Argos Draft Recap

[ArgoGabe22]

Over the next few days this blog will be covering the past 5 drafts. http://doubleblueblog.wordpress.com/

Starting with 2009.....

In 2004 the Toronto Raptors wasted their 8th pick on Brazilian bust, Rafael Arujo. Interestingly enough, NBA All-Star Andre Iguodala was picked right after. All fans would agree that the Raps should have drafted Iguodala instead.

The CFL draft is sometimes such a crapshoot that its fun to go back and review how picks have fared since their big day. In lead up to the Canadian Football Draft, I will be recapping the past 5 Argonaut draft classes starting with the 2009 Draft.


The 2009 Draft was a very weak class league wide. No draft pick has made a Division All-Star team or the CFL All-Star team and many of the players drafted did not have much of career. The 3 biggest picks from this draft were probably Simeon Rottier (EDM / Round: 1 / Pick: 1), James Yurichuck (BC / Round: 1 / Pick: 4) and Eric Fraser (CAL / Round: 1 / Pick: 8). Jamall Lee (BC / Round: 1 / Pick: 3) seemed to be a very promising player at the time, breaking the E-Camp 40 yard dash time at 4.39 seconds and the vertical jump at 44 inches. He even got an invite from the Carolina Panthers but he chose to retire in 2012 after 3 seasons as a back up running back and a special teams player for the BC Lions.


At this time the Argos were lead by General Manager, Adam Rita and Head Coach, Bart “Can you pass the hair gel” Andrus and boy, was this a weak draft class. To give the Argos credit, it’s not like any team had fared any better.


Here are the players the Argos have selected. I will include their draft position, name, position, years as an Argo, stats as an Argo, where they are today and highlight their best season.


R:1/ P:2 – Étienne Légaré DT 2009-2010 (4 TKL, 3 STT). Now a member of the Calgary Stampeders. Career year was in 2011 with EDM (17 TKL, 5 Sacks, 1 Fumble Recovery).

R:2 / P:10 – Matt Lambros WR 2009 (1 Rec – 22 Yds, 1 TD). Out of the league, was a victim of a prank where he was reported to have died in an accident on Wikipedia.
R:3 / P:19 – James Green LB 2009 (19 STT). Now a member of the Ottawa Redblacks. Best season was in 2013 with WPG (20 STT)
R:4 / P:26 – Zachary Pollari OT 2010-2012. Bounced around the Argos transaction page being signed and released multiple times but it seems that his Argo days are finally over.
R:5 / P:34 – Gordon Sawler DL 2010. Did not make the team
R:6 / P:42 – Anthony DesLauriers DB 2010. Did not make the team, signed with Montreal but was soon released.
R:6 / P:43 – Brad Crawford RB 2010. Did not make the team, brother of former Special Teams captain Bryan Crawford.

Looking back at this draft, none of these players have made a big contribution for the Argos. Green had the most potential as a Special Teams player but only lasted one season so I’m not sure why he was let go. The Legare pick made sense at the time and he has had a pretty okay career so far. FYI He was traded to EDM for Noel Prefontaine.

This draft wasn’t our best but if you were to look at the draft as a whole, there isn’t one player who we could say should have been drafted instead, like in the case of the Raptors debacle in ’04. The only player who was picked in the later rounds and is still in the league is receiver, Scott McHenry. So maybe we should have drafted McHenry over Lambros? Who knows.

Overall grade for the 2009 Argos Draft class: D-

[ArgoGabe22]

And now the 2010 draft recap.....

Yesterday we looked back at the 2009 draft and we will continue to look at the draft today, with the 2010 draft class.


Shomari Williams, who was picked first overall by the Riders, interestingly was originally ranked 15th in September by the scouting bureau and jumped to first prior to the draft. Some fans would probably prefer if he still ranked 15th so the Riders wouldn’t waste its pick on Williams, who is viewed as somewhat of a bust. He never really found a position, played as both a LB and at DE and mostly played as a backup and on special teams. He did have however a breakout year in 2012, with 59 TKL, 2 Sacks and 1 INT but disappointed in 2013 with only 1 TKL and 1 STT with the Ticats. He was later traded back to the Riders.


