CFL Draft May 13, 2014 Lions sign entire draft class

[OV - 54:40]

Yeah - I'd agree Joe on proven, demonstrated football skills being far more important that testing #s or measureables; but the CFL personnel guys in charge of drafting may not always have that much faith in college ball play/stats if they consider CIS ball so inferior with weak competition.

Be interesting / we shall see with this draft: does the best testing LB like Briggs get picked before proven star D play-makers like Caron or Chin; or does the fastest / most "athletic" DB in Thibault (who is not a proven starter in college ball) get picked ahead of the likes of Lue, Pruenau or Jones - who are are all all-star DBs in college ball - for example?

And we'll see if Huff backs up his mouth by picking all proven players and no long-range, reach, iffy "project" types (last year he used a 4th round pick on Charlie Power who was hardly a proven college ball player - but more a project fullback/TE type ? - a part-time position at best in today's CFL - when he could have instead picked DT Mike Klassen - from his own backyard with the Dinos - a good CIS DT backed by good testing #s - and where the Stamps had real need - Klassen ended up drafted by the Als, and playing some for them at DT and looked good IMO; not sure Powers ever saw the field with the Stamps ???).

I think there is a big difference in who you select at the start of the draft and who you pick at the end. All your picks past the fourth round are pretty much long shots. If Huf were to pick a guy who had superior testing numbers but was unaccomplished on the field late in the draft, I don't think he would be a hypocrite. There aren't any proven great performers there. When you look at Klassen, you are looking at what he did after the draft and not before. Before he draft, he hadn't caught the eye of scouts based on his play to even earn an invite to the combine. He had to earn his way there through the regional combines.

We will see what Power turns into. He is raw, no doubt. He is also a local product, so the team may know more about him than most. He was sent back to school for the year and will be in training camp again with the Stamps. I'd be surprised to see him play much or at all this season. Likely he spends the season on the practice roster. The following season will be the time to take his shot.

Well - i have to disagree with your notion that past the 4th round picks are only long-shots or not worth much: Dave Stala, Matt Walter, Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, Patrick Nuefeld, Cauchy Maumba, Hasan Hazime, Chris Greaves, Pierre Luc-Labbe, Matt Black - are all some recent examples of 5th or 6th round CFL draft picks who have gone on to play/start in the CFL; and one thing they all have in common ? - they were all accomplished or star starters in college ball.

Klassen may have had to move up in the CFL draft rankings by going thru a regional combine, but at least he was a starting positional D player on a good CIS team; what exactly did Power do in college ball to rate being drafted over proven college ball players ? Yeah - we shall see what Power turns into with the Stamps - you figure an ultra part-time positon in the CFL is going to see him make a big impact? - we'll see if he ever plays a meaningful down for the Stamps; I know Klassen already has for the Als.

One thing that IMO i see out of CFL drafting often - is a lack of drafting finesse: teams will identify some long-range, iffy "project" type and use a valuable draft pick on the guy, while at the same time ignoring proven college ball positional players; when most likely no other CFL team would have barely heard of the guy or used a draft pick on him - so they could have drafted a proven player and just signed the "project" as a FA after. Was Huff in on the Stamps draft braintrust that saw them take Jon Kanaroski in the 6th round in 09? - the guy was an under-sized, not a starting receiver in CIS ball who retunred a few punts there - did the Stamps figure Kanaroski was going to really compete for a spot on the Stamps roster; or was he a relative of somebody in the organization?

I know the CFL draft (or any pro draft i guess) can often feature some weird, wacky or questionable picks; but the CFL seems to find a way to make some laughable or embarassing picks at times - that IMO sometimes demonstrates a lack of respect for the NI/Canadian talent pool. The Als once drafted a dead guy ?;; Joe Paopao when he was in charge of the Renegades used a pick to draft his son - a Div III QB ??? - c'mon man.

[Childress]

Kanaroski was a relative of someone in the organization. I didn't think that was a great pick either.

I do agree that Power could have been taken later. I won't dump all over the pick until we see how it plays out. The Stamps have made other surprising picks that worked out very well. Others go the way you expect they do.

I do think you under-rate the contribution a fullback can have on a team. Robe Cote was just awarded the President's trophy and is certainly an excellent player for the Stamps. He catches 10-20 balls/year, is a great blocker, and plays all special teams. He also never seems to get hurt. That is a valuable player. I think Rolly Lumbala fills a similar important role for the Lions.

