Monday Morning Sentimonies: Rookie Camp

Football starts this week!!!!

Rookie camp opens on Wednesday and while odds are that most of those players will not actually make it onto the Mosaic turf, it’s still exciting. It’s a new Rider season and in the words of Michael Scott “No question about it. I am ready to get hurt again.” 

So lets take a look at some of the names to keep an eye on as rookie camp opens:

QB – Really the only thing to watch here is if Jack Coan can take another step forward or if Michael Hiers can overtake him. Baring something unexpected our QB depth chart is set and Coan and Hiers are competing for a practice roster spot. O’Day has always been high on Coan so I will be watching to see how big of a step he can take forward in year 2.

RB - Another veteran group that will be hard for a newcomer to crack. Ouelette will be the starter. Hudon the primary backup. Laborn has CFL experience. That leaves Trent Pennix and Mario Anderson needing to make a big impression to make the roster. Realistically I think Anderson has the better chance but dammit if I don’t want to see what a man of Pennix’s size can do. He’s 6’2, 234. Mostly I would like the opportunity to brag about the size of our Pennix.

OL – We brought in a ton of American OL. With Hardrick and Tate penciled in as starters, Brammer as dept and a chance Reid returns it may all be for nothing. But as last year proved, you can never have too many OL.  From a size perspective the 6’8 315 mountain of a man that is Julius Buelow stands out though his college experience is mostly at guard. Jamir Ross-Johnson was a free agent signing of the Packers and has played two seasons in the UFL so he is the most experienced guy.

DL – D-end is the place to watch here. Other than maybe Saad, I don’t see a newcomer cracking the tackle position with Rose, Micah, Dabire and Sanders. We do need depth at end though. I think there is more to Justin Jefferson than just the same name as one of the biggest stars in the NFL. I also am interested to see what Jordan Smith can do as a former 4^th round NFL pick.

LB – While I assume some of our new DB recruits will end up auditioning as cover LB, we only really have one true rookie LB at this point, Braxton Hill and even he spent time on the practice roster last season.

DB – If I am looking to make this team I think CB is one of the best chances. Like most spots, our starters are set but we need depth. Eddie Heckard is a guy I will be watching here. Solid college career that ended at BYU. He got an invite to Broncos mini-camp in 2024. At 5’10 he does not have the height the NFL wants but his skillset could translate well to the CFL game.

Special Teams – The surprise retirement of Adam Kosak leaves us with a riveting punter competition in camp. I mean I’m sure probably anything you can imagine is more riveting than two foreigners kicking a ball really high but its an important battle nonetheless. After 2 seasons of Korsak’s fantastic directional punting I am just hoping we don’t regress back to booming them straight down the middle and cheering punt singles.  

Assessing the 2025 Draft Class

It must be getting close to the CFL season if you start seeing me work more than one day a week. The CFL Global and Canadian draft went down Tuesday.

While I wholeheartedly support the global initiative, I’d be lying if I said I knew anything about the global draft. Past drafts have brought us solid players like Baldonado and Korsak so our 2025 picks may turn into to something of value down the road. But trying to hype and analyze the results of a draft that is half punters is like trying to hype economic policy discussions on public radio.

So let’s focus on the Canadian draft…

O’Day has been fairly successful as a GM when it comes to the draft and I think 2025 is a continuation of that. When in doubt focus on building the trenches. Take some educated risks. Add some late round guys with potential. I think he ticked all the boxes. We won’t know the full value of this draft class for a couple years (Emilus seemed like an odd pick at the time but certainly panned out well. Mattland Riley seemed like a safe pick and ended up being a waste) but at this point I like what O’Day has done.

Let’s take a closer look at the picks.

Round 1 – 4^th Overall, DL Ali Saad

I love our current D Tackles but they are both the wrong side of 30. We need to start planning for the future here. Other than my inherent trust of a football program from Bowling Green using orange as their primary colours, there is lots love about Saad. Big, strong presence in the middle. Pairing him with Dabire could allow a ratio switch down the road. We lack impact Canadians on D so this was a logical place to focus in round 1.

Saad has been invited to mini-camp with San Francisco but odds are good he will be in training camp when it opens.

Round 2 – 13^th Overall, OL Erik Andersen

Picking OL early is never a bad strategy. In theory we should have enough depth on our existing roster but just look at how far down the depth chart we got last season due to injury. You can never have too much OL depth. Andersen played tackle in university. While he likely moves to guard in the CFL he at least as the experience to play tackle in a pinch. He’s strong the in the run game. 