The 2010 Draft featured a lot of older players. Williams along with Cory Watson, Cory Greenwood and Danny Watkins are 3-4 years older than the typical college player entering the draft. Out of the four, only Williams and Watson have ever played a down in the CFL.


I would say that the standout players from this draft were all-star punter Rob Maver (Round:1 / Pick:5), DL Brian Bulcke (Round:1 / Pick:6), WR Shawn Gore (Round:2 / Pick:10), LB Marc-Olivier Brouillette (Round: 3 / Pick:23).


Here is a look at the Argonauts’ 2010 draft class. I will include their draft position, name, position, years as an Argo, stats as an Argo, where they are today and highlight their best season.

2010 was Jim Barker’s first season as head coach and would be his first draft as GM after taking over in December as Adam Rita’s contract was not renewed.

R:1 / P:2 – Joe Eppele OL 2010-2013. Selected by the REDBLACKS in the expansion draft. As an Argo he was in and out of the lineup and never really became a true starter. He struggled early on but played a key role in the Grey Cup win in 2012.

R:1 / P:3 – Cory Greenwood LB – Has not signed with the Argonauts. Signed a FA contract with the Chiefs and is now a member of the Detroit Lions.
R: 2 / P:11 – Grant Shaw K/P 2010-2011 (26/38 FG, 40.8 Punt Avg.). Traded to the Eskimos along with Steven Jyles and 2012 1st Rd Draft Pick for Ricky Ray. His best season was in 2013 going 21/27 in FG and having punted 139 times for a 43.7 yard average.
R:3 / P:18 – Spencer Watt WR 2010-Present (100 Rec, 1359 Yds, 6 TDs). His best season was in 2012, Ricky Ray’s first season as an Argo (34 Rec, 424 Yds)
R:4 / P:26 – Joel Reinders OL 2012-2013. Never was a starter, filled in a few times. After being released in September of last season, he was picked up immediately by the hated Tiger-Cats.
R:4 / P:30 – Steven Turner RB/SB 2010-2011. Broke Jamall Lee’s E-Camp 40 time record with 4.31 seconds. Ruptured left achilles tendon in camp. Came back to Training Camp in 2011 but was soon released. Turner was last seen playing flag football in Mississauga.
R:5 / P:32 – Michael Warner OL 2010-2011. Attended camp both in 2010 and 2011 but never made the final roster.
R:6 / P:40 – Nasser Jamal OL 2011. Did not make the team or resurface with any other team.
R:6 / P:44 – Conor Elliott LB 2010. Did not make the team and was not picked up by anyone else.

Looking back at this draft, the Argos have actually fared pretty well, compared to past drafts. It’s unfortunate to lose a player like Eppele to expansion but this draft saw 5 out of the 9 players chosen play a down of professional football. Eppele was not a bad pick at #2 overall and is only 26, so he has a lot of years left and I expect Ottawa to see him in their long term plans. Shaw was traded for Ricky Ray so in the end he was very useful. With Jyles a goner, Shaw became the centrepiece of that trade.


The Argos however did not luck out on Concordia’s Cory Greenwood and some Argo fans will argue he had the “NFL” written all over him but I disagree, though he is represented by the CFL’s most hated agent – Johnathon Hardaway. The Argos actually traded up to select Greenwood so it’s a hard pill for fans to swallow and no one knows if he’ll ever be an Argonaut. Greenwood really only made the Chiefs due to the injuries to their other linebackers and he kind of lucked out in my opinion. Although, his NFL future does look to be ending as he is on injured reserve and NFL teams will be looking to replace a backup like himself with younger, cheaper players. The question now is if he his willing to to come back to Canada and play for less money.


