2017 CFL Draft Thread

[jerrym]

You can find an interview with #7 ranked prospect McMaster receiver Danny Vandevoort, who grew up an Argo fan.

http://www.cfl.ca/2016/12/19/top-pro...y-vandervoort/

[jerrym]

Here's an interview with #11 ranked CFL Scouting Bureau All-Canadian offensive lineman Geoff Gray of the University of Manitoba.


http://www.cfl.ca/2016/12/27/top-pro...an-geoff-gray/

[jerrym]

You can find the #6 December CFL Scouting prospect Kwaku Boateng, DL from Laurier, interview below.

http://www.cfl.ca/2016/12/29/top-pro...kwaku-boateng/

[OV Argo]

CFL draft prospects - Junior Luke - DT, and LB Fredric Chagnon - both from Montreal Carabins - recently played in a US college all-star game - the National Bowl (for DII & DIII players down there); Luke named lineman MVP of the game. Story on 3rd Down Nation - Justin Dunk

Luke, along with fellow CFL draft prospect LB Chris Mulumba Tshimanga (Maine) are going to The Tropical Bowl - US college ball all-star game.

Also going to that game is multiple CIS all-star OT Vernon Sainvil (St FX) - who is an American and does not (at this point - unless he can get Canadian citizenship ?) qualify as a CFL National = not draftable.

[KCargosfan]

Also going to that game is multiple CIS all-star OT Vernon Sainvil (St FX) - who is an American and does not (at this point - unless he can get Canadian citizenship ?) qualify as a CFL National = not draftable.

Unless there's something about his parents we don't know, that is correct, because he is from Massachusetts.

[doubleblue]

Herdman is listed as R-SR on the SFU roster - which i believe means red-shirted Senior ? - and if so, does this mean he would be eligible for another (5th) year of playing there ?

And the new CFL draft rules mean that Canadians playing US college ball are draftable after they have used up all their college ball eligibility ?


SO - Herdman might not be CFL draftable till the 2018 draft ??? - i dunno

IF he is draftable the next CFL draft but is not on the CFL's Scouting Combine top 20 prospects list - I would find that just bizzarre (but it is the CFL draft we're talking - and nothing surprises me there).

Well, OV you were right about Herdman, I see he's been invited to the Senior Bowl. That means he will have a good chance of being drafted.

[OV Argo]

Well, OV you were right about Herdman, I see he's been invited to the Senior Bowl. That means he will have a good chance of being drafted.

Well, we knew he was draftable coming up when he made the 2nd edition of the CFL Scouting Bureau's list of top prospects. How he did not make the 1st edition list, and why he is not top 5 or so currently, is baffling to me; but we are talking CFL "scouting". ;o)

Going to the Senior Bowl is a big step = it is THE #1 NFL scouting event.

[OV Argo]

Here's an interview with #11 ranked CFL Scouting Bureau All-Canadian offensive lineman Geoff Gray of the University of Manitoba.


http://www.cfl.ca/2016/12/27/top-pro...an-geoff-gray/

Gray apparently drawing some NFL scouts attention at the East-West Shrine practices.

[jerrym]

Top receiving prospect Rashun Simonise has had his draft year deferred from 2017 to 2018 because he failed a Cincinnati Bengal TC drug test.

Simonise was released by the Bengals on Sept. 3, just prior to the regular season, but not before the NFL suspended the 6-foot-5 wideout for four games.Simonise’s NFL suspension was lifted Oct. 11, and the Vancouver native decided to join the Okanagan Sun of the Canadian Junior Football League for the remainder of the season.
A new CFL drug policy put in place last year added a provision for draft-eligible players who test positive for a banned substance. “An individual who incurs an anti-doping rule violation pursuant to the Canadian Anti-Doping Program (CADP) or who tests positive for a substance banned under the CFL drug policy in the year of his CFL draft, or the immediate year prior to his CFL draft, will have his draft year deferred for one year,” the league wrote when announcing the changes Feb. 25, 2016.
Considered the top receiver available in the 2017 CFL Draft on May 7, Simonise was expected to focus on finding another NFL opportunity, anyway, but this news means his fall-back plan north of the border is on hold for at least another year.
Simonise was ranked fourth on the latest December version of the CFL scouting bureau’s draft rankings, up from the No. 7 spot he occupied in September.
It’s been an interesting year for the 21-year-old, who, after an All-Canadian campaign as a junior that saw him pile up 1,079 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns, was ruled academically ineligible heading into his senior season with the University of Calgary Dinos. Simonise went on to play in the Champions Indoor Football League for the Chicago Eagles as he hoped to be selected in the 2016 NFL Supplemental Draft last July, but that did not come to fruition.
A handful of teams showed interest in signing Simonise as a free agent, and he ultimately chose the Bengals.

http://slam.canoe.com/Slam/Football/.../22708141.html

[jerrym]

Here is Marshall Ferguson's Mock Draft with 6 foot 9 Mason Wood being picked first by Winnipeg (not Toronto for reasons we all know).

http://www.cfl.ca/2017/03/08/mock-1-...rs-take-first/

[Wobbler]

Well, we knew he was draftable coming up when he made the 2nd edition of the CFL Scouting Bureau's list of top prospects. How he did not make the 1st edition list, and why he is not top 5 or so currently, is baffling to me; but we are talking CFL "scouting". ;o)

Going to the Senior Bowl is a big step = it is THE #1 NFL scouting event.

Thanks, and please keep up your good work, OV!

