** With contributions from Luc Mullinder
This weekend, many of the top Canadian prospects will converge on Toronto to take their final steps towards the CFL Draft. With the first overall pick and four of the first 27 picks in the draft, this will be a crucial weekend for Roughriders Vice President of Football Operations, General Manager and Head Coach, Chris Jones and his staff.
The first thing they will be looking for is depth at offensive line, so don’t be surprised if that position is the first on the board. They may very well stick in the trenches for one of their other next three picks as well (24th, 25th and 27th overall). The addition of Justin Capicciotti and the re-signing of Dylan Ainsworth at defensive end as well as picking up free agent veteran defensive tackle, Hasan Hazime from Hamilton to go along with 2015 draft picks Rory Connop and Brandon Tennant means that another addition to the defensive line is more than likely a strong possibility.
From there, depth at receiver, safety and strong athletes that can play special teams will round out the needs for the Riders.
Many are familiar with the heavily produced and promoted NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis. The CFL Combine is similar in regards to the testing, but the main difference on the University of Toronto’s High Perfomance Centre turf is players will be in full contact drills to see how they actually match up against similar competition.
Defensive linemen will face offensive linemen, not big blue bags, receivers will battle defensive backs not air and running backs will compete against linebackers, all in full pads to give CFL front offices an even better look at a player(s) they have on their big boards.
A bad performance at the NFL Combine will affect a player by a round or two, but if a player tests and performs poorly in one-on-one competition that can completely wipe a player off the draft map.
Typically in the CFL, Canadians make up the interior of the offensive line (centres and guards), slot receiver, wide side receiver (or the x), field side defensive back and safety. This has changed a little over the last few seasons with the proliferation of strong Canadian defensive line play (ends Justin Capicciotti and Ricky Foley, tackles Ted Laurent and Keith Shologan) and the resurgence of the Canadian running backs (Andrew Harris, Jerome Messam and the recently retired Jon Cornish). This has allowed teams to be more flexible with the seven Canadian starters required at game time.
Everything is on the board (except quarterback…whole other story for another time) and here is a little of what the football front offices will be looking for:
Defensive Backs – Backpedal; if they are able to flip the hips and get in and out of their turns (planting the back foot and exploding to the ball for a pick or knock down). In college, most of the time DB’s play quarters (back more towards the sidelines in a quarter backpedal and not full out) while facing the quarterback and offensive line, scouts want to see these guys in full backpedal. Also, the 40 time will be a big factor. If a receiver runs a 4.6 time, the defensvie back will need to run a 4.45 to recover and close ground.
Linebackers – At the CFL combine, teams will get to see how they shed blocks and a very small taste of how they see the field. Testing-wise, their split-ten speed is important to see how fast they can close and hit the hole and coverage ability against pass catching running backs.
Defensive Line (Interior) – There are no real true 0-technique tackles in the CFL, but with the increase of 30-front schemes, this has started to change a little. Teams will look for big strong 3-technique players who can hold their ground and take up some space.
(Ends) – Explosiveness, pure and simple. How fast can you get off the blocks and shed the tackle, so their vertical and broad jump will be a good indication of their explosiveness.
Great pad level is needed across the whole defensive line.
Running Backs – In the CFL, two things that a Canadian running back must do is catch the ball and block. If they can’t do that, then it’s time to find another job. They will need to test well overall, no need to wow the scouts in any individual category, but they need to be consistently above the norm across the board. The combine is difficult for the running backs, their film is the kicker because they are used primarily as special teamers and back-ups.
Offensive Line – You would think the bench press (as many reps of 225), is most important but at this level, everyone is strong. Quick hands and great footwork is a better indicator of success at the CFL level; how fluid are they, a good knee bend and if they get in and out of their stance and kick-step back.
Receiver – Speed. Can they lift the lid off the defence and stretch the field (speed coming out of his break). The gold standard is 4.4 – 4.6 seconds. This usually lends itself to great explosiveness in the broad and vertical jumps. At the CFL Combine, it will be interesting to see how they fend off a jam from the defensive backs and create separation.
Quarterbacks – Well….as I said, a story for another day.
So, for comparisions sake, let’s take a look at players currently on the Riders roster (and one former Rider in the NFL) and how they compare in the testing. The gap isn’t as big as many will think. An elite athlete will be elite on both sides of the border, the depth is just ten-fold deeper at the NCAA level.
Top 40:
Canadian: Tevaughn Campbell – DB (University of Regina) 4.36 seconds in 2015
American: Curtis Brown – DB (University of Texas) 4.53 seconds in 2011
(Click to watch Curtis Brown’s 2011 Combine)
Campbell is a national level track athlete with the University of Regina and tore up the turf last year. The one 40 time that does stick out on the Riders is tackle Bruce Campbell out of Maryland. In the 2010 NFL Combine, he ripped off a 4.85 time at 6’6″ and 314 pounds.
Bench Press:
Canadian: Justin Capicciotti- DE (Simon Fraser University) 28 reps in 2012
American: Bruce Campbell – T (Maryland) 34 reps in 2010
Justin Capicciotti was a workout warrior in the 2012 CFL Combine, leading the defensive linemen in the broad jump (10’03.0″), vertical (35.5″), 40 yard (4.89 sec), and split-10 time (1.67sec)
As a side note, Saskatchewan Roughriders first overall pick, Ben Heenan had an unreal CFL Combine in 2012. He ripped off 32 reps on the bench press as well as OL group highs in the 3-cone drill (7.59 sec) and broad jump (8’03.0″).
3-cone drill:
Canadian: Nic Demski – SB(University of Manitoba) 6.91 seconds in 2015
American: Curtis Brown – DB (University of Texas) 6.59 seconds in 2011
This is a drill to see how agile the players are and how well they cut. Demski wowed the scouts with the 2015 Combine’s top 3-cone time and was also near the top in the shuttle run at 4.19 seconds.
Other testing done at both combines: the vertical and broad jumps, shuttle run as well as marking the split-10 time during the 40. Then it’s off to the one-on-one drills.
After it’s all done, the football personnel will see if everything done at the combine matches what the players have put on tape. This is their only chance because unlike in the NCAA, there are no individual school pro days in Canada. There are always exceptions to the rule, this year, University of Manitoba defensive lineman David Onyemata will not be attending the CFL Combine and instead having his own pro day in Manitoba. University of Iowa receiver Tavaun Smith will also not be attending the Combine and instead sticking with his Hawkeye pro day on March 21st.
For a complete roster of attendees head here