Spencer Watt was only 21 when he was drafted and is 25 today. Watt actually did not attend the official CFL combine but was invited to Duane Ford’s own private combine instead. Originally a track and field athlete, Watt transferred to SFU and was known for his speed. A lot of fans are not happy with having Watt as a starting receiver due to his lack of production but as the far side receiver (Z position) you cannot expect many balls to come his way. Though it is encouraging that his production has increased when playing with Ricky Ray. Some of the comments I read regarding the Watt pick is that we should have drafted Gore instead. That wouldn’t be possible since Watt was picked in the 3rd round while other receivers like Sisco, Watson and Gore were drafted higher in the 2nd round. The only receiver we could have drafted instead was Akeem Foster. Looking at statistics alone, Watt actually hasn’t done too bad. Gore is the best from this draft, with Watson at a close second. Watt is 600 yards away from Watson but remember that Watt played two season with the “dink and dunk” pass specialist, Cleo Lemon, who was under the guidance of Offensive Discoordinator, Jamie Elizondo. Watt also has more TDs than Watson and has done better overall in production than Foster . There is no point comparing Watt with Sisco, since he only has 9 catches to his name.


The Joel Reinders pick was frustrating since Reinders only played one or two seasons at Waterloo but was convinced he could make an NFL roster, bouncing back and forth from the Browns and Giants every few months. 2.5 years later he finally signed his CFL contract but obviously couldn’t hold onto his job as he was released part way through the 2013 season.


Steven Turner was not a bad pick at the time, well worth the chance in the 4th round with his speed. I was rooting for the “Afterburner” to make it out of camp but unfortunately couldn’t make it after his injury.


Overall this was a pretty good draft class. If Greenwood makes his way to Toronto then my grading of this class may be improved. Eppele and Shaw are both gone due to good reason, really isn’t any of their fault and both have the potential to become good players in this league. Greenwood is no doubt a talented player and no one expected him to make it down South. Watt has a big future ahead of him in Toronto and Reinders was picked more for his potential and was well worth the risk but something obviously just didn’t work out there.


Final Grade for Class of 2010: B-

[paulwoods13]

These are excellent analyses, ArgoGabe22. Keep 'em coming!

[Argocister]

These are excellent analyses, ArgoGabe22. Keep 'em coming!

Ditto from me too! ..... We really need the "like" button

[ArgoGabe22]

2011 Draft Recap

The CFL Scouting Bureau ranked OL Scott Mitchell first, WR Anthony Parker second and LB Henoc Muamba third. Muamba jumped up from an original ranking of eleventh. Winnipeg made a great pick taking Muamba first overall and has already had a much much better career than Mitchell and Parker combined. After a rookie year on special teams, he finally contributed heavily defensively in 2012 and in 2013 really stood out as a top LB having an all-star deserving season. His outstanding 2013 campaign was recognized by the Blue Bombers as he was unanimously voted as the teams Most Outstanding Player, Most Outstanding Defensive Player and Most Outstanding Canadian. His great 2013 season led him to be noticed by NFL scouts and as of today, he is a member of the Indianapolis Colts.

Overall the 2011 wasn’t spectacular but has a few current CFL backups, lots of receivers and a few NFLers (Philip Blake & Vaughn Martin) compared to drafts in the past. The key players from this draft are: LB Henoc Muamba (R:1 / P:1), WR Nathan Coehoorn (R:1 / P:5), WR Marco Iannuzzi (R:1 / P:6), LB Craig Butler (R:2 / P:12), QB/WR Brad Sinopoli (R:4 / P:29) although he only contributed this past season as a receiver, and K Chris Milo (R:4 / P:30).

2011 is Jim Barker’s second draft as GM and based on his drafting from 2010, he has done a much better job rebuilding the team with Canadian talent than Adam Rita has in his last few years as the GM but will he do just as well in 2011?

Here is a look at the Argonauts’ 2011 draft class. I will include their draft position, name, position, years as an Argo, stats as an Argo, where they are today and highlight their best season.

R:1 / P:7 – Tyler Holmes OL 2013-present. Signed in 2013 after a years on the Minnesota Vikings practice roster.

