CFL draft Forde’s forte

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This article was published 08/05/2011 (5505 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Nobody does the CFL Canadian Draft like TSN analyst Duane Forde, a man who recently titled one of his web columns:

‘My name is Duane and I am a draft junkie.’

Yes, while so many pretend to understand all the intricacies and plot twists that dominate the annual selection of homegrown talent, Forde actually spends hours — check that, weeks and months — studying every prospect, every team’s needs and every possible draft-day scenario.

As well, Forde felt so many prospects were being missed by CFL scouts he set up his own evaluation camp, held the day before the league’s E-Camp, and now attended by every coach and GM in the loop.

Free Press football writer Ed Tait caught up with a super-busy Forde for five takes on today’s draft, which opens with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers making the first overall selection.

Tait: Let’s begin in general terms by getting your take on what kind of draft this is? Is it a deep draft, middle of the road, or poor?

Forde: I would say it’s a little bit below average. There’s been a trend over the last few years where it seems to alternate between stronger years and weaker years and this is one of the weaker years. I would define that this way: in a stronger year you would get maybe three rounds of guys who were solid bets to make the CFL. This year I would say there is a round, maybe a round-and-a-half, of those guys and then the drop-off starts. There just aren’t as many sure CFLers in this mix.

 

Tait: The Bombers are drafting first and fourth overall and the consensus here is they have to score a couple of touchdowns with those picks. Give us your take…

Forde: They have to do very well. They have to get two players who are going to make a difference for them, preferably this year, but certainly in the not-too-distant future. You don’t want to get too caught up in the immediacy of it all, sometimes you have to project what a guy is going to be for you in two years and think long term. But sometimes the nature of pro sports — and especially in this league when you’re a team coming off a rough season and with a head coach and GM not sure how long their leash is — means that you can’t bank on the team being good in two or three years. If they don’t have at least a little bit of success this year they might not be there to reap the rewards when they come.

They’ve got enough needs that they can pick the best players. They’re in a position where they can go out and get the best guys at whatever position they happen to be and they’ll probably make their team better.

 

Tait: What’s your scouting report on St. Francis Xavier linebacker Henoc Muamba, the guy the Bombers plan to take first overall?

Forde: He’s a very athletic kid. You’re not going to find many Canadian linebackers as athletic as him. Big, strong guy — not necessarily the most physical player and if there’s going to be a knock on him it might be that versatility-wise he’s not physical enough to be a MAC (middle) linebacker. The best position, maybe the only position, he’s best suited for is the WILL (weak-side) linebacker.

But that said, finding Canadian linebackers who are athletic enough to be starters… they just don’t come along that often. (Montreal’s) Shea Emry in 2008 is really the last one to come along and develop into a starter. The supply-and-demand factor is one of the things that’s pushed him up in this draft. A guy like that at that position is very difficult to find.

The other thing about Henoc is besides being a terrific football player and a tremendous athlete he is a great kid, very bright, very well spoken. He’s just very impressive.

 

Tait: If you were calling the shots for the Bombers, would you take him first overall?

Forde: That’s a tough call. I look at Winnipeg and I think they have enough needs to get away with taking the best player. On the other side of it, it’s about maximizing your assets and the guy I’ve fallen in love with is (Anthony) Parker, the (University of Calgary) receiver. But if you’re Winnipeg and you’re picking first and fourth overall, I would say there are at least three receivers who are bona fide CFLers (Parker, Nathan Coehoorn of Calgary and Harvard’s Marco Iannuzzi) whereas Muamba is the only linebacker in there. They might be able to get another receiver with their picks, but they’re not going to be able to get another linebacker.

 

Tait: How will the fact three top O-line prospects — Tulsa’s Tyler Holmes, Moe Petrus of Connecticut and Phillip Blake of Baylor — are all juniors heading back to school and will be possible NFL prospects affect this draft?

Forde: One of the things that makes the CFL draft so unique is it’s the one draft in pro sports where you can pretty much bank the best player isn’t going to get picked first overall for exactly that reason. It’s not like in the NFL that everyone is worried the No. 1 pick might go to the CFL or the Arena League. Nobody in the NHL is worried about the No. 1 pick going to the KHL in Russia.

Guys like Holmes and Blake are the top players at their positions in this draft, but a CFL team isn’t likely to see them for at least a couple of years. It’s a gamble and you have to decide at which point the potential reward justify the risks.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

7 things

to watch

 

1. Which teams make moves up and down the draft board?

Rumours continue to swirl that the Eskimos, picking second overall, may want to move down in the first round and grab an extra pick. The Argos, after dealing the fourth-overall pick to Winnipeg as part of the Steven Jyles trade, want to move up from their spot at 12. And the Stamps, who pick 6th, 9th, 11th and 14th, are in a perfect position to hold or peddle picks to position themselves to grab who they want.

2. Who takes a flyer on Holmes, Blake and Petrus, the O-linemen heading back to their U.S. schools?

The trio is already on the NFL radar screen for 2012 — Petrus is the fifth-ranked centre, Blake the ninth and Holmes 22nd among tackles on CBSSports.com’s early rankings — and that makes them risky picks early on Sunday. Example: Ask the B.C. Lions how they feel about selecting Danny Watkins fourth overall last year only to see the Philadelphia Eagles grab him in the first round this spring.

3. What about Vaughn Martin?

Martin, the former Western D-lineman, is already in the NFL with the San Diego Chargers but is eligible for the year’s CFL draft. The fact the Chargers selected a D-lineman in the first round of this spring’s draft has some in the CFL wondering if his future is north of the border.

4. Will there be an early run on receivers?

This is Duane Forde’s prediction. This is the deepest position in the draft and with the uncertainty surrounding Blake, Holmes and Petrus, there could be three or four prospects grabbed in the first round, led by Anthony Parker, Nathan Coehoorn and Marco Iannuzzi.

5. Two players Ed Tait likes as candidates to move up in the draft:

WR Jade Etienne, Saskatchewan: Saw Bomber head coach Paul LaPolice talking to him after the E-Camp; a bit skinny at 6-3, 160, but a CIS All-Canadian last year.

DB Craig Butler, Western: dominant in one-on-one drills during the E-Camp in Toronto in March and a CIS All-Canadian in 2010.

6. Two players Duane Forde sees as candidates to move up in the draft:

WR Jedd Gardiner, Guelph: very good E-Camp opened some eyes.

OL Brendan Dunn, Western: Still raw, but the most athletic lineman at the Toronto evaluation camp.

7. Three years from now, who will be considered as the steals of the draft?

Consider this:

Saskatchewan receiver Robb Bagg, who has 103 receptions and eight TDs over the last two years wasn’t even drafted.

Montreal OL Luc Brodeur-Jordain was the last pick in the 2009 draft, 48th overall, and started at centre for the Als in last November’s Grey Cup.

And strange, but true: there are five first-round draft picks on the Bomber roster, but only one selected by Winnipeg — Doug Brown (Calgary in 1997); Brendon LaBatte (Winnipeg in 2008); Obby Khan (Ottawa in 2004); Jon Oosterhuis (Calgary in 2002) and Steve Morley (Calgary in 2003).