[Childress]

CFL junkies, looking for more draft material? Check out my Mock Draft for the 2014 event. I've also included links to my sources, which you may find interesting...

http://www.cflhorsemen.ca/childresss-20 ... draft.html

29 days until the CFL Draft! Can't wait!

[David]

Dan, with all due respect, there is absolutely no way that Lions' brass are drafting WR Devon Bailey in the first round. Non-import receivers are a position of strength for BC (Gore, Haidara, Iannuzzi, Poblah, Adekolu, and Junior prospect Whitman Tomusiak).

Non-imports on the D-Line, O-Line, at safety, running back, and linebacker (in that order, IMO) are of far greater need right now.


DH

[TheLionKing]

I too would be shocked if the Lions draft another receiver.

[Childress]

Dan, with all due respect, there is absolutely no way that Lions' brass are drafting WR Devon Bailey in the first round. Non-import receivers are a position of strength for BC (Gore, Haidara, Iannuzzi, Poblah, Adekolu, and Junior prospect Whitman Tomusiak).

Non-imports on the D-Line, O-Line, at safety, running back, and linebacker (in that order, IMO) are of far greater need right now.


DH

Could the Lions go with three starting Canadians at receiver and just two imports? Baily could provide depth there. Wouldn't Adekolu and Tomusiak be long shots to even make the team?

That said, I agree that the Lions biggest need is on both lines. Maybe we could change it up with Ainsworth going to BC and Bailey to Toronto - though that would have an impact on their future picks.

[OV - 54:40]

Kanaroski was a relative of someone in the organization. I didn't think that was a great pick either.

I do agree that Power could have been taken later. I won't dump all over the pick until we see how it plays out. The Stamps have made other surprising picks that worked out very well. Others go the way you expect they do.

I do think you under-rate the contribution a fullback can have on a team. Robe Cote was just awarded the President's trophy and is certainly an excellent player for the Stamps. He catches 10-20 balls/year, is a great blocker, and plays all special teams. He also never seems to get hurt. That is a valuable player. I think Rolly Lumbala fills a similar important role for the Lions.

Kanaroski was really a relative of somebody in the organization ??? - not such a great pick, eh? - really? - more like pathetic, embarassing and laughable all rolled into one. Nepotism draft strategy eh? - i believe the Ticats once drafted a 2nd or 3rd string CIS QB cause he was a realtive of somebody in the organization.

The Stamps used a 5th round pick in 07 to take Henry Bekkering - a basketball player who had apparently kicked a football somewhere before ? - they could have drafted Andre Durie or Rob Bagg instead. How did Wally's 2011 pick of Chris Hodgson pan out ? "Athletic projects" eh ?

Maybe this CFL draft - in a supposedly weak draft class - will feature only accomplished football players drafted, and little or no reach, iffy or laughable picks. But I wouldn't count on it, The CFL draft is usually good for a couple of laughs. So little NI talent out there that the likes of Bagg, Durie, Jerome Messam or Rene Paredes can get over-looked so that some "athlete" "project" can get drafted over proven football players.

[WestCoastJoe]

http://www.cfl.ca/video/index/id/95381

Stampeders interview with Dylan Ainsworth.

6'4" 238. Explosive athleticism. Seems mature. Speaks well. Confident. Big frame. I expect he will play defensive end in the CFL. At some point in time. His frame could easily carry more weight. And he might not need that much.

STs for sure.

I would be happy if we got him, a bit later in the draft. Not likely that he will last long when the teams start picking however.
..........

Good move by the CFL showing these interviews. Very interesting.

[TheLionKing]

Adam Thibault

http://cfl.ca/video/index/id/95395/autostart/true

[Childress]

We've added some content to our draft coverage on CFLHorsemen.ca:

1) I wrote up an article looking at the new eligibility rules and their impact on the draft. With next to no NCAA players, the draft is significantly weaker. I breakdown some numbers and compare against the last three drafts.

http://www.cflhorsemen.ca/impact-of-new ... rules.html

2) Barry has compiled a draft prospect list consisting of all players who attending either a CFL regional or the main combine. He has all their testing information and links to video footage for most of them.

http://www.cflhorsemen.ca/2014-prospect-list.html

[WestCoastJoe]

Latest (and last?) ratings prior to the draft.