R:3 / P:18 – Djems Kouame WR 2011-2012. No stats to report. Broke his leg in a preseason game vs Montreal. Converted to DB for 2013 but was soon released.

R:3 / P:22 – Alexander Robinson DL/FB 2011-present. (1 TKL, 23 STT, 10 Rec – 117 Yards, 2 TD). Originally a DL but Scott Milanovich now uses him primarily as a fullback. Had NFL workout this past offseason but re-signed with the Argos until 2015.
R:4 / P:28 – Jedd Gardner WR 2011. Returned to play for Guelph in the OUA. Did not sign with any other team afterwards.
R:5 / P:35 – Gregory Alexandre DT 2011. No stats to report. Now with EDM and spent the entire 2013 season on the Eskimos practice roster.
R:5 / P:38 – Julian Feoli-Gudino WR 2012-2013 (2 Rec – 26 Yards, 2 STT). Signed as FA with the Bombers. Used primarily on special teams.
R:6 / P:43 – Micheal Knill OL 2011. Broke the E-camp bench press record but never made it to the CFL. Released by the Argos in camp.

The Argos didn’t do too well with only 3/8 players making a contribution to the Argos. Holmes just signed half way through this pas season and still has a bright future anchoring the offensive line. If Robinson continued as a DL, he would have probably been released by now but he seems to be doing very well in his new FB position. Although uncommon now, the use of fullback / tight-end was something Milanovich liked to use in Montreal and continues to do so with Robinson.


After the third round, there weren’t many quality players available. Kouame was drafted in the third round and hang around for two seasons but didn’t do much for the Argos. Sinopoli could have been drafted instead but he was originally a QB and only really became a full-time starting receiver this season so it’s unfair to say that Barker should have drafted him instead. We also could have drafted Milo as a replacement for Pre, instead of drafting Gardner or Kouame.


Feoli-Gudino was a great receiver in the CIS but just couldn’t translate that in the pro game for whatever reason. O’Shea knows what he can do on specials, hence the free-agent signing but in all honesty, he won’t be missed.


I would have liked to see Greg Alexandre get a longer look by the coaches as a Canadian defensive lineman is something the team lacks and I feel they gave up on him too soon. He was soon picked up after by EDM but has only hanged around the PR so it’s not like he became an all-star or something.


Overall grade for the Argonauts 2011 draft: C

[gilthethrill]

Gabe, I thought strong man Michael Knill never reported to camp because he opted to take a job with IBM?

[OV Argo]

Interesting analysis; and it's fine to evaluate a specific team's draft a few years down the road to see how they did - hindsight is 20/20 ;o)

However - it is also possible to look at the total draft class and look at players your team could have drafted / passed - on to get a big picture.

I'll start with 2009 - agreed = not a very good CFL draft class: Argos got Legare 2nd overall - didn't do much for them and moved on to have a very good CFL season for the Esks; had injury problems since, but still in the league and played last year. The rest of that Argo draft class did little to nothing- Green has been a decent special teamers and the Argos got a bit of use out of him, and still in the league. Now - players the Argos could have drafted instead that year: Eric Fraser - been a decent starting safety for the Stamps - still in the league now with Ottawa; Ryan Hinds - has started quite a bit in the CFL at corner and still in the league; Steve Myddelton - has been a starting O-Lineman with the Stamps, and still in theleague; Scott McHenry - serviceable extra receiver for the Riders and still in the league. Fraser, Myddelton and Hinds may have all made the Argos and even been starters - but who knows.

Anyhow - not a good draft year for the Argos nor other CFL teams; Argos could have done better though IMO.

[ArgoRavi]

Gabe, I thought strong man Michael Knill never reported to camp because he opted to take a job with IBM?

I am pretty sure that you are correct and that Knill never went to camp. He was a longshot anyway. He was great at the bench press but that in and of itself won't get you far in pro football.

