CFL Draft Preview: Winnipeg Blue Bombers

This is the last of the pre-draft team previews. Next week draft coverage will kick into high gear. I’ll have breakdown of the effects of the NFL Draft and post-draft free agent signings on the CFL Draft. I’ll take a stab at a full 6 round mock draft (yeah this should be interesting) and it will culminate on Thursday with my 5^th Annual Live Draft Day Blogging.

Also don’t forget to get your picks in for the 1^st Annual Rider Prophet CFL Draft Contest. Details can befound here and you have until 10:30am on Thursday (Draft Day) to get your picks in to be eligible for the prizes.

Now on with the Blue Bombers preview...

Canadians Under Contract: 26

One Word Description of Current Canadians: Developing

Early Round Track Record: Since 2001 they have only drafted in the first round twice… TWICE!! In 7 other drafts, their first selection was in the 3^rd round or later. They got Labatte and Muamba those rare times they did decided to show up before the draft was half over but the sample size is too small to get a good conclusion.

First Pick: 2^nd Round 8^th Overall

Number of Picks: 6

Strengths: Their recent commitment to upgrading at WR has paid off as they now boast a stable consisting of Watson, Poblah and Etienne. Kicking game is solid with both Palardy and Renaud returning. They have a fairly solid special teams base with the like of Muamba, Labbe, Browne, and a plethora of Cdn RBs.

Potential Pipeline: N/A

Needs: Up until this week. D-line was likely to be their primary focus given the retirement of Doug Brown and the loss of Don Oramasionwu. However, the retirement of Obby Khan changed all that and bumped O-line to the top of the priority list as well. The loss of Labatte meant they likely needed to look at drafting an OL but now they are down 2 starting OL and those 2 just happen to be the only guys to play centre for them in a long time. Wouldn’t hurt for them to look at adding a LB (in case they ever decide they want to make Henoc Muamba a starter) and a DB (since the 3 they have are all right around the 30 year old mark). Overall though they will focus their drafting along the O-line and D-line.

Bold Prediction: After being burned by Labatte, the Bombers will refuse to draft anyone who attended school in Saskatchewan based purely on principle.

CFL Draft Preview: Toronto Argonauts

Canadians Under Contract: 25

One Word Description of Current Canadians: So-so (which is a huge achievement by Argo standards)

Early Round Track Record: No so good. Only 1 of their last 4 first rounders is with the team (Eppele). Historically Toronto has tended to either trade away their top picks or use them on guys who end up in the NFL.

First Pick: 2^nd Round 9^th Overall

Number of Picks: 5

Strengths: They currently have 10 Cdn OL under contract so they have plenty of options there. On defense they have Pottinger and Foley who are ratio busting starters. They also have a solid offensive starter in Andre Durie and developing talents like Watt and to a lesser extent Kouame.

Potential Pipeline: LB Cory Greenwood (KC Chiefs), OT Joel Reindeers (NY Giants), OL Tyler Holmes (college) and of course Nick Kaczur (hahahaha)

Needs: With the exception of OL, depth is an issue. They currently lack a solid back-up to Foley on the DL. With the draft being as deep as it is with DL prospects Toronto will be looking to add there. They only have one solitary Cdn DB on the roster so that is another place they will look to add (though it won’t be a high priority since they run an all import secondary). Lastly their kicker is pushing 40 so they may look to draft a kicker to groom as his eventual replacement.

Bold Prediction: Toronto continues their early round futility by drafting a player (my bet is along the D-line) that won’t play in the CFL in 2012.

CFL Draft Preview: Saskatchewan Roughriders

Canadians Under Contract: 24

One Word Description of Current Canadians: Dwindling

Early Round Track Record: Spans the entire spectrum of success. They have drafted elite players like Shologan, middle of the road people like Shomari Williams, rising stars like Butler and absolute failures like Tamon George, David McKoy and Ducarmel Augustin.

First Pick: 1^st Round 1^st Overall

 Number of Picks: 3

Strengths: The additions of Picard and Labatte have boosted the O-line immensely. Outside of that there are a number of great individuals. Shologan is among the best as his position. Butler is a gem. Getzlaf is consistently productive and if by chance Rob Bagg’s knee is healthy they have another elite receiver at their disposal.

Potential Pipeline: OT Matt O’Donnell (Cincinnati Bengals)

Needs: Pretty much every position but offensive guard and centre (which is why I have concerns that Heenan will likely be their first pick). Depth behind Shologan is paper thin. Depth behind Butler is Woldu (who is not a safety) and a junior player. There is no depth behind McCullough at LB. Outside of Getzlaf all they have at receiver is a bunch of questions (Bagg’s knee, Sisco’s talent, etc...). You name it they need it.

Bold Prediction: Taman will trade the 1^st overall pick (not really bold given that it’s Taman... but still I bet Taman trades down a few spots).

CFL Draft Preview: Hamilton Ti-Cats

Canadians Under Contract: 31

One Word Description of Current Canadians: Mixed-bag (yes I know that’s actually 2 words)

Early Round Track Record: Luck has certainly not been on their side despite the fact that they had the top choice more often than any other team in the past few years. They haven’t drafted that bad but all their highly touted picks are either out of football (Barker), not in the CFL (Guigere), a bust (Bauman) or currently with other teams (Rottier, Bekasiak). The only first rounder they have left to show is Darcy Brown… and the fact that they felt they needed to use a first rounder on him is laughable. They could easily have got him in the 2^nd or 3^rd round.

First Pick: 1^st Round 3^rd Overall

Number of Picks: 6

Strengths: They have tremendous depth at Cdn LB (which is odd since they start 3 Americans at LB). They have a solid receiving tandem in Fantuz and Stala. They have some very good Cdn special teams players which should not be discounted. 

Potential Pipeline: WR Samuel Guiguere (exploring NFL options), OL Moe Petrus (college)

Needs: The fact that they have just 6 Canadian OL under contract should be causing some concern in Steeltown. It will be their top focus. Lesser needs include depth at DB (since they start a Cdn at corner) and someone to do kickoffs and punts (because Luca Congi sure as hell can’t!)

Bold Prediction: Hamilton’s first 2 picks will be O-linemen and will take punter Brett Cameron in the 5^th Round.

CFL Draft Preview: Edmonton Eskimos

Canadians Under Contract: 32

One Word Description of Current Canadians: Rebounding

Early Round Track Record: Mixed bag. It’s where the core of their O-line has come from (Hinse, Wojt, Mitchell) but there have also been duds like Warren Keane and Brian Bulcke (who was a great choice but is now in Calgary with very little for Edmonton in return).

First Pick: 1^st Round 2^nd Overall

Number of Picks: 4

Strengths: D-line is a huge area of strength with Ted Laurent, Jermaine Reid, Etienne Legare and the newly acquired Don Oramasionwu. They have good depth at OL (given the addition of Rottier) and decent depth at DB as well.

Potential Pipeline: N/A

Needs: Even though they added Nate Coehoorn in the first round last year, they are still fairly weak at WR (with apologies to Andrew Nowacki… actually no, no apologies) and will look to add there. They will also probably be looking to add an offensive tackle. Tillman also tends to always be looking 2-3 years down the road so it wouldn’t surprise me to see a pick or two that the Esks will have to wait a year for.

Bold Prediction: Eric Tillman will make a minimum of 3 trades during the draft (or in the minutes before the daft).