Making do at the draft

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This article was published 04/05/2012 (4913 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Admittedly, they did not get their man but the Winnipeg Blue Bombers believe they made the best out of a soft draft.

The Bombers concluded there were three players in the 2012 CFL Draft they could count on as being blue-chippers and moved a pair of second-round draft picks to make sure they could acquire one of them.

Bombers GM Joe Mack swapped his Nos. 8 and 13 picks for the No. 3 selection and then used it to grab Delta, B.C.-born offensive tackle Tyson Pencer out of Washington State.

Mack hoped he would be able to snag Eastern Michigan defensive lineman Jabar Westerman at that spot but the B.C. Lions traded up to the No. 2 hole and stole Westerman.

“We were able to get to the third pick and get one of the three players we believe has a legitimate chance to be a starter for us because of the way our roster is structured right now,” said Mack.

“We feel very fortunate to be able to do that and think Tyson Pencer will be a real good football player for us. We also were able to address some other needs in the later rounds and we think we got five good players.”

Mack and his staff determined No. 1 pick Ben Heenan, taken by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Westerman and Pencer were the most desirable players in the field and they wanted one of the three, likely in that order of preference.

“We really only lost the No. 13 pick because we drafted at three instead of eight and when I looked all the way down to 13, I wasn’t sure about what we were going to be able to get so that made me comfortable with this move,” said Mack.

“We wanted to be aggressive and we were.”

Mack didn’t hide his desire where Westerman was concerned but said the minute the Lions moved up to take him he knew the Bombers would take Pencer.

“We went through all these scenarios and were prepared for this,” said Mack. “We think Pencer can be a ratio changer and start at tackle. We wouldn’t have made this move if we didn’t think that.”

Ineligible

Pencer was academically ineligible last season and left Washington State to play with the Okanagan Sun of the Canadian Junior Football League. He slipped down a bit on some draft boards as a result. But not Mack’s.

“He moved really well at the (evaluation) camp but what stood out to me was when I watched film of him as a freshman and a sophomore at Washington State playing against USC, Oregon and that calibre of teams and playing against defensive players that I knew were NFL-calibre and real beasts and he held his own,” said Mack.

“He was aggressive and physical and made me think he might be able to develop into a starting offensive lineman and maybe even a tackle and as you all know, Canadian tackles are a premium commodity up here.”

The 6-8, 330-pound Pencer believes he can play tackle in the CFL, a position usually reserved for imports.

“I see myself playing guard and eventually moving out to tackle. My goal would eventually be to play tackle, but if that takes moving inside for a bit and learning the position better then moving back outside, if that’s what it takes, that’s what I’m going to do,” he said.

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The Bombers also selected receiver Johnny Aprile out of Queen’s University, defensive end Christo Bilukidi from Georgia State, linebacker Rene Stephan from Harding University and Acadia defensive lineman Jake Thomas.

Bilukidi was taken by the Oakland Raiders in the sixth round of the this year’s NFL draft and may not ever get to Winnipeg but if he does, he could turn this draft into something special for the Bombers.

“He could be the Christmas present,” said Mack.

gary.lawless@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @garylawless

bisons’ wr overjoyed to be drafted C4