[gilthethrill]

I am pretty sure that you are correct and that Knill never went to camp. He was a longshot anyway. He was great at the bench press but that in and of itself won't get you far in pro football.

From what I recall about the scouting reports on him, his footwork was not good.

[ArgoGabe22]

Gabe, I thought strong man Michael Knill never reported to camp because he opted to take a job with IBM?

That sounds right now that you mention it. I couldn't find anything on him but I knew he never made the team. I thought he would at least went to rookie camp or something. He was a long shot anyways. Very rare for a 6th rounder to make the roster.

[ArgoGabe22]

2012 Draft Recap

The 2012 draft was a bit of strange one. 25 picks were involved in trades and there were 3 forfeited picks due to the 2011 supplementary draft. Winnipeg selected WR Kito Poblah and lost it’s 2012 first round pick, EDM selected DT Ted Laurent and forfeited it’s third round pick and the BC Lions chose Alex Ellis in exchange of their 6th round draft pick.


In 2011 the Argos had traded their first and third round picks to Winnipeg for Steven Jyles. Prior to the 2012 Draft the Argos then traded QB Steven Jyles, K/P Grant Shaw and their 1st round draft pick to the Eskimos for QB Ricky Ray. The Argos also traded away Delroy Clarke (EDM) and Steve Schmidt (HAM) for a 4th and 6th round draft pick.

The 2012 draft class has the potential to become a great draft class in a few years time, with the exception of after the third round where it’s rare for any player selected below in the 4th,5th,6th Round to have much of a career. This draft is much deeper than drafts in the past and features much more players from the NCAA. Just look at the comparison of NCAA players drafted in the CFL – 2009: 10, 2010: 11, 2011: 13, 2012: 21. I’m not sure it’s because this draft class is deep with talent, is just the result of more Canadians getting looks from NCAA schools and moving away to attend high school in the States, or have CFL scouts begun to undervalue CIS talent?

Local boy OL Ben Heenan was selected with the first pick overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders. A couple of NFLers have been selected in this draft and have yet to feature in the CFL – Jacksonville Jaguars OL Austin Pasztor (EDM), Cincinatti Bengals DT Christo Bilukidi (WPG), and Seattle Seahawks TE Luke Willson (TOR). Top ranked prospect DL Tyrone Crawford went undrafted in the CFL but was selected in the 3rd round of the NFL by America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys.

The key players who have the potential to become big contributors to their team from this draft are OL Ben Hennan (R:1 / P:1), Jabar Westerman (R:1 / P:2), WR Shamawd Chambers (R:1 / P:6), OL Kirby Fabien (R:1 / P:7), DB Courtney Stephen (R:2 / P:8), Cleyon Laing (R:2 / P:9), and RB Patrick Lavoie (R:2 / P:11) who had a strong rookie season but regressed in his sophomore season.

Here are how the Argos have done….


R:2 / P: 9 – Clayon Laing DT/DE 2013-present (15 Tackles, 4 Sacks, 1 Fumble caused). Great rookie season in 2013 and is expected to have much more reps in 2014. Potential starter.

R:4 / P:24 – Herve Tonye-Tonye LB 2013-present (8 Tackles, 5 STT). Likely to continue as a back up LB and play specials in 2014.
R:4 / P:28 – Quincy Hurst WR 2012-2013. Tore his right posterior cruciate ligament. Released in June of 2013.
R:5 / P:32 – Luke Willson TE. Signed with the Blue Jays in 2011 and drafted in 5th round of NFL (Seattle). Still a member of the Super Bowl Champion Seahawks.
R:6 / P:40 – Aaron Crawford LB 2012. Coaches converted him to a FB and also tried out as a backup Long-Snapper but was soon released during camp. He was put on Saskatchewan’s Practice Roster for a brief time and was last signed by Hamilton but it is yet unknown if he will return with the Ti-Cats for 2014.
R:6 / P:41 – Shea Pierre DB 2012. Released during training camp. Signed with Eskimos and has active in first two weeks of 2013 season but was then put on the PR for the remainder of the season.

