CFL Draft Thread for May 6, 2013 ... Picks & Comments

[Hambone]

Do we have a chance at Lokombo? Dunno ...

I find this draft a bit of a head shaker. Hunter Steward? A project? Still with some NFL possibilities. A redshirt? Gheeez ...

Haidara

Lokombo We might never see him in a Lions' uniform.

How about D Line? How about safety?

Some say this draft was thin on talent. The Lions, with their picks, might be showing some of that reading.
...........

Two futures picks?

I thought Wally said he was moving away from that thinking.

I don't like futures. If they are that good, they go to the NFL. If they underperform in their final year, then they would not be as highly rated anyway.

Maybe you are onto something there. I kinda thought the draft was more even in that there was little to discern between one player or the other in the final 30 picks. I guess it begs the question which is the bigger gamble? The player who will be an impact player but might not show for a couple of years if all? Or the player who is guaranteed to arrive but doesn't project to more than a depth or special teams player and will be very much in tough to latch on to a roster spot? Which becomes the wasted pick. The guy who was too good and went to the NFL or the guy who was never going to be good enough to make the team?

[WestCoastJoe]

Maybe you are onto something there. I kinda thought the draft was more even in that there was little to discern between one player or the other in the final 30 picks. I guess it begs the question which is the bigger gamble? The player who will be an impact player but might not show for a couple of years if all? Or the player who is guaranteed to arrive but doesn't project to more than a depth or special teams player and will be very much in tough to latch on to a roster spot? Which becomes the wasted pick. The guy who was too good and went to the NFL or the guy who was never going to be good enough to make the team?

Hopefully, the Lions have good reason to think we might actually get Lokombo. Otherwise it is just pie in the sky, wishful thinking, and a wasted pick. Everything I have heard so far would indicate that Lokombo will probably be in the NFL for a few years.

Matt McGarva, DB, 6' 192, from Surrey. At least this addresses a need.

Jesse Joseph, DL, was available with the Lokombo pick. Montreal took him.

Maybe the Lions feel that Doege can contribute this year, with some backup D Line play.

I have to say I am not overly impressed so far with how we have conducted this draft. I do like Haidara as a pick though.

Hunter Steward ?!?!*?! Nowhere near the top of the rankings list. Do the Lions know something, or is this just a wasted pick?

[Hambone]

Bo Lokombo is a futures gamble in the third round but that's what the third round is for. He's a local product who could play defensive end or linebacker in the CFL but he has big NFL dreams that would have to expire first.

Best comment: From Mike Beamish ‏@sixbeamers: "hopes and expects to be taken in 1st round by an NFL team in 2014."

Yeah. Him and about 300 other players have the same hopes and expectations.

Right now Lokombo is ranked #39 by CBS for 2014 OLB prospects. There were 20 OLB drafted this year and only 4 in the 1st round. Rankings a year in advance have to be taken with a huge grain of salt but it does indicate he has a long ways to go to get up into the radar of the 1st round. Just as he could have a great senior year so could any of the guys currently ranked ahead of him. And just as he could have a great year and climb up the rankings he could have an average year and drop in the rankings. Playing for a top ranked program such as Oregon won't likely hurt his cause.

[David]

Lokombo!

Risky pick but I like it. The overall level and depth of NI talent is improving quickly every year. That the CFL added a round this year when Ottawa is also taking 4 names off the board. What amounts to a bonus pick with the 7th rounder and the overall depth throughout I think it's a good place to jump in on the consensus best draft eligible. There's no way Lokombo would make it around to their next pick at 33. It's probably an exercise in hair splitting and personal preferences of the scouts with the next couple of dozen players. The way I look at it with so very little difference between the other players the Lions could've drafted at 21 odds are good they will still get 3 or 4 of their next 10 highest ranked players with their remaining picks. If you look at your board and see little to no difference between your 20th and 50th ranked players then why not gamble on the likes of consensus #1 Lokombo at 21. You do that and still get players you really like the rest of the way.

This pick in the 3rd round made more sense than Danny Watkins in the 1st round.


DH

[WestCoastJoe]

Two futures LOL

Let's go to the Casino and gamble.

Will they look as good next year? If they look that good, the NFL will be all over them.

If they don't look that good, the team is not taking advantage of the draft.

We've been down this road before, a few times. Wally expressed a change in philosophy, in that he wanted to move away from futures. Confused thinking in the draft room? Failed plans to trade up for Gaydosh threw us off? "Negotiating" with Hardaway and Fabien threw us off?

Steward was #17 on Forde's top 50. McGarva was not on the list at all.

Any coaches' kids we can draft in the final rounds?

[WestCoastJoe]

Matthew Albright, OL. Addresses a need. 6’5, 295 lbs - Saint Mary’s

Matt Walker, DB, UBC.