Andersen has been invited to mini-camp with the Giants but, like Saad, odds are good he will be in training camp when it opens. With Kyle Hergel yet to shake loose from the NFL, I think it was important to continue to add OL depth.

Round 3 – 25^th Overall – QB Kurtis Rourke

O’Day stepped up a took a big swing here and I love it. Rourke was drafted in the 7^th round by the 49ers so we likely have to wait a year or 2 minimum on him and there is risk he never comes north. But when you have the chance to add a starting QB with a 3^rd round pick I think its well worth the risk, especially for a team with uncertainty at QB beyond this season. Now is the perfect time to take a risk like this because we have no glaring needs. Even if Rourke never plays in the CFL I still like this pick, because in the event he ever does he will bring value 100 times more than the pick we used to secure his rights.

Round 4 – 34^th Overall, LB Seth Hundeby

This pick is also about building for the future as Hundeby will be going back to school in the fall. But his athleticism was on full display at the Combine and he has had a very productive career with the Huskies. He’s a guy that could step in on special teams next year and potentially grow into a contributor on D. With a ton of uncertainty around the durability of last years second round pick Wiebe continuing to search for LB depth is important.

Round 5 – 43^rd Overall, DL Liam Hosksins

At this point in draft you are either drafting raw talents you think have a chance be molded into top end players or grinders/effort guys to fill out special teams. Hoskins strikes me as the latter. He’s a bit of a tweener at 240. Team will likely have him bulk up to play DL or trim down to play LB.

Round 6 – 52^nd Overall, DB Gideon Agyei

Unlike Hoskins, Agyei strikes me as the other type of late round pick you see, a raw talent we think we can develop. Given that we plan on starting 2 Canadian DBs, I think Agyei has a chance to stick on the practice roster as we will need depth there.

Round 8 - 69^th Overall – WR Daniel Wiebe

I hate how every short white receiver automatically draws Weston Dressler comparisons. There will not be another Dressler. That said, if you are going to take a guy late in the draft, a local Saskatchewan kid who is going to work his tail off is as good a bet as any. Wiebe has speed so he has a chance.

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.

CFL Draft Preview: Saskatchewan Roughriders

We are 8 days from the CFL Draft. Hooray for actual football news!

For the second year in a row O’Day has all 8 of his original picks. After living through some very different regimes and approaches to drafting, O’Day is a bit of a breath of fresh air.

Taman acted like he always wanted to be a wall street trader the way he was addicted to trading picks. In 2013, we had a first round pick and then took a nap until the 5^th round. Chris Jones was actually a better early round drafter than most people gave him credit for (Judge, Bladek, Teitz, Shepley) but he never met a supplemental draft he didn’t like and would always do something weird (like draft an OL who had been out of football for over a year).

If you look back at his six drafts since becoming GM you can see impact players in every draft class:

-        2019: Justin McInnis, Brayden Lenius, Charbel Dabire

-        2020: Kian Schaefer-Baker, AJ Allen

-        2021: Everyone gets one mulligan.

-        2022: Sam Emilus, Zach Fry, Jayden Dalke

-        2023: Lake Korte-Moore, Jaxson Ford, Thomas Bertrand-Hudon

-        2024: Ajou Ajou, Dhel Duncan Busby, Malique Straker (and that's despite his first round pick still  being the NFL and his second round pick being on IR, this class could get better still).

Picks: 8 picks, first selection is 4^th  Overall

Potential Pipeline: DL David Oneymata (Atlanta/Never coming to the CFL), DL Neville Gallimore (Indy), OL Sidy Sow (New England), DL Tavius Robinson (Baltimore), OL Kyle Hergel (New Orleans).

Current Strengths:

We have emerged from some dark years and are back to drafting from a position of strength. We have no glaring needs that we have to address.

Receiver remains a strength despite the loss of Ajou. Emilus and Baker are impact starters. Busby and Picton are solid depth. Neild adds further depth.

OL is looking pretty solid. Ferland is a flat out stud. The additions of Gagnon and McEwen give us a strong starting interior. We have depth in guys like Fry and Zerr who were forced into starting roles last year and did well.

Special teams are rock solid. Other than the very predictable (and inevitable) early season slump that makes everyone doubt Lauther, he is and will be a stud. Korsak is a great punter. I think we take for granted how good Jorgen Hus is. He has not missed a game in 7 straight seasons and I honestly don’t recall him missing a snap either. Our cover teams are solid with guys like Allen, the Herdmans, Straker, Exume and Oneyka.