I would expect Foucault, Levertu and Smith to be gone when we pick #5.

I would not mind if we drafted Evan Gill at #5. DL

Better still if we could get Quinn Smith.

At #12, Andrew Lue or Antoine Pruneau would be a good fit for us, it seems to me. DBs

If Goossen is still there at #12, I expect we would take him. Or at #14, if he was still there. Probably gone by then however.

We may cater to OL needs with a 1st round pick once again and draft Goossen at #5, assuming he is still there.

Otherwise, why not take a flyer on LDTardif at #14?
............

Deep draft, it seems to me. Three home runs would be nice. Our NI roster has some threadbare spots. No throwaways, Please.

[David]

I love the behing-the-scenes interviews of these kids and kudos to the league for allowing us some insight here. But one thing that strikes me as odd is that Kelly, Wally, Bennie and team (and other clubs for that matter) don't ask these guys enough (any?) non-football questions. They're big on "what's your biggest attribute?," and "have you ever played special teams before?" even though they have a ton of game film on them. However, I would be asking them:

“Have you ever been to BC before?” That might elicit a reaction of “yea, my aunt lives there – I used to spend summers in the Okanagan, and I love it there” for example, OR…… “never been.”

“What do you know about it?” Again, they could say “it’s a great place” OR…… “not much, but I heard it’s real expensive.” That would be a bit of a red flag.

These are critical questions IMO. We've lost more than our fair share of Matt Carters and Matt Morencies or whomever, guys who get drafted by BC then promptly leave the PR because they're home sick or whatever. Just surprised they’re not asking these kids these kinds of lifestyle questions.


DH

[Shi Zi Mi]

I love the behing-the-scenes interviews of these kids and kudos to the league for allowing us some insight here. But one thing that strikes me as odd is that Kelly, Wally, Bennie and team (and other clubs for that matter) don't ask these guys enough (any?) non-football questions. They're big on "what's your biggest attribute?," and "have you ever played special teams before?" even though they have a ton of game film on them. However, I would be asking them:

“Have you ever been to BC before?” That might elicit a reaction of “yea, my aunt lives there – I used to spend summers in the Okanagan, and I love it there” for example, OR…… “never been.”

“What do you know about it?” Again, they could say “it’s a great place” OR…… “not much, but I heard it’s real expensive.” That would be a bit of a red flag.

These are critical questions IMO. We've lost more than our fair share of Matt Carters and Matt Morencies or whomever, guys who get drafted by BC then promptly leave the PR because they're home sick or whatever. Just surprised they’re not asking these kids these kinds of lifestyle questions.


DH

x2

Absolutely correct......and its why I see drafting players with ties to BC as so very important.

[Rammer]

I love the behing-the-scenes interviews of these kids and kudos to the league for allowing us some insight here. But one thing that strikes me as odd is that Kelly, Wally, Bennie and team (and other clubs for that matter) don't ask these guys enough (any?) non-football questions. They're big on "what's your biggest attribute?," and "have you ever played special teams before?" even though they have a ton of game film on them. However, I would be asking them:

“Have you ever been to BC before?” That might elicit a reaction of “yea, my aunt lives there – I used to spend summers in the Okanagan, and I love it there” for example, OR…… “never been.”

“What do you know about it?” Again, they could say “it’s a great place” OR…… “not much, but I heard it’s real expensive.” That would be a bit of a red flag.

These are critical questions IMO. We've lost more than our fair share of Matt Carters and Matt Morencies or whomever, guys who get drafted by BC then promptly leave the PR because they're home sick or whatever. Just surprised they’re not asking these kids these kinds of lifestyle questions.


DH

x2

Absolutely correct......and its why I see drafting players with ties to BC as so very important.

Lions haven't lost out to any real quality NI's due to location. Neither Carter, Morencie, or for that matter Kirk are concerns, just a little bit of extra depth. So I don't see why you would pass up on the likes of a Fantuz type receiver, due to what he calls home. Most teams are able to keep their starting NI's, the ST NI's are where you wait for them to become available after their initial contract if you see something in them.

[Shi Zi Mi]

The Lions traded up to take Jabar Westerman......now, it looks like they may lose him for nothing as he wants to play closer to home.