Pick 3: Blue in position to solidify future in draft

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This article was published 25/04/2015 (3974 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The future of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers came into a little sharper focus on Friday with the release of the CFL Scouting Bureau’s final rankings for next month’s CFL draft.

The Bombers have three selections in the Top 15 of this year’s draft — including the second overall — and their selections next month could be pivotal for the future of the team, shaping the franchise for years to come if Bombers GM Kyle Walters and his staff choose wisely from a draft class considered exceptionally deep.

 

 

Walters talked openly this winter about the possibility of using his club’s second overall pick to select a hometown kid in University of Manitoba Bisons receiver Nic Demski, but Walters might not need to use such a high pick if Friday’s final rankings play out accurately.

Demski fell from fifth to ninth in the final rankings released Friday and the Bombers could conceivably use their second-overall pick to take one of four offensive linemen ranked in the top six and then either hope Demski is still around by the time they get to pick again or package their remaining picks to trade up to a higher selection.

It’s unlikely this year’s draft will unfold even remotely according to the form suggested by Friday’s final rankings. With so many variables in play — the top four ranked players all have legitimate NFL aspirations, for one thing —the final rankings will provide only a loose guide to how next month’s draft will unfold.

It is worth noting, however, the first nine players selected in last year’s draft were ranked in the final Top 15 — and all 15 were selected at some point in the 2014 draft.

This year’s top-ranked pick is DL Christian Covington — a son of CFL Hall of Fame defensive end Grover Covington, who announced in January he is going to skip his senior year at Rice, making him eligible this spring for both the CFL and NFL drafts.

Covington, as well as second-ranked Brett Boyko (OL, UNLV), third-ranked Alex Mateas (OL, UConn) and fourth-ranked Tyler Varga (RB, Yale) are all expected to attract varying levels of NFL interest, making them risky picks for a CFL team.

On the other hand, Danny Groulx, a fifth-ranked offensive lineman out of Laval, also took part in an NFL regional combine recently, but told a conference call organized by the CFL Friday he would be delighted to play next season in Canada if that’s how things work out.

“Honestly, right now I’m not really focusing on the NFL,” said Groulx. “I don’t really know what’s going to happen. But like I told a lot of teams, my goal is to play professional football. It’s not NFL or CFL, it’s professional football. So whatever league it is, I’m going to be happy.”

Groulx could be a particularly attractive pick for the Ottawa Redblacks — who draft first overall, they need offensive line help and could potentially sell some tickets with a homegrown talent in Groulx, who grew up just outside of Ottawa in Gatineau, Que.

“For sure if I go in the top seed of the draft, I’m going to be happy,” Groulx said of the prospect of playing at home. “But it doesn’t matter to me. I just want to be with a team that wants me.”

The CFL draft will be held May 12.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @PaulWiecek