The Saskatchewan Roughriders enter the 2018 CFL draft with an eye on the future more so than the present.
Chris Jones — the Roughriders’ head coach, general manager and vice-president of football operations — observed during a media conference Wednesday at Mosaic Stadium that the 2018 draft class doesn’t include a lot of players who will start as rookies.
Then again, that’s often the case. None of the nine players selected in the first round of the 2017 draft started regularly for his team and only three of the first-rounders in 2016 started games as CFL freshmen.
“(Alex) Singleton’s a great player, but I guarantee you that if you would have asked Calgary truthfully in their mind would he have been an 18-game starter Year No. 1, I would venture to say that they would not have thought that,” Jones said, referring to the Stampeders linebacker who started as a rookie in 2016.
“Same thing with Brendon LaBatte (who stepped in at guard for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers as a rookie in 2008). Same thing with all the guys who come in and immediately find a niche. They find a niche for a reason: They’re better than what you think. There will probably be somebody in this draft who’s a little better than what we think.”
The CFL draft is set to begin Thursday at 6 p.m., Saskatchewan time. The Roughriders currently hold picks in the first (fifth overall), second (14th overall), fifth (36th overall), sixth (45th overall) and eighth (63rd overall) rounds.
Jones noted that the Roughriders will look first at their depth along the offensive and defensive lines, but the goal is to take the best available players.
“We’ve ranked them from 1 to 10 at every position,” Jones said. “Certainly if we can upgrade a position, that would be great. Anytime that you can add a Canadian starter right away (that’s great). But I don’t see that many Canadian starters right away (in this draft). I see some guys who are going to take a year or two to develop.”
That said, Jones agreed that there are some high-quality players at the top end of the draft who could step in right away. The Roughriders have discussed the possibility of trading up in the draft order in hopes of guaranteeing themselves the player they covet the most.
“We’ve talked about both scenarios, the possibility of moving up and the possibility of moving down,” Jones said. “The one thing we know for sure is there are four people who are going to be taken before we choose.
“If we’re not able to position ourselves to move up, then we’ll have to wait and see who’s there (at No. 5) — and then the possibility of moving down is there also.”
The Montreal Alouettes initially held the first overall pick, but they traded it to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Wednesday in a massive deal that involved three players and seven draft picks.
The Roughriders have conducted in the neighbourhood of 15 mock drafts, some of which comprised just the first two rounds and some of which attempted to predict all eight rounds. Those latter attempts are difficult, Jones said, because teams have different strategies in the lower rounds.
Saskatchewan currently has 35 Canadian players on its roster, including six of the nine players it drafted in 2017. Two of the Roughriders’ seven selections in the 2016 draft — Jones’ first at the team’s helm — are still with the Green and White.
Some players (including offensive lineman Josiah St. John, whom Saskatchewan picked first overall in 2016) have yet to hit their stride with the club, while others (like linebacker Cameron Judge, whom the Roughriders selected No. 2 last season) have had to deal with injuries. Still more (such as receiver Mitchell Picton, a fifth-rounder in 2017) are preparing for their first full season in the CFL.
Those players, along with the 2018 draft picks, will look to join a core of Canadian players on the Roughriders’ roster that has been reshaped through trades or free agency over the past two years.
Players like safeties Marc-Olivier Brouillette and Mike Edem, defensive tackles Zack Evans and Eddie Steele, linebacker Sam Hurl and tailback Jerome Messam have been added over the past two off-seasons as Jones and Co. tried to upgrade the team’s national talent.
“I do feel like we’re better,” Jones said. “We’re not here to slam what was here or what was done prior to us being here or anything like that. That doesn’t prove anything to anybody. We just feel like we’ve upgraded our football team.
“We feel like we can walk out there now and be as athletic as anybody at just about every position and be solid in the special teams as well. I do feel like we have done that.”
EXTRAS: With the off-season release of Henoc Muamba, the Roughriders are looking at options at middle linebacker. Jones said the initial plan is to move Sam Eguavoen from the weak side to the middle, although there will be a handful of players rotating through the position … The left tackle spot on the offensive line also is vacant, following the departure of Bruce Campbell. Jones noted that the Roughriders have a number of candidates, including Terran Vaughn (who was on the practice roster last season) and recent signee Takoby Cofield … Defensive back Elie Bouka, who signed with the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles after being released by Saskatchewan in January, suffered a torn Achilles tendon during an Eagles workout. Bouka, who was put on the Eagles’ injured reserve list, won’t play in 2018 … The Roughriders are to open training camp May 20 in Saskatoon, which is one week earlier than they started in 2017. Asked if the change caused him any difficulties, Jones replied: “I looked down at the calendar the other day and I’m like, ‘When am I going to get my truck and my motorcycle up to Saskatchewan?’ I thought I’d better hop in there and, instead of flying up for the draft, I’d better drive up and get everything in order.”
