Methodical approach to CFL draft gives Bombers quality roster of new faces

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This article was published 07/05/2017 (3167 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers general manager Kyle Walters took the podium at Investors Group Field Sunday night wearing the fatigue from the day – and, most likely, much of the past few months.

The Bombers concluded the 2017 CFL Draft, ending what had been an on-again-off-again process that started at the end of the 2016 season, only to kick into overdrive since the national combine in late March.

By the end of this day, the Bombers had added eight new faces to the roster, two of which were high-profile players: No. 1 overall pick, defensive tackle Faith Ekakitie from the University of Iowa and Geoff Gray at eighth overall, an offensive lineman for the University of Manitoba that won’t likely be around for a couple of years after signing with the Green Bay Packers of the NFL.

“It’s a draining process,” Walters said, adding he likely was unique in his feelings of severe tiredness and joy. “I believe that everybody views this draft differently on their own boards so everybody is going to feel in those first three rounds that they killed it because everybody ranks their guys different. We were very methodical in our approach; we addressed our needs and we certainly focused on upgrading the developmental side of our roster.”

Walters had teased during a press conference days before the draft that he was willing to trade his second pick in the first round – sixth overall – for the right price. He’d eventually follow through on it, swapping with the Calgary Stampeders for the eighth overall selection, as well as Calgary’s fourth-round pick (34th overall).

The move proved to be a smart one for Winnipeg, who had always planned to take Gray with their second pick in the first round, something they felt confident in being able to do at eighth. They were also without a pick in the fourth and fifth rounds following trades to obtain quarterbacks Matt Nichols, in 2015, and Kevin Glenn last season, so the extra pick helped fill part of that void.

The Bombers added Felix Menard-Briere with the additional pick from the Stamps, which came after the Blue and Gold picked up McGill OL Qadr Spooner in the second round and defensive back Abubakarr Conteh, who was born in Sierra Leone, raised in Winnipeg and went to school at Grambling State, in the third round (23rd overall).

The Bombers wrapped up the remainder of the draft by choosing Guelph University defensive lineman Ian Marouf (sixth round, 50th overall); and wide receivers Brendon Thera-Plamondo, from the University of Calgary (seventh round, 59th overall) and Tylor Henry from the University of Alberta (eight round, 68th overall).

Here is a look at what Walters had to say about each pick:

FIRST ROUND

(Height, weight, school)

1st overall – DT Faith Ekakitie (6-1, 304, Iowa)

“He’s a big strong guy who was able to get a push in the pocket. You watch his film and he’s playing elite competition week in and week out and he’s a very mature kid. He’s got the physical tools, the testing attributes – the height, weight, speed – that says he’s going to be able to line up here Day 1 and be able to compete for playing time.”

8th overall – OL Geoff Gray (6-6, 310, Manitoba)

“We like the offensive line and if we were going to have to pay that type of salary to come and probably develop for a year or two, the thought process was Geoff’s going to develop in the NFL and we’ll take the chance. It’s worth the risk for us. We targeted Geoff as the guy we wanted to take in the draft.”

SECOND ROUND

15th overall – OL Qadr Spooner (6-3, 312, McGill)

“We liked him a lot. What we value in offensive linemen is a physical toughness and Qadr has that. He was the most aggressive, meanest offensive lineman in the draft. He reminded us a little bit of (Bombers OL) Sukh Chungh from a physical standpoint. I don’t think he’s quite as ready as Sukh coming out (of school) but there’s something about him, with a mean streak and you really love that in an offensive linemen.”

THIRD ROUND

23rd overall – DB Abubakkar Conteh (6-2, 205, Grambling State)

“He went to high school here, ended up somewhere in North Dakota at a junior college – he never played football before that – and ends up after a couple years of junior college getting a scholarship to Grambling State. He plays some corner, plays some free safety and he was quite an unknown but when you watch him film he was very, very intriguing. There’s something a little bit different about the way he looks and the way he moves.”

FOURTH ROUND

34th overall – K Felix Menard-Briere (5-11, 180, Montreal)

“He’s the best kicker in the draft and each year we talk about bringing one in and drafting and developing one. With (place kicker) Justin Medlock, he’s not going to be taking all the reps through training camp so we were going to bring a kicker into training camp. He has another year of eligibility left so it’s a nice way to bring him in and evaluate him and see where he fits in after training camp.

FIFTH ROUND

No selection.

SIXTH ROUND

50th overall – DL Ian Marouf (6-1, 312, Guelph)

“He played at the University of Guelph and he was dominant in his one year. Academic issues allowed him to only play one year at Guelph so he was playing junior football in Hamilton and he was absolutely dominant. He showed up at the Eastern Regional a little bit out of shape, a little bit heavier than he should have been but showed glimpses of what he used to be at Guelph. We worked him out this past week and he lost 15 pounds. I’m quite confident that if he played three or four years of U Sports he would have been a very high draft.”

SEVENTH ROUND

59th overall – WR Brendon Thera-Plamondo (6-1, 223, Calgary)

“A receiver at Calgary very good long snapper, as well, and that’s one of the reasons we brought him in. Brendon is going to come in and run routes as a receiver and he’ll long snap. We’ll evaluate him, and teach him and groom him as a snapper and a receiver. He was a nice pick for us.”

EIGHTH ROUND

68th overall – WR Tylor Henry (5-10, 185, Alberta)

“We were looking to add another receiver later in the draft and just a speed guy and big-play guy. We’ll see how he does and if he’s able to come in and bring that athleticism that he showed at Alberta.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.catwitter: @jeffkhamilton