CFL Draft May 13, 2014 Lions sign entire draft class

[WestCoastJoe]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_CFL_Draft

2014 CFL Draft

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 2014 CFL Draft will take place in the Spring of 2014. 63 players will be chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA.[1]

The Ottawa RedBlacks were scheduled to pick first in each round of the 2013 CFL Draft, and were supposed to have two bonus picks at the end of the draft.[2] Due to stadium delays, Ottawa will join the Canadian Football League in 2014, and those stipulations will be applied to this year's draft instead.[3][4] After the CFL announced that drafts would be expanding to seven rounds, it was stated that this draft would have 63 selections, implying that Ottawa would no longer receive the two bonus picks at the end of the draft.[1]

Beginning with the 2014 draft, non-import CIS players will be eligible to be selected in the draft three years after completing their first season of eligibility. This eliminates any rookies who sat out or redshirted for their first playing year and would be eligible to return to university. Prior to this change, players were eligible to be selected after their fourth year of post-secondary education. Additionally, for non-import players playing in the NCAA or NAIA, they are now eligible to be selected after completing their senior year. This change eliminates the possibility of NCAA or NAIA students returning to college after being drafted.[5]

[WestCoastJoe]

Source: CFL Scouting Bureau rankings.[6]

1

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

Offensive lineman

McGill

2

Devon Bailey

Wide receiver

St. Francis Xavier

3

David Foucault

Offensive lineman

Montreal

4

Pierre Lavertu

Offensive lineman

Laval

5

Adam Thibault

Defensive back

Laval

6

Beau Landry

Linebacker

Western

7

Max Caron

Linebacker

Concordia

8

Andrew Lue

Defensive back

Queen's

9

Sam Sabourin

Linebacker

Queen's

10

Derek Wiggan

Defensive lineman

Queen's

11

Kris Bastien

Wide Receiver

Concordia

12

Casey Chin

Linebacker

Simon Fraser

13

Kit Hillis

Wide Receiver

Saskatchewan


14

Josh Burns

Defensive back

Windsor


15

Matthias Goossen

Offensive lineman

[WestCoastJoe]

As it appears now, we have picks 5, 12, 14, 23, 27, 32, 41, 50 and 59. Two extras.

[TheLionKing]

9 out of the top 10 are from the Ontario and Quebec conferences

[notahomer]

Wonder why the Redblacks lost those extra 2 picks? Maybe they can do one of those training camp docs, ala Hard Knocks. I thought it would be cool seeing the Lions training camp done but in this particular case, I'd be more upto seeing the opening training camp of the expansion team.

I like the fact we seem to have a lot of picks. Maybe its my usual faulty memory but we seem to get an extra pick/two due to sharp horsetrading by Buono every year.......

[DanoT]

Source: CFL Scouting Bureau rankings.[6]

1

Laurent Duvernay-Tardif

Offensive lineman

McGill

2

Devon Bailey

Wide receiver

St. Francis Xavier

3

David Foucault

Offensive lineman

Montreal

4

Pierre Lavertu

Offensive lineman

Laval

5

Adam Thibault

Defensive back

Laval

6

Beau Landry

Linebacker

Western

7

Max Caron

Linebacker

Concordia

8

Andrew Lue

Defensive back

Queen's

9

Sam Sabourin

Linebacker

Queen's

10

Derek Wiggan

Defensive lineman

Queen's

11

Kris Bastien

Wide Receiver

Concordia

12

Casey Chin

Linebacker

Simon Fraser

13

Kit Hillis

Wide Receiver

Saskatchewan


14

Josh Burns

Defensive back

Windsor


15

Matthias Goossen

Offensive lineman

The above ranking lists 3 0 lineman and 1 DB in the first 5 rankings, so with a number 5 pick for BC it would seem that there is a very good chance of getting a O lineman or DB and thus address some important needs for BC.

[WestCoastJoe]

Not much available yet on this year's draft ...

I like the sounds of Adam Thibault.

http://www.cfl.ca/article/dunk-top-10-p ... 2014-draft

Dunk: Top 10 Prospects to watch for in 2014 Draft

Posted: May 17, 2013 11:00 AM

Justin Dunk
CFL.ca

A new draft cycle has begun as personnel men around the Canadian Football League have already started the process of scouting for the 2014 CFL pick fest.

