CFL on TSN’s Duane Forde and Canadian Football League (CFL) columnist, Marshall Ferguson shared some of their thoughts on what the Saskatchewan Roughriders could potentially do when Tuesday’s draft rolls around.
As it stands right now, the Roughriders have the third overall pick in the first round. The Ottawa Redblacks have the first, while the Edmonton Elks have the second. The Riders will also go on to also have the eleventh pick if they do not trade it.
“The biggest problem with the Riders last year unquestionably was protection. Whether you want to go get somebody you think can be a top end starter for you on the offensive line to try and protect Trevor Harris or whether you think it’s a depth piece that you can bring along and you think you have enough in house right now,” Ferguson said.
“They got Kian Schaffer-Baker, they got [Samuel] Emilus, they got Brayden Lenius back. Like I don’t think they have to stretch to go do a Jared Wayne or a Cole Tucker,” Ferguson said on why the Riders most likely won’t need to go for receivers with their first two picks.
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“For me, I keep thinking if nothing else, take offensive lineman at three or 11, or both. To me that would signify a strong message from Jeremy O’Day and Craig Dickenson that Riders fans know what the problem is,” Ferguson explained.
“We’re aware there’s a lot of things that go into that sack number being high. I’ve read everything that everybody else has about protection schemes and the quarterback sometimes being skittish last year, having running backs that might have missed an assignment or miscommunication, whatever it is. The reality is, they need to upgrade all of it.”
“The question becomes, is that Donte Bull out of Fresno State? Is that Phillip Grohovac at Western? Is it a Dayton Black that might be a little bit more of like a developmental guy that you want? But I really believe that the Riders have a lot of good players at a lot of different positions and it’s worth attacking that offensive line through the draft,” Ferguson added.
“I’m sure a lot of you have heard about this draft class because of the number of both NCAA and USPORTS guys, top offensive line players who have deferred their draft year to next year. It’s not considered a particularly deep O-Line class,” said Forde.
“What it means is that it creates a little bit of limitations in terms of the number of players in this draft at many positions, who are sure to be there for training camp and who can actually help right away. So another team may see value in getting up to that third pick, not necessarily to take an offensive lineman, but to take someone at another position,” Forde said. “But they might be willing to give you a starting offensive lineman in exchange for that pick,” explained Forde.
The CFL Draft will take place on Tuesday at 6 p.m. The first two rounds will be broadcast on TSN.
