Finishing last and picking first

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/09/2012 (4801 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CALGARY — The bad news, of course, is that the 2012 Winnipeg Blue Bombers are dead last in the CFL with a 2-8 record and the Las Vegas bookies — who anointed Winnipeg a 10-point underdog this week — overwhelmingly feel the Bombers will be 2-9 after playing the Stampeders in Calgary Friday evening.

But the good news is membership in the dead-last club has its privileges, most notably the first-overall selection in what has the makings of a very enticing 2013 CFL draft.

Now, a couple things first.

Yes, it is a monument to how low this Bombers season has truly stooped that a week after Labour Day we’re already talking about next year’s draft.

And second, in this season when seemingly everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, a note of caution seems in order.

As recent history has so starkly demonstrated, a high draft pick for the Bombers front office does not necessarily translate into useful players on the field, as evidenced by the 2012 selection of offensive lineman Tyson Pencer third overall and the 2011 selection of wide receiver Jade Etienne No. 4 overall.

Pencer didn’t get out of the pre-season this year before he once again blew out a bad shoulder that dogged him through college and there’s real reason to wonder if he will ever play pro football again, much less be the ratio-changer GM Joe Mack thought he could be when he selected him. And Etienne just simply isn’t good enough, something the Bombers brain trust has finally begun to acknowledge in announcing he will be a healthy scratch this week.

But talk to the people who know about these things and what emerges is that if the Bombers continue to stumble their way through the 2012 season and end up finishing in the cellar, their reward will be a first-overall selection in the 2013 draft that not even they could blow.

As Brian Dobie, the University of Manitoba Bisons head coach, sees it, a first-overall pick in 2013 would give the Bombers their pick of two of the most dominant defensive linemen the CIS has seen in years — the University of Regina’s Stefan Charles (6-5, 302) and the University of Calgary’s Linden Gaydosh (6-4, 305).

“At our level,” Dobie explains, “these guys are superstars… I will bet you a thousand bucks that at least one, maybe both, will be in the Top 3 that gets picked next year.”

Asked if either man could do next season what standout rookie lineman Jabar Westerman is doing for the B.C. Lions this season, Dobie was unequivocal. “For sure, absolutely.”

Dobie thinks he might also already know the identity of the third-overall pick in 2013 — offensive tackle Matt Sewell (6-7, 330) out of McMaster.

Using terms like “monsters” and “studs” to describe the threesome, Dobie believes they are at least as dominant as any Canadians playing in the NCAA this season. And that’s high praise in a year in which there is an usually high number of Canadians at major U.S. schools making there mark, including highly touted linebacker Boseko Lokombo, an Abbotsford, B.C., native playing for the Oregon Ducks.

Most importantly from the perspective of a team in so desperate need of immediate help like Winnipeg, Dobie believes Gaydosh, Sewell and Charles are already ‘CFL ready,’ even with almost a full CIS season still in front of them.

The Bombers would love a dominant Canadian defensive lineman to replace the gaping hole created by the retirement of defensive tackle Doug Brown last winter.

And the Bombers absolutely, positively have to add Canadian talent on the offensive line, where the two Americans they’ve been starting at tackle this year have been at least one too many in a league where you want to use at least four Canadians, and ideally five, on the offensive line to free up import talent elsewhere.

The man who will help shape the Bombers’ draft decision is special teams coach Kyle Walters, who doubles as the club’s draftologist.

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Thursdays

Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter.

Sign up for Mike McIntyre | On Sports

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Given the state of the Bombers’ record right now, Walters was asked Wednesday if he’s already started putting in some hours on what is more typically his off-season job.

“I’m trying to stay on top of things in terms of the draft of course,” said Walters, “but my job right now is still to make sure the special teams go out there and perform at the highest level.

“Once this season’s over, I will dive fully into it.”

With another loss in Calgary on Friday, there would be some who would argue the season was already over.

paul.wiecek@freepress.mb.ca