Pro talent evaluators were in London, ON. from May 6-11 for the 11th annual East West Bowl, where, for the first time, they got an up close look at some of the top CIS prospects in the 2014 class.

After speaking to various scouts around the country, a fresh top 10 list of CIS players to watch during the 2013 university football season has been compiled by yours truly, with the 2014 draft in mind.

Just on the outside:

Pascal Lochard – 6’0, 215 lbs – Laval - RB

Kristopher Bastein – 6’2, 205 lbs – Concordia - REC

Evan Gill – 6’2, 281 lbs – Manitoba – DL

Top 10

10) Beau Landry – 5’11, 205 lbs – Western – LB

Scouts take: “He has instincts, is a good hitter, you can tell he likes to hit and has a nose for the ball. He didn’t run that well in the 40, but if he has a good year he’ll be a guy that teams are looking at because of his body type and special teams potential.”

“He can do a number of different things for you. He’s kind of had a similar career path as Yannick Carter. He’s dynamic, can cover as well as play in the box. He’s a pretty physical kid, good athletic ability, explosive and has good ball skills. He’s one of those guys that has good instincts about him out there.”

9) Matt Uren – 5’10, 192 Ibs – Western – REC

Scouts take: “Very quick, he’s just undersized and doesn’t look like your prototypical CFL receiver. He’s a very productive football player. Needs to continue to build on what he did last year – just be the best football player on the field. He was like that at points last year where he was almost unstoppable. At some point it’s just about the prospect being so good and CFL teams will figure out what to do with him. Western does all kinds of different things to get him the ball.”

“He’s got excellent hands and very good route running ability. His routes are very good, he knows how to get open, he can separate and he’s got that short area type quickness to him. His lower body is very impressive, built like a running back. He’s very good after the catch and after contact he can get extra yards. He’s a tough kid and he’ll take a huge hit and keep his balance and keep going. He’s going to have to work against his naysayers due to his height. You’re more impressed watching him live.”

8) Dylan Ainsworth – 6’3, 232 Ibs – Western – DL

Scouts take: “He’s just so athletic. He’s lighter than Ben D’Aguilar, but that’s not a bad comparison. Ainsworth is a better football player, but D’Aguilar might be a better all around athlete and D’Aguilar was drafted in the second round.
His testing numbers were so good. He’s just such a good athlete physically.”

“Physical and testing specimen. Question is can he rush the passer at the CFL level? He’s not as physically strong and impressive looking as D’Aguilar, but he’s got to go that same route and show CFL teams that if you draft him he can rush the passer. Needs to get bigger without losing any athleticism.”

“He’s got to add a little more weight to him, but he’s made a lot of strides in the last year. He’s got great athletic ability, runs well and is explosive. He’s still learning, but he has a pass rush repertoire. He’s got the motor and can bend the edge, pretty flexible kid. He pursues the quarterback well. Physically the kid is pretty gifted looking. He’s got length to him, is well built and has the frame to continue to add more weight. There was always something you liked about him over the years, he was a little small and undersized, but it seems this off-season the light has kind of come on. It looks like he’s really been working in the gym.”

7) Aaron Picton – 6’2, 284 Ibs - Regina – OL

Scouts take: “Picton’s pretty interesting. He was playing right tackle last season for Regina and he jumped out as a kid that has some athleticism and moves well. He’s on the upswing for sure. I think he’ll start to fill out a little bit. Another year added I think he should be that much more prepared for the CFL.”

“He’s played a lot. He was the best offensive lineman on the West team and projects as a guard in the CFL.”

6) Andrew Lue – 6’1, 211 Ibs - Queen’s – DB

Scouts take: “Long, athletic kid. He’s tough and looks like a CFL free safety - physically impressive looking. He looks like what you would want a CFL free safety to look like. He’s long, athletic and he’s a pretty tough kid. He’s a corner so that’s the problem, does it translate? He doesn’t play the position in the CIS that CFL teams are going to want him to play.”

