The tides, they could be-a-changing when the first round of today's CFL Canadian Draft is all said and done.
Speaking with Barney Shynkaruk on the SportsCage radio show Friday, TSN analyst Farhan Lalji suggested a return to the offensive line-heavy days of yore could very well be in the making.
From 2021-25 CFL teams selected offensive linemen with 27 per cent of their first-round picks (12 out of 44).
By contrast, the previous five drafts saw teams use fully half of their picks (22 out of 44) on O-linemen.
“I think we’re going to see linemen rise really quickly again,” Lalji said, highlighting prospects like Purdue's Gio Vaccaro and Niklas Henning from Queen’s. “We’ve seen a little bit less of that in the last couple of years where it’s been (less) heavily O-line dominated, and I think it will probably be a little bit more so (this year).”
Linebackers may also be leading candidates to fill out the first round according to Lalji.
“I think you’ve got a couple of really, really good linebackers that are available in this year's draft that have ratio change ability that are tied to them,” he said. “Eric Rascoe (Angelo State) and Darius McKenzie (South Alabama) and a couple of these guys, there's some guys there that could, Dariel Djabome (Rutgers), they could be guys that can change a ratio for a CFL team.”
'More pro-ready every single year'
Conversely, Lalji’s TSN colleague Glen Suitor told SportsCage radio last week that he sees the talent level of Canadians in the so-called skill positions improving by the year.
“I know many people say ‘Why doesn’t TSN televise the CFL draft?’ Well we do now and we do the first couple of rounds … but it’s such a unique job,” Suitor said, noting the longer-term historical trend in Canada toward drafting offensive and defensive linemen in the first round, compared with the NFL draft’s relative emphasis on high-end offensive players.
“Now that’s going to sound like a sleight to the O and D line but it’s just not as sexy a TV show when you’re not drafting quarterbacks and big-name receivers who’ve had a great college career.
“It’s more and more now we’re starting to draft the odd quarterback. We’re starting to draft in the Canadian draft, certainly drafting Canadian receivers that are more pro-ready every single year. So it’s starting to change and it has for the last three, four, five years.”
Suitor also discussed the timing of the CFL’s draft in relation to the NFL’s, which typically takes place a week earlier.
“The timing of it is deliberate because the NFL draft going first is important for any Canadian that might get drafted to the NFL,” said Suitor. “If you’re Saskatchewan and you’re looking at your draft board and you’ve got a guy in mind that might get drafted in the NFL and then does, that changes your strategy immediately.
“Do you take a guy now first or second or third round in the Canadian draft if he’s been drafted in the NFL and you probably won’t see him for three to five years? Because if you’re drafted, especially in the top three to four rounds, you’re making the team.”
Reynolds: Character a top priority
As for the Saskatchewan Roughriders specifically, team president and CEO Craig Reynolds was asked last week at a business luncheon in Saskatoon about the team’s draft strategy and how it may change with respect to the recent release of receiver Ajou Ajou.
“Character is a key component of our draft evaluation and I know (general manager) Jeremy (O’Day) and (head coach) Corey (Mace) value character as much as anything, as much as physical attributes and traits, and obviously they have to be good football players, but character is really important to us,” said Reynolds.
