Will Bombers beef up draft selection?

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This article was published 28/04/2020 (2150 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Blue Bombers do not have a pick until 18th overall in Thursday’s CFL Draft.

But TSN draft gurus Duane Forde and Marshall Ferguson have a gut feeling Winnipeg general manager Kyle Walters will move to improve his draft position, possibly targeting University of North Dakota defensive end Mason Bennett with a higher pick.

Bennett, a Winnipegger, was rated 10th in the CFL Scouting Bureau’s final prospect rankings.

“They might take a risk and try to make a move just because I don’t know if Kyle Walters wants to go around 18,” said Ferguson in a conference call with reporters Tuesday afternoon. “If he does, just before (Ottawa and Toronto’s) territorial selections, they could go receiver.

“Between Cody Speller and a couple of the other young drafted guys like Drew Desjarlais, they filled in their (offensive line) depth pretty good but obviously every year you’re filling that depth in even more. So I would say, look at a pass-rusher. North Dakota’s Mason Bennett would be a good one — obviously with a Winnipeg connection there.”

Walters, who dealt his first-round choice in the draft to the Toronto Argonauts in a trade for quarterback Zach Collaros, said recently he’s not inclined to make a move into the first round.

“It’s a deep draft but not overly deep at the top end,” said Forde, who said Bennett would be a good fit for the defending Grey Cup champs after losing Jonathan Kongbo to the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers in the off-season.

“And so I think there may be some shuffling, not the madness necessarily we’ve seen in other years but a little bit of shuffling with people trying to get into position to take certain players.

Should Walters decide to stand pat, both TSN experts agreed Winnipeg could choose a safety in the second or fourth rounds.

With veteran Canadian Derek Jones leaving via free agency and Jeff Hecht going unsigned, the Blue Bombers don’t have an experienced homegrown safety but could keep American Brandon Alexander there after a successful Grey Cup title run.

But with safety a position traditionally reserved for a Canadian starter, a trio of candidates including McMaster’s Noah Hallett, UBC’s Stavros Katsantonis and Laval’s Adam Auclair could fit the bill for Winnipeg.

Ferguson asserted Hallett, the younger brother of Winnipeg special teams ace Nick Hallett, and Katsantonis have the skill set to develop into starters. But the Hamilton Tiger-Cats could beat the Blue Bombers to Hallett.

“I think the Ticats may take a look at Noah just because he kinda looks like Craig Butler, who’s still on the coaching staff in Hamilton,” said Ferguson.

“So there’s a good fit there and he might not be available (to Winnipeg) if Hamilton gets a hold of him in the first round with either of their two picks, or maybe early in the second if they move up somewhere. Katsantonis is as good as it gets in playing the football in the air and coming down into the box as well.”

As for the draft’s top slot, Ferguson said East Carolina linebacker Jordan Williams could go first to the Calgary Stampeders after weeks of speculation that Alberta offensive lineman Carter O’Donnell would be No. 1. O’Donnell, however, recently signed a free-agent deal with the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts. 

“That combination to me, again the size, the speed of play, the style of play, the fit and the national status, I think it’s such a great pick,” said Ferguson of Williams. “If he’s there, he’s going to be there for years and he’s going to be really good for years.” 

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14