Draft picks key to Bombers trade

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/03/2011 (5676 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s not the type of trade to grab headlines or shake up the CFL. Shoot, for most media outlets it will be restricted to the transactions section or not mentioned at all.

But the deal the Winnipeg Blue Bombers signed off on Thursday — sending long-snapper Taylor Inglis to the Edmonton Eskimos for fifth- and sixth-round draft picks this spring — is a critical swap for GM Joe Mack and a team methodically working to upgrade its Canadian content.

It’s certainly important because it ups the total picks in the draft from three to five — Winnipeg will select 1st, 17th, 24th and now 32nd and 41st courtesy the deal with the Esks. But it also gives Mack, head coach Paul LaPolice and Canadian Draft coordinator Kyle Walters something else they covet for draft day on May 8:

Flexibility.

And that also means the team’s approach to the draft could change significantly.

“Without question it does,” said Mack. “Obviously before this we were going to maybe be a little bit conservative on draft day because we didn’t have many picks, we didn’t have much firepower. Now we’ve got some ammunition to try to do some other things on draft day.

“Previously, we might have been tempted to move the first pick, even though some are saying it might not be a deep draft. Now we’re not going to feel that pressure because we have those extra picks. That’s pretty substantial for us.”

The Bombers have their eyes on a handful of prospects who could end up hearing their name called first overall, including Rice offensive lineman Scott Mitchell and St. Francis-Xavier linebacker Henoc Muamba. There’s also the possibility they will make further moves before the draft to secure more picks.

“We have our draft list narrowed down and we have a pretty good sense of our rankings,” Mack said. “But we’re still going through the discussions and it could come down to there being four, five, six or maybe even seven guys that you end up saying, ‘This guy could really contribute for us.’ What we’ll do, too, is continue to see how our roster evolves before draft day. If something else comes up where we think we could improve ourselves then we’ll consider it.”

Dealing Inglis, meanwhile, essentially hands the long-snapping chores back to veteran Chris Cvetkovic who missed all of last season because of injury. Inglis returns to the Eskimos, a club he spent five years with before his release last July, and to Edmonton, where his family and business is located.

BLUE NOTES: Mack would not comment on the club’s potential interest in QB Pat White, the former West Virginia star who retired from baseball last week and is on the club’s negotiation list. “I’ve got a memo from the league office and they prefer we not talk about players on our neg list,” he said. Mack did indicate the team will have to tinker with its QB depth chart as the club currently has seven pivots listed on its roster: Buck Pierce, Steven Jyles, Alex Brink, Joey Elliott, Zac Champion, Justin Goltz and Frank Wilczynski.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca