Monday Morning Sentimonies: CFL Draft

Tuesday both the Global and Canadians drafts go down. In stark contrast to the weekend-long extravaganza that is attended by hundreds of thousands of people that is the NFL draft, the CFL version is a conference call that lasts a couple hours and a smattering of hardcore/football-starved fans watch the meagre media coverage provided.

Given that the history of the draft involves picks being made from the toilet and deceased people being drafted all while not one iota of media coverage was provided, the current iteration is actually a massive step forward.

The NFL draft and the free agent signings that followed will impact on the CFL draft. As a quick primer for those that don’t religiously follow this draft.

-        An invite to mini-camp will not impact draft stock at all. It’s a fairly low risk that will not deter teams. Players who have a mini-camp invite include: QB Taylor Elgersma, LB Devin Veresuk, WR Damien Alford, LB Connor Shay, OL Erik Andersen and DL Jeremiah Ojo.

-        A free agent may or may not impact draft status. It is definitely a bit riskier. We took OL Kyle Hergel last year in the 1^st round despite a free agent deal and he remains in the NFL. Players in this category include: DL Hayden Harris and DL Paris Shand.

-        A low round NFL draft selection will usually drop a player a few rounds in the CFL draft because you are not likely to see them for 1-2 years. QB Kurtis Rouke’s 7^th round selection falls here.

-        A mid round draft pick will drop you to the 8^th round if you get drafted at all. WR Elic Ayomanor 4^th round selection likely means he will go undrafted unless someone throws a late round flier on him. 

So what do the Riders do?

Its really hard to predict round 1 for us. With no glaring needs, we can afford to draft pretty much any position. Logic would say we go defense as that is where our biggest needs are in terms of a top end pick. That said, the other thing we could do is go O-line. Its supposedly a very thin draft for top end OL. We have the opportunity to grab one of the few top end prospects. Don’t need one but stock piling Canadian OL is never going to hurt you.

I think O’Day is willing to take risk given our lack of immediate needs. So like last year, odds are good our top pick will be in an NFL camp to start the season. On the off chance Darien Newell falls to 4 he’d be the pick but assuming that doesn’t happen I see us taking one of DL Hayden Harris, OL Christopher Fortin or DB Jackson Finlay. 

In the second round, I would actually be pro “taking a QB”. We can afford to wait for a QB with the depth chart set but the future at QB is far from certain. Is there a chance Rourke or Elgersma never comes north? Yes. But I’d be willing to take that risk. 

I can’t see O’Day taking big risks in both the first 2 rounds. Likely one big swing and one safer pick likely to report to camp this year.

Based on his track record, my faith in O’Day is pretty high to get us another solid draft haul. And if he chooses to make one of those picks from the can, more power to him.