[OV Argo]

Argos should IMO be looking at DT with their 1st pick (#10 overall) - and a number of very good prospects there IMO - Luke, Ankou, Ekakite, Vaughn, Narkaj - and one of them has to be available still at #10 = a guy who can maybe play right away in a platoon with Waud - hopefully - at a starting NI spot on D. But who knows with Jimmy P now - might draft a "depth" O-lineman with # 10 - a guy who likely makes the PR at best if Holmes, Watman, Dyakowski, maybe Van Zeyl, and let alone last year's picks like Sackey or Campbell are around to fight for the 2 starting OG spots (assuming it will be at least one or 2 imports starting at OT) ?

[Wobbler]

FWIW, Scott Mitchell has us targeting DE Boateng @10 and DT Vaughn @19 in his mock draft.

[OV Argo]

FWIW, Scott Mitchell has us targeting DE Boateng @10 and DT Vaughn @19 in his mock draft.

Really doubt Vaughn is still going to be around at #19 - I think he will rise up at the Combine to go with his excellent all-star season in US college ball last season and be 1st round material or early 2nd round. He might even be the best CFL DT prospect this season in a good crop there.

Boateng is a Canadian DE out of CIS ball - very little evidence of many of them making an impact in CFL ball at their natural position lately; Boateng at #19 might make more sense, but IMO would be better to look at other positions - unless Foley is still starting at DE and Boateng is looked at as a back-up/understudy who can play soon.

With Deane now signed and Dyakowski added, plus Watman, plus last year's O-Line picks Sackey and Campbell still in the mix (?) - is there any need now to add more NI O-linemen? - wouldn't be surprised to see Jimmy P go there anyways.

I'd prefer to see them target a DT at #10 and then maybe a linebacker (cupboard bare there) at #19; but scooping a NI LB from the Bombers deep crop there ( they have to cut one or three of them) could be a good wait and see option.

[Wobbler]

Agreed, OV. Unless Popp thinks Campbell and Sackey are bums, we seem moderately well set on the OL. It would be nice to grab one of the top DL with our first pick, and interior is our area of greatest need unless Walker has fallen out of favour.

[jerrym]

Here's Scott Mitchell Mock Draft which can be compared to Mitchell Ferguson's in post # 70. Both have OL Mason Woods #1, and OLGeoff Gray #2, but Ferguson has BC going with Jordan Herdman #3 while Mitchell has it taking Dariusz Bladek. Ferguson has Argos taking DL Connor McGough tenth while Mitchell has it taking DE Kwak Boating.

http://m.torontosun.com//2017/03/06/...-mock-draft-10

[jerrym]

One player who won't at any of the Combines is #1 ranked prospect OL Justin Senior because of his good chances of being a NFL draft choice and his hectic offseason. I wonder if his shoulder problems might affect when he is drafted.

It’s been a hectic off-season already for the six-foot-five, 331-pound Senior, who played in the Senior Bowl on Jan. 28 before competing last month at the NFL combine after helping the Bulldogs beat Miami (Ohio) 17-16 in the St. Petersburg Bowl on Dec. 26. ...

He was the CFL scouting bureau’s top-ranked prospect for the 2017 draft. But any team taking Senior can expect to wait because he’s projected as a potential fourth- or fifth-round NFL pick.
Mike Mayock, the NFL Network’s draft guru, wouldn’t be surprised to see Senior go earlier than that.
“Typically I’d have him as a fifth-round guy,” Mayock said. “But he could go in the third or fourth round because it’s a tough class and he’s got some upside.
“I thought he was a little bit overwhelmed early in the Senior Bowl, and all of a sudden by mid-week, it seemed to click. He’s got length, he’s got size.”
Senior said he’s been open to speaking with CFL officials this off-season, but he has had little to no contact with them due to his NFL prospects.
Senior posted a time of 5.55 seconds in the 40-yard dash at the combine as well as a 23-inch vertical jump and eight-foot, two-inch broad jump. But he didn’t participate in the bench press due to shoulder tendinitis that developed during the season.

http://www.3downnation.com/2017/03/1...017-nfl-draft/

[jerrym]

Justin Dunk's has ranked the top five prospects at each position in the article below.

http://3downnation.com/2017/03/20/20...pect-rankings/

[jerrym]

Eli Ankou, Dunks top ranked DL prospect, has had a very good Pro Day, increasing his prospects of being drafted by the NFL and possibly dropping his CFL draft position.

DL Eli Ankou, top ranked CFL prospect, posts strong UCLA pro day

Posted on March 21, 2017 by 3Down Staff // 0 Comments

Canadian defensive lineman Eli Ankou posted some impressive numbers at his UCLA pro day on Tuesday.
The Ottawa native pumped out 31 reps of 225 pounds on the bench press.
Then proceeded to broad jump 9-feet, seven inches, recorded a 31-inch vertical and checked in at over six-foot-three, 331-pounds. Some similar numbers to David Onyemata who was drafted in the fourth round by the Saints last year.

http://3downnation.com/2017/03/21/dl...-ucla-pro-day/

[jerrym]

Here are the result of #11 CFL ranked OL Faith Ekakitie who played at Iowa. As a #11, he could well be available when the Argos get their first draft choice.

The Brampton, Ontario native checked in at six-foot-one, 304 pounds. He repped 225 pounds on the bench press 24 times, broad jumped eight feet, five inches, vertical leaped 28.5 inches, ran a 5.05 40-yard time, 4.50 shuttle and 7.54 3-cone time.
Ekakitie played in a career-high 13 games for the Hawkeyes during his senior season which saw him record 39 tackles, two tackles for loss, two knock downs and one fumble recovery. For those efforts he won the Hawkeyes’ Finish Strong team award.
After being ranked 14 on the CFL’s September scouting bureau rankings, Ekakitie moved up three spots to 11 on the December list.

http://3downnation.com/2017/03/27/ca...o-day-results/