“He has to get a little bit faster I think to play corner, but he’s got the other numbers that should make him get there with some time. He’s a pretty rocked up kid that looks every bit the part. His coverage ability is pretty good and I think he could be a field corner type guy. He disrupts people well. He uses his size to his advantage. He knows what his strengths are and plays to them. He’s got that frame that one day, you’d have to see it first, but he could move down towards the box. He’s already 211 pounds and he has the frame to be whatever he really wants, the kid is very well built. There will be a place for him to play at our level for sure.”

5) Devon Bailey – 6’3, 190 Ibs – St. Francis Xavier – REC

Scouts take: “Great frame, great body control for a kid his size and has enough speed. He probably needs to work on his quickness a bit, but he caught everything all week. He knows how to get open and high points the ball. He’s got a little bit of work that he needs to do running routes, but he looks like Akeem Foster did when he was at the East West Bowl. He’s going to be at the top of the draft board for receivers.”

“Kind of an Akeem Foster clone, but probably runs and moves a little bit better at the same stage. He’s a long kid. He’s got the frame for growth potential and he’s a natural hand catcher. He’s kind of got that basketball skill set to him and can play above the rim. He moves well, runs well and runs good routes for a kid his size. He still has to develop, but he’s pretty decent in and out of his brakes for how long he is. He’s got some growth in his game that needs to happen still, but he’s got all the physical tools to do that.”

“He’s got the size to be a really good one. He needs to continue to get a little more physical at times and be a little more consistent catching the ball. At his size, once he learns to start playing a little more angry, which he shows flashes of, he’ll be that much more dominant. I think he’s got every single tool you can imagine. He is big and long. He’s ahead of where Akeem Foster was at this stage of their careers. He’s got a little more athletic ability and speed than Akeem.”

4) Pierre Lavertu – 6’1, 298 Ibs – Laval – OL

Scouts take: “He plays with a mean streak. He’s tough and technically is a sound football player. Lavertu projects as a centre.”

“He looks like he’s ready.”

3) Adam Thibault - 5’11, 197 Ibs - Laval – DB

Scouts take: “Came out of nowhere. Totally unknown going into this year, but his physical presence, testing numbers and play at East West got him noticed. It will be very interesting to see how it goes with him during the 2013 season actually getting to play at Laval. He played receiver for three years and they just moved him over to defensive back during spring camp.”

“Such an impressive physical specimen that he got a lot of attention. You run that fast (4.49 in the 40) and with such little experience as a defensive back he didn’t look entirely out of place, which is intriguing. You want him to see him play and get some game film on him.”

“For a kid I’ve only seen as a receiver, he’s made some pretty good strides as a free safety. He’s an extremely athletic kid, is explosive, can run, has great range back there and he’s got a high ceiling. He doesn’t fully grasp everything as a defensive back yet, so when those things start to come along the sky is the limit with him. He wasn’t shy of contact at all, he strikes people and has good ball skills.”

“Very fast and has the body type to be a free safety. He used his speed well for playing free safety, that’s what you like to see. He showed he has the ability to cover. Every CFL team wouldn’t mind if they had a decently sized free safety who had 4.4 speed.”

2) David Foucault – 6’4, 313 Ibs – Montreal - OL

Scouts take: “He’s humongous, just a gigantic man and on sheer size he can play in the CFL.”

“He is ginormous. He’s a former defensive lineman and is still learning how to play offensive line - has a very high ceiling. His technique is a bit raw. The kid is huge, strong and has a big old prototypical guard type look to him. He’s as wide as he is tall. Very strong and has a good anchor to him. He’s pretty athletic, moves well and bends and sits well in his stance.”

1) Laurent Duvernay-Tardif – 6’5, 280 Ibs - McGill – OL

Scouts take: “Physically he is very impressive and had a very good showing at East West. He looks like a CFL offensive linemen right now. He plays tackle in the CIS, I don’t know if he can in the CFL, but he at least has a background playing the tackle position.”