There had been speculation that the Lions might take him. At least this addresses a need. Can he play? We will see.

[Hambone]

We've been down this road before, a few times. Wally expressed a change in philosophy, in that he wanted to move away from futures. Confused thinking in the draft room? Failed plans to trade up for Gaydosh threw us off? "Negotiating" with Hardaway and Fabien threw us off?

Sometimes I think the way drafts unfold takes teams in a different path than what they anticipated when it started. You can think you want to move away from futures but if other teams are taking the non-futures guys you have on your eyes on before your slot you find yourself going to a futures pick or different positions. Most of us have been involved in Stanley Cup playoff pools and know how that goes. We go in targeting certain teams (i.e. Chicago, Pittsburgh this year) then wind up with a lower draft position and see the players we really want from those teams go off the board before our turn. So we wind up laoding up with players off different teams instead. Wasn't our plan going in but it was the direction we had to go once the draft unfolded.

As for plans to trade up for Gaydosh I think that was just an unrealistic pipedream for some Lionbackers. Hamilton had the top pick. Gaydosh was the top ranked player outside of Lokombo and consensus to go #1 overall because of the perceived NFL risk re: Lokombo. To further douse the fire under that dream Gaydosh absolutely fit Hamilton's most pressing need. The only way they consider trading out of that spot is if a team flat out made them an offer too good to refuse. It would've taken BC a lot more than the suggested Fabien (not a pressing Hamilton need) and #6 to sweet talk Austin out of #1. Certainly they would know how much difficulty BC is having getting him signed and would expect it to be just as difficult for Hamilton to get him under contract if not more so.

[Hambone]

Matthew Albright, OL. Addresses a need. 6’5, 295 lbs - Saint Mary’s

Matt Walker, DB, UBC.

There had been speculation that the Lions might take him. At least this addresses a need. Can he play? We will see.

Seems to me unless a player can play and make the team he doesn't address a need.............does he?

[Hambone]

Matthew Albright, OL. Addresses a need. 6’5, 295 lbs - Saint Mary’s

Matt Walker, DB, UBC.

There had been speculation that the Lions might take him. At least this addresses a need. Can he play? We will see.

Wanna bet for the 7th rounder?

48. Justin Chapdelaine (WR, Queen's): made a smooth transition from QB to receiver in 2011; son of BC offensive coordinator Jacques so his high football IQ is no surprise

[Hambone]

Matthew Albright, OL. Addresses a need. 6’5, 295 lbs - Saint Mary’s .

From Forde:
31. Matthew Albright (OG, Saint Mary's): good size and athleticism make this 6'5", 290 lbs. guard an intriguing prospect in an "uncertain" O-Line class

[Hambone]

Last but not least:

43. Cameron Thorn (OL/DL, Guelph): CIS defensive tackle didn't look out of place as he worked out exclusively at O-Line at the CFL Combine


Depth in 2 spots.............maybe!

[Hambone]

Despite all the hand-wringing:

6 - Steward, Hunter OL Liberty BC Lions
12 - Haidara, Seydou Junior WR Laval BC Lions via EDM
21 - Lokombo, Bo LB Oregon BC Lions via EDM
33 - McGarva, Matt DB Windsor BC Lions
42 - Albright, Matthew OL Saint Mary's BC Lions
50 - Walker, Matt DB UBC BC Lions
58 - Thorn, Cameron DL Guelph BC Lions

Still wound up with 2 OL; 2 DB, 1 WR, 1 LB and a DL who has been also been working as an OL. DL would seem to be the need missed but you can't always address all needs in the same draft.

[TheLionKing]

Good to see the Lions draft a local kid from UBC

[WestCoastJoe]

Unimpressed.

MIght as well draft 7 O Linemen. Give Dorazio lots of guys with girth for his Mad Scientist lab experiements. Maybe find a good one in there somewhere. Maybe develop one. LOL

Did we address the need for D Line? Ummm ... Nope. Thorn on YouTube works out as an O Lineman.

Could have taken the interesting D Lineman Elie Ngoyi instead of Matt Walker in round 6.

Futures
.........

I like Haidara.

We threw some picks at DBs. Had to do that.

Gave Dorazio a bunch of beef.
.............

Overall not that impressed with how we conducted this draft. And of course it is not easy. Should drop the futures aspect altogether from the CFL draft IMO.

[TheLionKing]

Matthew Albright, OL. Addresses a need. 6’5, 295 lbs - Saint Mary’s

Matt Walker, DB, UBC.

There had been speculation that the Lions might take him. At least this addresses a need. Can he play? We will see.

Wanna bet for the 7th rounder?

48. Justin Chapdelaine (WR, Queen's): made a smooth transition from QB to receiver in 2011; son of BC offensive coordinator Jacques so his high football IQ is no surprise

Undrafted