The Argos didn’t have much of their top draft picks (1st & 3rd) available since they were both traded away but we did gain two picks by trading away Clarke and Schmidt. Clayon Laing and Hevre Tony-Tonye were both Juniors when they were drafted so it took them a year to eventually sign. Laing was been impressive and has been more invloved as the season preogressed. Both were pretty good picks and I expect Laing to get a look at being a starter this season and Tonye-Tonye will probably remain as a backup LB and a starter on Special Teams. The 4 players selected below however have not been so impressive with all 4 not being current members of the Argos.


At the time Quincy Hurst was a good prospect, seeing him at camp myself I thought he would be a pretty good kick returner one day and he actually did beat a lot of DBs in 1 on 1s with his blazing speed. It`s always hard to evaluate a draft pick after an injury because there is always the “what if”. He had great speed but like the rest of them , injuries are always a problem (Ex. Steven Turner).


Luke Willson was a bit of a risk since he was on the NFL’s radar. He didn’t have a very strong Senior season at Rice but did impress in the combine. He also could have went back to baseball if the NFL didn’t work out for him. The Seahawks signed veteran NFL TE Zach Miller and currently have 4 experienced TEs on their roster with Willson being the 5th. There are also rumours that the Seahawks are trying to convert newly acquired QB Terelle Pryor into a TE. I’m not sure not what this means for Willson, who had 2 catches in the Super Bowl but I sure wouldn’t get my hopes up of him signing with the Argos anytime soon. Interestingly, Jim Barker held a Q&A before the draft and I asked a question regarding Luke Willson and the revival of the TE in Milanovich’s offence. Barker sort of beat around the bush and answered that Willson is a member of the Blue Jays. So what did Barker do? He drafted him! I will take the credit for this selection.


Looking at who the Argos could have drafted instead of Hurst, Willson, Crawford and Pierre is hard since a lot of the players chosen are either back ups or on the PR. Instead of Willson or Hurst, LB/LS Ryan King could have been selected and since we’re now looking for a Long-Snapper to replace Chad Rempel, who signed with the Chicago Bears, it would have made a great pick. Other options include OL Mike Filer, DE Hasan Hazime, LB Jordan Verdone, DB Keynan Parker, and WR Ismael Bamba, who is already on his third team.


Barker likes to trade draft picks and I was really hoping he would have traded up to select hometown boy, Shamawd Chambers. Having watched him in Laurier, I was convinced he was the “real deal” and would be the next great Canadian receiver. He had slow rookie season in 2012 and had a slow start to 2013 but has shown flashes of greatness and here’s hoping one day he’ll come home to play in Double Blue.


Overall Grade for the 2012 Argo draft class: C, without the fact that the Ricky Ray trade involved our first round draft pick.


The Ricky Ray trade deserves a grade of A+++ since we practically stole him. Shaw has been okay, Jyles was horrible and the Eskimos traded down with BC, who selected Westerman, only to draft Austin Pasztor.

[OV Argo]

That sounds right now that you mention it. I couldn't find anything on him but I knew he never made the team. I thought he would at least went to rookie camp or something. He was a long shot anyways. Very rare for a 6th rounder to make the roster.

Dave Stala, Matt Black, Pierre-Luc Labbe, Luc Brodeur Joudain, Chris Greaves, Brett Ralph = fairly recent examples of 6th round draft picks that have not only made CFL rosters, but started in the league.

Andre Durie, Jerome Messam, Rene Paredes, Rob Bagg, Burk Dales, Kyle Koch = recent examples of undrated players who have made CFL rosters and been impact players in the league.

= ALL CFL teams could have added the above players to their rosters via the draft. But some pro football scouts miss the boat or are out to lunch - once in awhile ... to quite often.

[ArgoGabe22]

Dave Stala, Matt Black, Pierre-Luc Labbe, Luc Brodeur Joudain, Chris Greaves, Brett Ralph = fairly recent examples of 6th round draft picks that have not only made CFL rosters, but started in the league.

