he is still there in round 2 and grab an OL like Matt Korte or Trey
Rutherford first (at least that’s what I would do). We may also take Simonise
first and go defense in round 2 (if Jones really believes in the potential of
St John, Zver, Bladek and Meredith). Another athletically gifted player like
Micah Teitz or Jackson Bennett could be the target on D.
Many
are expecting us to trade players for more picks (Hamilton being the obvious
trading partner). I’m not expecting that but if we can get a decent pick for
someone we don’t really need than perhaps. A guy like Dyakowski comes to mind.
5 comments:
I'd be really surprised if Dyakowski gets you a decent pick. Outside of age, Dyakowski was one of the main reasons we had to get Glenn off the field due to pressure in the 2nd half. Near the tail end of the year he was a turnstile. Definitely would go OL with 4 30+ guys out there who, despite the veteran experience, were average last year. Can't see them all of a sudden taking a big jump up this year & so far no Campbell. Rumours are he's signed but he retired rather than come West once before. The depth chart I saw recently had Coleman at LT & Bond at RT. Can't see Bond at tackle. He's 20-30 lbs heavier than most of the guys at that position. Coleman was solid but LT - step down from Campbell IMO. We'll see what happens. Fingers crossed for the RIders if they go with Simonise in round 1. Jones does like tall receivers but..........
I was thinking D-lineman and receiver but you make a compelling case for receiver and o-lineman
Anon - Oh I doubt Dyakowski gets much either but if an offer came in I'd be listening. I can't see moving Coleman from RT where he's been his whole time with the Riders but maybe.
Gov - I was so torn. Evans/Steele mean we don't have to go DL... but could. Harty/Bailey/Bagg mean we don't have to go WR... but could. We have enough OL that we don't need to go OL... but could (and maybe should).
With Dyakowski & Meredith out of the picture, I think that nay answer the question. If Campbell is also gone, are we gambling on findind an import LT or are, say, St. John & Bladek both in play for spots. The fact I'm not a Clark fan makes this a scary proposition. I aee no way we don't go OL in the 1st round. Better be right on the choice.
Yes, given the 2 OL cuts I think its even more likely we take an OL in round 1 now.
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