Bombers digging depth at receiver position

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This article was published 22/05/2019 (2304 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The early reviews are positive, earning full approval from the coaching staff and the man responsible for leading the offence. Those outside the Winnipeg Blue Bombers organization should also be pleasantly surprised with the crop of receivers at training camp, if only because less than a month ago it was perceived as a major area of weakness.

“It’s the deepest talent pool we’ve had going into a training camp. Everyone has speed, everyone has size – there’s the potential to have four guys on the field that are 6-3 to 6-5, which is a bit of a changeup from what we’ve had the last few years,” quarterback Matt Nichols told the Free Press earlier this week. “Maybe it can bring a different dynamic to this offence and right now it’s just working out to see who is going to end up where.”

“It’s very impressive, the receiving corps. There are a lot of guys that can play so it will make it interesting. I don’t see it as a problem,” Bombers head coach Mike O’Shea added Wednesday, as the Bombers wrapped up Day 4 of workouts at IG Field. “I like having a lot of guys because you need a bunch of guys – things happen during the season. But they are fun to watch and there are a lot of guys making a lot of plays.”

Indeed, possessing a high number of quality receivers, especially in a pass-happy CFL, is a good problem to have. And the Bombers have certainly brought in a high level of competition to camp, with a handful of names popping off the page through the first four days.

What will prove challenging, however, is making a decision on which guy is deserving of becoming the fifth and final receiver. As it stands, only one opening remains for a starting role, with Nic Demski and Drew Wolitarsky – the two Canadian starters – and Darvin Adams and Chris Matthews all a lock for Week 1.

That fifth receiver position will go to another American, meaning there are 10 players fighting for one spot, with only a small number more earning backup roles or a place on the practice roster. Simple math shows that there will be some difficult decisions in the near future, as the Bombers prepare to form their final roster over the next few weeks.

“That’s the tough part of this game. There’s so much talent, and such good dudes out here who want to learn, who want to play and are giving everything,” Wolitarsky said. “It’s tough to know that somebody is going home but I guess that’s just the name of it. Having them out here competing and trying to earn a spot is really cool to see and really good to be around.”

If it all seems a little premature, that’s because it is. But there’s no denying a noticeable hype at receiver, in part because not long ago the Bombers seemed to be scrambling to find top-end talent for Nichols. General manager Kyle Walters swung and missed in free agency, losing out, despite fair-market bids, on the likes of Greg Ellingson and Derel Walker, both of which signed lucrative contracts with Edmonton and Toronto, respectively.

Winnipeg signed Matthews just before training camp, and he’s been the team’s best receiver so far; no longer does a three-year deal – a rarity in today’s CFL – seem all that odd now. Indeed, no one has made more eye-popping grabs than the 29-year-old native of Long Beach, Calif.

But there have been a handful of others that have stolen the spotlight at times, perhaps none more than 25-year-old Rasheed Bailey. Bailey played four years at Delaware Valley University – an NCAA Div. III school in Doylestown, PA – setting new school records during his senior season in all major receiving categories, including receptions (80), yards (1,707) and touchdowns (19).

After college he bounced around the NFL as an undrafted free agent, with stops in Philadelphia, Jacksonville, San Diego, Cleveland and, most recently, in Carolina, where he was among the final cuts for the Panthers. Sandwiched in there was a brief two-week stint with the B.C. Lions in 2015, which came to a sudden end after he enacted an out-clause in his contract when Jacksonville came calling.

But Bailey said he’s here to stay this time around, and hopes he can do enough to prove he belongs in a league he’s just starting to better understand, seemingly with every practice.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment. It’s long overdue,” Bailey said. “I’m not a little boy anymore. I don’t have the same attachments I used to have. I’m here to play. I’m here to take somebody’s spot. I’m here to make some noise so I can enjoy playing again. When you’re on practice squads and you’re bouncing around and getting released it plays a toll on your mind.”

Bailey’s connection to the Lions back then is the same reason why he’s in Winnipeg now. For a long time, ever since he graduated from college, he’s been on the radar of Ryan Rigmaiden, the Bombers’ director of college scouting. It was Rigmaiden who brought him to B.C. and it was him again that convinced him to give Winnipeg a shot.

So far, so good.

“It’s been a different experience here – I’m just enjoying the process,” said Bailey.

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Bailey isn’t alone when it comes to new guys sticking out. Kenny Walker, Matt Hazel, Tim Wilson, Kenny Lawler and Lucky Whitehead have all had their moments as well. Then there is Corey Washington and Charles Nelson, two players returning for a second year in blue and gold, who have also been deserving of longer looks. Where they’ll have an edge is in their experience with Paul LaPolice’s playbook, having worked within it all of 2018.

In a race this tight, what’s clear is that it will take more than just making plays in practice. A premium will be put on what difference they can make in two pre-season games, beginning May 31 at home agaisnt Edmonton.

“And other things, too. There’s going to be a special teams component to it; there’s going to be, given our fondness of the run game, they got to be able to block,” O’Shea said. “Not just able, they need to be willing blockers. There’s got to be some toughness to them. So far it’s been very pleasing to watch that group.”

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.