Andre Durie, Jerome Messam, Rene Paredes, Rob Bagg, Burk Dales, Kyle Koch = recent examples of undrated players who have made CFL rosters and been impact players in the league.

= ALL CFL teams could have added the above players to their rosters via the draft. But some pro football scouts miss the boat or are out to lunch - once in awhile ... to quite often.

Very true and I guess players like Matt Black are considered recent but when I look at very recent (2012) drafts there are a lot of the players I have not even heard of. Though it is very rare for an Argo in recent years to have made the team or contribute in some form. Well at least from 2009.

I think Durie only went undrafted because of his injury, doctors not only told him he would never play football but may never fully recover. Good thing the Argos took a chance on him and strangely enough it was Bart Andrus who first converted him to a receiver.

[OV Argo]

Very true and I guess players like Matt Black are considered recent but when I look at very recent (2012) drafts there are a lot of the players I have not even heard of. Though it is very rare for an Argo in recent years to have made the team or contribute in some form. Well at least from 2009.

I think Durie only went undrafted because of his injury, doctors not only told him he would never play football but may never fully recover. Good thing the Argos took a chance on him and strangely enough it was Bart Andrus who first converted him to a receiver.

Durie DID attend the CFL Combine before he went undrafted; now maybe CFL "scouts" like to invite guys who are medical reason wash-outs that will never play football again to their Combine just for hey why not reasons ... ?

[Wobbler]

Sports team management doesn't have access to time travel technology. Film at 11!

[ArgoRavi]

Dave Stala, Matt Black, Pierre-Luc Labbe, Luc Brodeur Joudain, Chris Greaves, Brett Ralph = fairly recent examples of 6th round draft picks that have not only made CFL rosters, but started in the league. Andre Durie, Jerome Messam, Rene Paredes, Rob Bagg, Burk Dales, Kyle Koch = recent examples of undrated players who have made CFL rosters and been impact players in the league. = ALL CFL teams could have added the above players to their rosters via the draft. But some pro football scouts miss the boat or are out to lunch - once in awhile ... to quite often.

You can use this as evidence that some CFL scouts were clearly on the ball as well.

[OV Argo]

You can use this as evidence that some CFL scouts were clearly on the ball as well.

Yep - one out of 8 teams worth anyways/sort of for the 6th round picks; and zip-o for ALL teams that passed on such good players while drafting guys not a fraction as good; good on somebody for signing them as FAs eventually. The undrafted guys mentioned were all accomplished college ball players - zero excuse to pass them over in a CFL draft to pick "athletes" or "projects" who weren't accomplished football players instead = laughable or $h*tty scouting IMO.

[Rich]

2012 Draft Recap

Overall Grade for the 2012 Argo draft class: C

I think Laing and Tonye2 both have the potential to be long-time starters, which, if it happened, would actually turn this into one of the better drafts for the Argos. Laing for sure looks like a real keeper and potential star. And he was an off-the-board pick by Barker at #9 that had everyone here shaking their heads.

[paulwoods13]

I think Laing and Tonye2 both have the potential to be long-time starters, which, if it happened, would actually turn this into one of the better drafts for the Argos. Laing for sure looks like a real keeper and potential star. And he was an off-the-board pick by Barker at #9 that had everyone here shaking their heads.

No question Laing is a keeper, and Tonye-Tonye has considerable potential.

[OV Argo]

No question Laing is a keeper, and Tonye-Tonye has considerable potential.

Tonye-Tonye will be stuck behind Emry at MLB no? - nice depth to have a young guy with potential there; but - if the Argos thought a lot of him, maybe they would have passed on signing Emry and had T-T, plus Yurichuck, plus maybe Greenwood showing up at MLB; and could have spent FA bucks elsewhere ? (I'm guessing Emry rates a pretty hefty CFL pay-day as an established quality NI starter) ; but Burke had Emry play for him before with Montreal right - so maybe really wanted him for his new Argo D ?