By Darrell Davis,
Regina Leader-Post
Study, prepare and postulate all they want before today’s 2007 CFL draft, the Saskatchewan Roughriders realize they’re not going to match last year’s success.
“We were very fortunate last year,” Alex Smith, an assistant coach who co-ordinates the Rouhriders’ draft, said during a break in pre-draft meetings Tuesday afternoon.
“We had a really good draft. It was nice to have it and it would be nice to repeat it, but I don’t think so.”
Three of Saskatchewan’s first four picks in 2006 — slotback Andy Fantuz (third overall), punter/kicker Luca Congi (12th) and safety Tristan Clovis (22nd) — turned into starters during the regular season. Offensive lineman Chris Cowan, taken 20th, didn’t make the squad.
There’s no way such a bonanza can happen again because, barring a last-minute trade, the Roughriders won’t even make a selection until the second round. And they have only four selections in the six-round lottery.
Roughriders general manager Eric Tillman has spoken to other CFL teams about potential trades, but no new deals had been arranged by Tuesday night.
The Roughriders dealt their first-round pick (fourth overall) to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats last year as part of a package that allowed them to select quarterback Kerry Joseph first overall in the Ottawa Renegades’ dispersal draft. Three months ago the Roughriders exchanged second-round picks with Hamilton, acquiring the ninth overall selection, in a deal that sent quarterback Rocky Butler to the Ti-cats for offensive lineman Wayne Smith and receiver D.J. Flick. Hamilton and the Calgary Stampeders each have two first-round picks; they will be the teams heard most often after the draft begins at 11 a.m. on www.cfl.ca.
With offensive linemen Matt O’Meara and soon-to-be-signed Chris Best, first-round draft picks from 2005, waiting in the wings, the Roughriders don’t need to draft offensive linemen, a position that usually dominates the Canadian college draft. The best O-line prospect is Michigan State’s Mike Gyetvai.
This year’s draft crop is laden with top-notch receivers, including Regina’s Chis Bauman, Guelph’s Dave McKoy and Akron’s Jabari Arthur, one of numerous draft-eligible players who can return to college for another year of eligibility.
“There are seven to maybe nine pretty good receivers in the draft,” said Smith.
Because they have a plethora of non-import receivers — Fantuz, veterans Jason French and Corey Grant and Nathan Hoffart, another first-round selection from 2005, who spent last season recovering from reconstructive knee surgery — the Roughriders might be less interested in drafting a pass-catcher.
“We’re looking for a player on the defensive side of the ball rather than on the offensive side of the ball,” said Smith. “But if a really good receiver ends up being available at nine, there will be a timeout and some discussion.
“We believe a defensive player will be available for us at that spot, but it depends on the first-round selections. Teams with multiple picks in the first round, like Hamilton or Calgary, might take a flyer on some of the (players with eligibility remaining). So our choice will depend on how many futures have been taken.”
The best defensive players available are linemen Corey Mace of Wyoming and J.P. Bekasiak.
Mace has signed a free-agent deal with the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, a situation that occurs regularly and forces CFL teams to constantly ponder the possibility of losing their draft picks to the U.S.
Although the Roughriders are shallow at running back and might be tempted to select Montana’s Reggie Bradshaw or McMaster’s Andre Sadeghian, if they’re looking for a defensive player worthy of being chosen early in the second round it might be Wilfrid Laurier’s Justin Phillips, a defensive end who could also play linebacker.