“Big tackle, good feet, athletic, got better as the week progressed. He stood out amongst all of the offensive linemen. He definitely has all the intangibles. He’d definitely have to play inside in the CFL, but you could see him when he was working through the drills that he has the ability to do that. We’ll see how he develops during the year. He’s going to be in the conversation for the number one overall selection, I think he’s a first round pick for sure. I would put him somewhere between a Ben Heenan and a Matt Sewell, kind of like a hybrid between those two because he’s big enough. He resembles a high offensive line pick.”

“Really polished and technically he’s very sound. He has very good knee bend and is an athletic kid. He has good posture in his stance and when he’s actually playing. He’s got that straight back to him. Sits really well in his stance, punches and recovers well if he gets off balance. He has very, very good balance. He’s physical and finishes guys. I think he’s a guard in the CFL. He’s a little different, but some of his mechanics are a little similar to Brendon LaBatte. He might even be further along than Ben Heenan was at this point. Incredibly athletic and he’s got all the tools to work with.”

[WestCoastJoe]

3) Adam Thibault - 5’11, 197 Ibs - Laval – DB

Scouts take: “Came out of nowhere. Totally unknown going into this year, but his physical presence, testing numbers and play at East West got him noticed. It will be very interesting to see how it goes with him during the 2013 season actually getting to play at Laval. He played receiver for three years and they just moved him over to defensive back during spring camp.”

“Such an impressive physical specimen that he got a lot of attention. You run that fast (4.49 in the 40) and with such little experience as a defensive back he didn’t look entirely out of place, which is intriguing. You want him to see him play and get some game film on him.”

“For a kid I’ve only seen as a receiver, he’s made some pretty good strides as a free safety. He’s an extremely athletic kid, is explosive, can run, has great range back there and he’s got a high ceiling. He doesn’t fully grasp everything as a defensive back yet, so when those things start to come along the sky is the limit with him. He wasn’t shy of contact at all, he strikes people and has good ball skills.”

“Very fast and has the body type to be a free safety. He used his speed well for playing free safety, that’s what you like to see. He showed he has the ability to cover. Every CFL team wouldn’t mind if they had a decently sized free safety who had 4.4 speed.”

Our needs?

Safety. Depending on how highly the Lions rate Matt McGarva and Keynan Parker.

D Line. Big need. We only have Jabar Westerman.

O LIne. Always searching. Many failures to draft and develop well with this NI unit.

LB. The cupboard is bare of NI talent.

[OV - 54:40]

WCJ - nice job; and interest in the CFL draft has grown over the years; it should pick-up by CFL Combine time and we can re-visit this thread.

Interesting draft year with the changes to CFL draft eligibility; maybe not a lot good NCAA ball Canucks up in this draft, but probably lots of good CIS talent, with 3rd year guys now eligible (?).

As far as top prospects - the CFL scouting lists provides some names: maybe 3 blue chippers on the O-Line in Duvernay-Tardif (going to the US Shrine game and apparently already drawn some NFL interest); Laval's all-CIS C Pierre Lavertu; AND - Simon Fraser's Mathias Goosen (3 time conference all-star there which is quite impressive - if the Lions could draft him and get Hunter Steward to show-up too, that would be 2 very promising young OTs).

You named LB as an area for the Lions to address and IMO there are a few good ones there: Sam Sabourin (Queens), Mac Caron (Concordia - and a former CIS D player of the year ); and another SFU guy in Casey Chin (tackling machine in US college ball - 3 straight years led the conference in tackles - again, quite impressive).

And I'll add a name to go along with Thibault as a safety prospect - Montreal Carabins Antoine Pruneau - been a CIS all-star at D-half, converted to OLB last season and made all-star teams again, and maybe a CFL safety candidate (Als Edem sure was impressive as a rookie S). Queens' big all-star corner Andrew Lue might get converted to S for the CFL too ?

Some pretty decent CIS receivers up this draft i think - aside from the guys mentioned in those reports, I'd add Alexander Fox (Bishops) - leading CIS receiver - on the smallish side, but quick and shifty with good hands (sort of a Dressler type in CIS ball).

Hope to follow this topic more closer to draft day, and thanks for your reports/input.

[WestCoastJoe]

WCJ - nice job; and interest in the CFL draft has grown over the years; it should pick-up by CFL Combine time and we can re-visit this thread.

