2017 CFL Draft Thread

[jerrym]

Marshall Ferguson looks at which OL's ranking went up or down as a result of the National Combine.

http://www.cfl.ca/2017/04/06/stock-a...ding-trenches/

[jerrym]

Marshall Ferguson ranks receivers terms of size vs. speed.

Every GM, coach and scout in Regina a couple weeks ago was looking for the perfect combination of all traits that make a football player great in the CFL. Size, speed, smarts, quickness, power to name a few.

I saw a graphic similar to this after the NFL combine and - like everything else I'm doing this Spring - couldn't figure out why the hell anybody from a major network in Canada hasn't taken a deep dive on things like this for CFL draft curiosity, so I did.

I averaged the height and weight percentiles of each receiver to get a 'size' percentile then graphed it against the 40 yard percentiles of each receiver in the 2017 draft from all regional and national combines.




Percentiles are judged on a scale of 0-100 just like in school and determined by running the 2017 draft class data against the same data of all receivers to participate in a CFL combine since 2006.

What I ended up getting was essentially four classes of receiver in the 2017 draft.

I the top left we have the oversize slotback types who ran anywhere from SLOW (Ellenberger) to mediocre (Auclair). All of this is important to put in context by saying the big bodied receivers are being judged against every receiver since 2006, so we shouldn't expect the top left quadrant to blow away any speed records.

This actually makes Laval's Antony Auclair and his 39th percentile 40 yard dash all that much more impressive when considering he is carrying around a 254 pound frame. That's 55 pounds heavier than the average CFL combine receiver since 2006.

http://www.marshallferguson.com/sing...-Size-vs-Speed

[jerrym]

Randy Colling is an unusual and potentially high 2017 draft choice as a 26 year old American born, Arena League All-Star, who now has Canadian citizenship. If he is available, he could help boost the Argo National content on defence with someone ready or close-to-ready for play.

Randy Colling found his calling as a Canadian after a rule change and knowledge from a current Arena league head coach with Canadian Football League scouting experience.
Five years after graduating from Gannon University the 26-year-old defensive lineman has obtained Canadian Citizenship and been added to the 2017 CFL draft class. When Colling finished his senior season with the Golden Knights he would not have been considered a non-import under the collective bargaining agreement at the time. But in May 2014, when the CBA changed and allowed Canadian Citizens to qualify as nationals that changed the dynamic for Colling. However, it took recognition from Cleveland Gladiators head coach Ron Selesky, who was a U.S. scout with the Saskatchewan Roughriders that found linebacker Jeff Knox Jr. in 2015, to start the process for Colling.
“I didn’t know he could qualify as a Canadian until he told me that his dad was born in Canada. I remembered seeing the article about how [Garrett] Waggoner got his Canadian Citizenship and they had contacted the Minister of Sport up there and got their process expedited. As soon as Randy told me the light went on: ‘Waggoner.’ I used that as a blueprint,” Selesky says. “If I would’ve known earlier that his dad had been born in Canada we could’ve jumped on it a lot earlier. When we first got him he had just turned 23.”
Colling’s father and grandfather, Kirby and Ken, were born in Hamilton, grew up Ticats fans. Kirby taught his son the “Oskee Wee Wee” chant, still wears a Ticats winter coat and owns a Darren Flutie jersey among others, even after he moved to Buffalo as a teenager.
“I remember visiting Hamilton when I was 12 years old because my dad wanted to show me where he grew up. He told me about the Tiger-Cats and we went to the team shop where I got some gear,” Colling recalls.
Although, that didn’t help Colling’s citizenship process speed up. It took over a year for the final paperwork to be done, which came three days after the deadline to qualify for the 2016 CFL supplemental draft.
“My Cleveland teammate Brian Brikowski, who played for the Montreal Alouettes [2014-2015], he was telling me how much of a difference it would make in me getting my Canadian citizenship,” Colling, eligible for the 2017 CFL pick-fest, says. “You can make more money and have a lot longer career.”
Back in 2011, the defensive lineman finished his senior season at Gannon University with 88 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, nine sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in 11 games. He was a Gene Upshaw NCAA Division II Lineman of the Year award finalist. After going unselected in the NFL draft that year, Giants and Jets mini-camps didn’t yield a contract, Colling signed with the Gladiators and played there for the 2012 and 2013 seasons. For 2014 he signed a futures contract with the Bills in January that year, but he was released in May after Buffalo tried to turn him into an offensive lineman.
“Where I came out of college, Gannon University, no player had ever signed an NFL deal. One guy before me went to a mini-camp but never signed a deal,” Colling says.
After that, it was back to Cleveland where Colling continued to develop into an elite Arena league defensive lineman. Last year for the Gladiators he registered 19.5 tackles and 4.5 sacks in 16 games, which earned him All-Arena defensive first team accolades. And he was an emergency offensive lineman too.

http://3downnation.com/2017/04/10/ra...raft-prospect/