Current Needs:

There is theory and there is reality when it comes to our Canadian starters in the secondary. In theory we are in good shape with Lokombo and Campbell as starters and Dalke and Ford as depth. We all know I am not a Lokombo believer. Campbell hasn’t touched a CFL field in years and was not a starter when he left. In theory he could be awesome but its far from a sure thing. Ford seems to be hurt a lot. Dalke has a tendency to take penalties. Point being we could use some top end talent here.

Defense in general could use reinforcements. I love guys like Dabire, Korte-Moore and Allen but outside of the previously mentioned Lokombo and Campbell we lack bona fide Canadian starters on D.

Unless Kyle Hergel unexpectedly shows up OL is always a place where more depth is needed

Prediction:

Logic would point to a defensive player with the 4^th overall pick. That’s where we are lacking in impact players/starters. If Darien Newell unexpectedly falls to 4 we would likely grab him. Hayden Harris or Ali Saas are another possibility if we wanted to beef up the DL. That said with limited roster spots available for DL at this point we may opt for a DB like Jackson Findlay or LB like Jaylen Smith.

Second round I think we target an O-lineman. Also, given that we are keenly aware of the need to plan for the future at QB I would not rule out drafting Kurtis Rourke or Taylor Elgersma.

Tuesday Morning Sentimonies: Riders Listen?!

I was as shocked as anyone when the Riders announced that for 2025, Season Ticket holders would have benefits this season. Now in reality it should not be notable that a team does something the thank its most loyal supporters… but this is the Riders. For the last number of years the only thing season ticket holders have gotten is higher concession prices. 

I find it interesting how things are coming full circle. There used to be a time where the team was so desperate for people to buy seasons that they would have offered up anything short of fellatio (and even that was probably not out of the question for the right corporate donor). As the team was gaining popularity under the Shivers regime, season ticket holder packages included swag, treat a friend vouchers, coupons etc… But then things exploded in 2007 and the team was so popular they could literally have put a Rider logo on your dog’s turd and sold it back to you at a crazy mark-up. They stopped having to try. People were going out of their way to throw money at them. It was it as this point that the season ticket packages started shrinking. No vouchers. Then no swag. Eventually no tickets. For the last number of years the season ticket package was simply an email saying your tickets are now loaded.

So while its probably a couple seasons later than it should have been, its clear the Riders have clued into the fact that the effortless money train is waning and they may have to try again. I think its great. There should be perks for those fans at the core of financially supporting the team. I appreciate their effort here and hope it is the start of a larger trend of fan-centric decision making. 

The other notable thing in the announcement of the perks (other than them misspelling Member Appreciation… they must have had to lay off the proofreader to afford the new perks) was a clear indication that the notoriously tone-deaf Riders may actually be listening to feedback. When announcing the gift for season ticket holders they specified that it was “one per seat”. This is no doubt in response to negative feedback received from people like me when the commemorative rings they gave out were one per account regardless of how many seats were on that account (See? Because of me now they have a warning). 

Do I think they have fully turned the corner? No. This is a team that still gives free jerseys as part of their MVP program but insists you get an MVP patch on it even if you don’t want the patch (why should it matter to the team what you want?).  But this is an important step in the right direction. 

I look forward to looking down my nose at people in the normal lines, as I twirl my lanyard in the season ticket holder line. I mean sure I will just end up in the same long concession line paying the same jacked up prices as those folks. But for that fleeting moment, won’t I be high and mighty.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Don’t Be First

Tanking for last place to get the top draft pick is a time-honoured sports tradition. Be it hockey, basketball or even football, the short-term pain of a dreadful season can be totally worth it if it leads to a generational player joining your team. Connor Bedard, Victor Wembenyama, Joe Burrow just to name a few. 

But in keeping with its general quirkiness, the CFL does not operate like other leagues in this respect. In fact, if you look at the recent history, your odds of drafting a top end player actually go significantly up if you pick pretty much anywhere but first overall. The Riders are a perfect example. Sure we hit some home runs with the first overall pick including Scott Schultz (2001) and Ben Heenan (2012). But those are more than balanced out by our misses. And when we miss, we don’t just kinda miss. We miss the ball, send our bat flying into the stands injuring a grandma and our pants end up falling down mid swing as we trip and fall on our face. As evidence I point you to Tyson St James (2000), Shomari Williams (2010) and Josiah St John (2016). To be fair 2010 just a god awful draft year, legitimately the best player in the draft was a kicker and despite being taken at 5^th overall, in retrospect Rob Maver may have been drafted far too low relative the rest of that class. 