Interesting draft year with the changes to CFL draft eligibility; maybe not a lot good NCAA ball Canucks up in this draft, but probably lots of good CIS talent, with 3rd year guys now eligible (?).

As far as top prospects - the CFL scouting lists provides some names: maybe 3 blue chippers on the O-Line in Duvernay-Tardif (going to the US Shrine game and apparently already drawn some NFL interest); Laval's all-CIS C Pierre Lavertu; AND - Simon Fraser's Mathias Goosen (3 time conference all-star there which is quite impressive - if the Lions could draft him and get Hunter Steward to show-up too, that would be 2 very promising young OTs).

You named LB as an area for the Lions to address and IMO there are a few good ones there: Sam Sabourin (Queens), Mac Caron (Concordia - and a former CIS D player of the year ); and another SFU guy in Casey Chin (tackling machine in US college ball - 3 straight years led the conference in tackles - again, quite impressive).

And I'll add a name to go along with Thibault as a safety prospect - Montreal Carabins Antoine Pruneau - been a CIS all-star at D-half, converted to OLB last season and made all-star teams again, and maybe a CFL safety candidate (Als Edem sure was impressive as a rookie S). Queens' big all-star corner Andrew Lue might get converted to S for the CFL too ?

Some pretty decent CIS receivers up this draft i think - aside from the guys mentioned in those reports, I'd add Alexander Fox (Bishops) - leading CIS receiver - on the smallish side, but quick and shifty with good hands (sort of a Dressler type in CIS ball).

Hope to follow this topic more closer to draft day, and thanks for your reports/input.

I expect you will be following the RedBlacks closely, OV. Good luck to them, and welcome back to the CFL, Ottawa.

[B.C.FAN]

The league has published its winter ranking of 2014 draft prospects:

1 (1)
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif OL McGill
2 (4)
Pierre Lavertu OL Laval
3 (3)
David Foucault OL Montreal
4 (2)
Devon Bailey WR St. Francis Xavier
5 (15)
Matthias Goosen OL Simon Fraser
6 (--)
Evan Gill DL Manitoba
7 (6)
Beau Landry LB Western
8 (8)
Andrew Lue DB Queen's
9 (--)
Anthony Coombs RB Manitoba
10 (7)
Max Caron LB Concordia
11 (12)
Casey Chin LB Simon Fraser
12 (9)
Sam Sabourin LB Queen's
13 (5)
Adam Thibault DB Laval
14 (10)
Derek Wiggan DL Queen's
15 (--)
Dylan Ainsworth DL Western

The rankings are shuffled a bit but four of the top five prospects are offensive linemen.

[WestCoastJoe]

The league has published its winter ranking of 2014 draft prospects:

1 (1)
Laurent Duvernay-Tardif OL McGill
2 (4)
Pierre Lavertu OL Laval
3 (3)
David Foucault OL Montreal
4 (2)
Devon Bailey WR St. Francis Xavier
5 (15)
Matthias Goosen OL Simon Fraser
6 (--)
Evan Gill DL Manitoba
7 (6)
Beau Landry LB Western
8 (8)
Andrew Lue DB Queen's
9 (--)
Anthony Coombs RB Manitoba
10 (7)
Max Caron LB Concordia
11 (12)
Casey Chin LB Simon Fraser
12 (9)
Sam Sabourin LB Queen's
13 (5)
Adam Thibault DB Laval
14 (10)
Derek Wiggan DL Queen's
15 (--)
Dylan Ainsworth DL Western

The rankings are shuffled a bit but four of the top five prospects are offensive linemen.

What the Lions will do in the draft is a mystery. But it looks as if there will be guys available who can fill depth needs.

DB/Safety, D Line, LB, and even another "project" or two for Dan Dorazio.

As I see it, a CFL team should have O Line as the top priority for the Non Import roster. This is a must. If you can draft and develop in this area you will have solid building blocks for your team. Montreal, Regina and Calgary show the way. IMO we have been behind the standard of how this can be done. We have spent the draft choices. But from our selections, coaching and development, we have very, very often lost the way, with little to show for our efforts over the years. IMO ...

