CFL Draft 2016 Team Preview: BC Lions

Picks: 6 picks, first selection is 3^rd Overall

2015 Draft Assessment: Down the road this draft might turn into a big success for the Lions but at this point it looks pretty bad. They went off the board and took DL Ese Mrabure-Ajufo who was a big disappointment in year one. Their second round pick was Brett Boyko who is still down in the NFL as is 4^th round pick Christian Covington. If this trio ever pans out for the Lions then 2015 will be seen as a huge year. For now all they have is an underperforming/barely performing 1^st rounder in Mrabure, Shaq Murray-Lawrence and special teamer Adrian Clarke to show.

Potential Pipeline: DL Christian Covington (Houston), OL Brett Boyko (Philadelphia)

Current Strengths: Gore and Iannuzzi have them covered at one WR spot (if Adekolu can ever take the next step forward they are even better off). Bo Lokombo is going to break out soon in a big way and they have Arakgi and Clarke behind him. David Menard (who they nabbed in the 4^th round 2 years ago) is becoming a very solid player and a steal of a pick. In theory the presence of Jabar Westerman and Ese Mrabure (both 1^st round picks) give them plenty of depth at DL. The hope is Mike Edem can regain the form of his rookie year and lock down the safety spot (which has been an ongoing issue for the Lions for years) they have depth with Eric Fraser there. Rolly Lumbala is one of those unheralded utility Canadians that any good teams needs.

Current Needs: The interior of their OL has been rather sub-par for a few years now. It got so bad they had to start an import at centre just to stabilize things. One would assume this is high on Buono’s list of things to address. The retirement of Austin Collie leaves them in need of a Canadian receiver if they have any intention of continuing to start 2 Cdn receivers. I also think that inspite of the signing of Edem, Buono will still be looking for an impact safety prospect.

Prediction: In each of the past 4 drafts, BC’s first pick has been a lineman and I expect that to continue. Most likely an O-lineman. I could see Michael Couture on their radar given his ability to play centre but they are unlikely to use the 3^rd overall pick on him. They will likely hope he’s still there when they pick at 12. That leaves them picking one of Charles Vaillancourt, Josiah St John or Dillon Guy at #3. That said, I wouldn’t completely rule out BC forgoing a lineman in favour of a DB like Arjen Colquhoun.