But this first pick futility is not just a Riders thing. I went back and looked at the 12 drafts since we took Ben Heenan. Almost half of those selected were massive wastes of picks and even those that were decent picks often not end up being the best player in that draft. First overall picks do not pan out in other leagues as well but the rate of that occurring in the CFL is staggering.

Take 2013 when the Ti-Cats selected DL Linden Gaydosh. At the time it was actually viewed as a solid pick but Gaydosh played just 12 games for the Ti-Cats and 29 overall. Apparently he was briefly on the Riders’ offseason roster in 2017 (I know a ton of obscure Rider facts but I have no recollection of that at all). 

In 2017 it was the Bombers’ turn. They took Faith Ekakitie. He lasted just 4 games in Winnipeg and was out of the league before then end of the next calendar year. Hard to blame a guy for wanting to make a speedy exit from a job in Winnipeg but the Bombers were not much ahead of if they had just passed on the pick. 

Speaking of teams that essentially passed on a pick. Hamilton selected WR Mark Chapman in 2018. His selection was the last moment his name was mentioned in relation to the CFL. At no point did he play a down or even report to camp. He made the Jordan Sisco selection by the Riders look like a stunning success by comparison. Clearly not having enough embarrassment, just 3 years later the Ti-Cats took TE Jake Burt first overall. His 40 career yards did eclipse the high bar set by Chapman for top picks. Really makes one wonder why the Ti-Cats have the longest Grey Cup drought in the CFL. 

All goes to say I am very happy the Riders aren’t picking first overall this year. We will gladly give the Stamps to honour of prolifically whiffing on a pick. And based on how their last few seasons have gone, they are well qualified to do so.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Fine Time

This past week the CFL announced the teams that exceeded the Salary Management System (SMS) limits in 2024. Four teams made that list, including the Riders. It marks the 5^th time since the SMS was introduced in 2007 that the Riders have been fined.

But here’s the deal with SMS violations, there are two tiers. The first is equivalent to a parking ticket. Yeah you’d prefer to avoid them but you begrudgingly part with a small amount of money and move on. That’s the tier the Riders have always fallen into. Exceed the cap by less than $100k and it’s a dollar for dollar fine. This year it’s $40,000.

The reaction has been a solid “meh” as it should be. The Riders were over mostly due to injuries but even if there wasn’t an excuse I’m pro “spend the money and incur the fine if gives you a better chance to win”.  Craig Reynolds will happily pay that fine… likely by increasing the prices for food and beverage.

Now there is of course a second tier of SMS violations that the Riders have thus far avoided. The BC Lions opted to dive head first into it in 2024. While the speeding ticket tier is easy to explain. Explaining this second tier honestly feels a lot like the Nate Bargatze George Washington skit.

Washington – There will be two ways to address those who significantly exceed the cap. One will make sense, one will be super random. Our great league will use the random one.

Washington – We will punish big time offenders by taking away their draft picks.

Soldier – They will forfeit them?

Washington – If only it were that simple. We will take it away from the offender, move the pick to end of the round and give it to another team.

Soldier – But why sir?

Washington – Nobody knows. It will be allocated based on waiver priority.

Soldier – So if 2 picks are forfeited the second one would go to the team with second waiver priority?

Washington – No, it goes only to the first team of course. But the teams that lose its picks will still be eligible to be gifted picks back for following other rules. Even if they only managed to earn such picks by violating the salary rules.

Soldier – And picks forfeited due to the supplemental draft, they will be reallocated using this process to?

Washington – No, we will be ok with just regular forfeiture in that case.

Soldier – But why all this complexity sir?

Washington – Liberty, son.

If you continued reading through my mediocre attempts to satire popular culture congratulations. All that is to say, BC got fined many butt loads of money (like more than the Riders have been fined in their 5 violations combined) and lose their 1^st and 2^nd round pick. But they get a bonus 2^nd rounder for having the most snaps played by Canadians (snaps they only got because they said FU to the salary cap and paid Rourke and Betts a ton of money). BC bet big in 2025 and lost. 

As for Calgary, in the whacky world that is the CFL they gave up the 9^th overall pick to BC as part of the Vernon Adams trade but now get that pick and one more back from BC (8^th and 17^th) due to SMS violations. The good news is that based on their trajectory over the past few seasons, the Stampeders are very likely to find a way to continue sucking despite this unearned gift of draft picks. 

Its not like its even that hard to inject to logic back into this process. Take away the picks from BC. Add them to the end of the 8^th round and award them by waiver priority, 1 to Calgary, 1 to Hamilton. But, much like Bartgaze does to Kenan Thompson, when the fans ask for logic the CFL just gives us a dismissive pat on the shoulder.