I would suggest that we also have not been determined enough in building our NI D Line roster.

Nor our NI LB corps.

Nor our NI DB/Safety group.

Obviously we have had success overall with the Lions since Wally came over from Calgary. But we have gotten by with some threadbare spots in our NI roster, it seems to me.

And I think we have seen that the level of competition at the top of the league has been rising dramatically. Better coaching and management. It seems to me we will have to improve our Non Import personnel work to be competitive as time moves on.
..............

Import personnel

Non Import personnel

Coaching

I would suggest that over the years Wally has had some advantages with the imports. Shivers and O'Billovich have been as good as it gets in bringing in the talent, it seems to me.

Non Imports. Wally has also benefitted from excellent NI personnel. Not necessarily superior to other teams, but competitive. With many stars such as Brent Johnson, Paris Jackson, Shawn Gore, Ricky Foley, Kelly Bates, Angus Reid. A team only needs 7 NI starters, not too hard a task to fill.

Coaching. I would suggest that for many years, Wally enjoyed an advantage in this area. Excellent Xs and Os work provided by the likes of John Hufnagel, George Cortez, Dave Ritchie, Rich Stubler, Jacques Chapdelaine much of the time, et cetera. But it seems to me that advantage is gone. The level of competition has risen dramatically. The field has evened in this regard, and may now even favour a few of the other teams.

IMO ...

[WestCoastJoe]

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=441175

TORONTO -- McGill offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is again the top-ranked prospect for the 2014 CFL Canadian draft.

Duvernay-Tardif topped the CFL Scouting Bureau's top-15 list Tuesday. He was also the top-ranked prospect in the last rankings released in September.

Laval offensive lineman Pierre Lavertu moved up to second from No. 4 in September. Montreal offensive lineman David Foucault remained at No. 3, followed by Matthias Goossen, an offensive lineman from Simon Fraser who dropped from the No. 2 spot.

Manitoba defensive lineman Evan Gill is at No. 6 after being unranked in September.

Hunger building for CFL news.

Free agency

Combine

Draft

Coaches

Tryout Camps

[WestCoastJoe]

http://www.bclions.com/page/team_tryouts

2014 Free Agent Camps

BC Lions free agent camps will be held in a number of American cities in March and April. A tentative schedule for free agent camps will be posted when locations have been booked.

Camps are run by members of the club's scouting staff as well as select position coaches.

Testing at all camps includes: 40-Yard timing, pro agility shuttle, basic football drills and 1-on-1's.

Important: Any player ultimately invited to BC Lions training camp must have a valid US passport in order to travel across the border into Canada and return to the United States. In the event you are invited to training camp, please ensure that you can obtain a passport before May 15, 2014.

If you would like to send in highlight film, you can forward it to the address below:

Neil McEvoy, Player Personnel Coordinator
BC Lions Football Club
10605 City Parkway
Surrey, BC V3T 4C8
(Label your package as Educational Materials)

[Rammer]

http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/story/?id=441175

TORONTO -- McGill offensive lineman Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is again the top-ranked prospect for the 2014 CFL Canadian draft.

Duvernay-Tardif topped the CFL Scouting Bureau's top-15 list Tuesday. He was also the top-ranked prospect in the last rankings released in September.

Laval offensive lineman Pierre Lavertu moved up to second from No. 4 in September. Montreal offensive lineman David Foucault remained at No. 3, followed by Matthias Goossen, an offensive lineman from Simon Fraser who dropped from the No. 2 spot.

Manitoba defensive lineman Evan Gill is at No. 6 after being unranked in September.

Hunger building for CFL news.

Free agency

Combine

Draft

Coaches

Tryout Camps

Going from unranked to No 6 overall gives you a good indication on how difficult it is to assess these players, at least until the combine which gives them all an equal measuring stick. I also wonder if the rankings reflect more OL in the top 10 due to the CFL needs for player position vs player athleticism. If you are ranking the players, I would suspect that you are going to be closer to the selection process if you topend load your rankings with OL and mix in the odd DL player. Recievers are the true measure of ranking IMO, they are the easiest of all positions to assess from game tape.