2008 CFL Canadian Mock Draft
By Arash Madani
For CFL.ca
Pro football teams don’t want you to know what they are thinking going into a college draft.
But after weeks of preparation, the CFL Evaluation Camp, testing numbers from the combine, and conversations with GMs, coaches and scouts, we are providing a mock draft to the 2008 CFL Canadian Draft.
Picks one through four were broken down on Tuesday. Here is how the back half of the opening round may look like when teams make their selections on April 30 for the top non-import draft-eligible talent available.
5th Overall, Saskatchewan Roughriders – Shea Emry, Linebacker, University of British Columbia
It’s not often a linebacker can leap like a safety, but there is plenty more unique about Shea Emry. The 21-year-old began his university career at Eastern Washington, and was penciled in to be the starter in the middle back in 2006, coming off an all-conference season. But Emry came back home, literally, to Vancouver, and has been a terror with the Thunderbirds. Alouettes general manager Jim Popp has always believed the best way young drafted players can make the team is through special teams or the practice roster, and Emry became an All-Big-Sky selection in 2005 because of his work as a specialist. It will be interesting to see where Emry, who did not dominate at the combine, plays in the CFL. He’s been a linebacker his whole career but with his strength (he lifted the bar 20 times at the evaluation camp) and body type, he could be a defensive end. Now – has there ever been a defensive lineman who can jump like a safety? Eric Tillman has always liked athletic players who are versatile. Emry fits that bill, and if he is slotted in as a linebacker, that would make him one of only three Canadians there. A year ago, you may remember, the Riders invested in Laurier product Yannick Carter at that position.
6th Overall, B.C. Lions – Jesse Newman, Offensive Lineman, Louisiana-Lafayette
Funny thing about this 300-plus pound lineman who grew up in British Columbia: very little is known or has been said about him, in part because the three-time all-conference tackle did not take part in the CFL Evaluation Camp. But the numbers Newman put up at his college pro day have been raising eyebrows. The Powell River native lifted the 225-pound bar a dozen times on the bench press, posted a 5.63 time in the 40 and recorded a sub-five-second shuttle (4.92). Many teams have yet to eye-ball him live, but the B.C. Lions sure like what they see in Newman. So much, in fact, that inside the Surrey football operations headquarters, the organization would take the four-year Ragin’ Cajuns starter if they had the No. 1 pick.
7th Overall, Winnipeg – Justin Sorensen, Offensive Lineman, South Carolina
Many teams have Sorensen as a mid-to-late first round draft pick, and for the first time since, well, perhaps colour television, it appears as if the Blue Bombers will be able to have a selection in the opening round. Barring yet another Winnipeg trade to unload it, Sorensen, who like Newman did not participate in the combine last month, would be an ideal fit for Doug Berry’s team since the head coach got into the CFL as a position coach for the offensive line. The massive (6-foot-7, 327-pounds) Vancouver Island native was a regular on the Gamecocks offensive line and has learned a thing or two from Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier while at South Carolina. He’d be a future, having a year of eligibility left and being a potential 2009 NFL draft pick, but worth the wait on a Bombers offensive line that has had even more than usual injuries over the past two seasons.
8th Overall, Montreal – Jonathan St. Pierre, Offensive Lineman, Illinois State
Popp has always been patient and for a GM who has a definite need up front with an aging offensive line, St. Pierre would be an ideal fit with the Alouettes. The transfer from the University of Miami will have another year before he is even done in college, and the timing may work quite well. For one, the kid from the south shore of Montreal (Longueuil) is a centre, and Bryan Chiu will have played 13 seasons by then, so the grooming process would be natural. On the line, the Als are getting older – five will have eclipsed the age of 30 by mid-season – and so an explosive 24-year-old, who is earning his masters degree in economics would be terrific. By all accounts in Illinois, St. Pierre learns quickly and has a vicious streak to him. His mobility has been quite effective and his size and strength (6-foot-3, 325 pounds) make him already a pro-ready guy.
