Iowa Hawkeyes
From the first overall pick to Mr. Irrelevant, CFL.ca’s Marshall Ferguson offers up his third and final mock draft before the CFL Draft:
Kyle Walters has a number of options with the first overall pick going into Sunday’s draft. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers could trade out, they could go with a big named future player who is currently dancing through the NFL, they could pick a top flight receiver, or have any other number of approaches with the first overall selection.
In my first two mock drafts I had Mason Woods and Geoff Grey respectively going with the top pick. Woods seemed to fall out of favour after the combine despite it being his first time playing with defenders off the ball in a very long time and Gray’s deal with the Green Bay Packers affects his stock.
MORE ON THE CFL DRAFT
» Ferguson, Forde tackle the draft’s burning questions
» Breaking down the draft’s top 20 prospects
» Mock Drafts: 1.0 | 2.0
This draft board is as fluid as can be and my counterpart Duane Forde summed it up perfectly this past week on the CFL Draft conference call when he said: “there could be more variation in nine CFL teams’ draft boards than in 32 NFL teams’ draft boards.”
With that said, let’s jump into it, from the first pick of the draft to Mr. Irrelevant, where the defending Grey Cup Champion Ottawa REDBLACKS are slated to pick 71st overall.
With the 2017 CFL Draft set to unfold on Sunday, May 7, here’s my third and final mock draft covering all eight rounds:
ROUND 1
|
|
|
|
Faith Ekakitie is a CFL-ready NCAA product who fits multiple defensive schemes and is readily available after not testing the NFL like many others. I believe this profile fits what Winnipeg should want to do with the first pick while playing with house money collected from the Drew Willy trade. Ekakitie is not without flaws, but no player this year is. Not once to me, regardless of NFL dabbling, did a player scream ‘top pick’. |
|
|
|
| There are rumours that if the Riders go with a futures type of pick it could be an offensive lineman and I’ve also heard Ankou might be interested in only the NFL or following his other aspirations. But a 331-pound defensive tackle with a near-record setting broad jump playing for a power conference division one program? Sure seems like a Chris Jones kind of guy to me if he ever appears after signing a priority undrafted free agent deal with the Houston Texans. |
|
|
|
|
Mason Woods made a lot of people – present company included – worry with the inability to bend his tall frame to gain leverage during one-on-ones at the national combine. In hindsight, he might not have had the best day but one day does not a bust make. Woods wont blow you away with his athleticism but he can get the job done and has worked hard according to several reports from Idaho to build his body from what it was two years ago to where he stands now. There is still a lot to learn about Mason Woods but one thing I know right now is where he is from – Port Coquitlam, B.C. – and what type of guy Wally Buono likes on his offensive line. With some maturation, Woods can develop into a really solid interior lineman beginning as a rotation player behind Hunter Steward. If he falls past the Lions at three I don’t think he makes it to the Lions’ second pick in the first round as barring a trade, Edmonton should be more than happy to select Woods. |
|
|
|
|
Yea, I played with this guy at McMaster. Yes, he made me look far better than I ever should have by catching balls that never should have been caught. No, this is not a favour to say thank you for that.Danny Vandervoort has earned the right to be a first round selection and for the third mock draft in a row I see a natural landing spot 10 minutes from his student house at McMaster. When Brian Jones went fourth overall to the Argos last year my immediate thought was Vandervoort better be a top-five pick in this year’s draft based on comparable production while in university and athletic ability. This is by no means a lock with the Lions possibly eyeing a receiver and multiple teams likely to dive in requesting a trade from the Riders at the second overall selection. But if the order stays status quo, I’m not sure the Ticats could get a better player than Danny Vandervoort and it just so happens to fit one of their biggest needs moving forward. |
|
|
|
|
Throughout this entire draft process I have been adamant that Dondre Wright is a Rider. He played college ball in the south – Arkadelphia, Ark. to be exact – and is a physical specimen and has a mean streak to his game. All factors which I believe fit Chris Jones profiles as a talent evaluator. I just don’t think he falls to the Riders at the 11th pick and taking him at second overall feels like a stretch. Another long, physical national defensive back signed with the Eskimos in free agency this past year in Andrew Lue. If the Eskimos draft Wright – or Robert Woodson for that matter – they could create a solid foundation of secondary ratio options at field corner or as backups to Neil King at free safety. |
|
|
|
|
He’s worth the risk. I understand it doesn’t fit the rules of where a guy should be drafted when picked up quickly following the NFL draft and I get that the Packers clearly loved him based on their visit to Winnipeg for the unicycle-riding pro day and having him to Wisconsin on a visit. With all of that said, if you are the Bombers and you don’t take Geoff Gray only to watch him selected by, oh I don’t know.. the Riders in the second round, and Gray comes back to Canada within three years only to wear Green for 10 years, it would be tough to forget. Get a player you can use quickly at the top selection and welcome the name Geoff Gray to your futures depth chart with a smile knowing that if he came north it would be a home run. |
|
|
|
| My second-ranked receiver finds a home inside the first round because Nate Behar deserves to. Nate would have interviewed well at the CFL Combine in Regina and has all the work ethic and athleticism in the world to go along with quick snappy breaks and long ball adjustment skills. With the retirement of Shawn Gore, Behar is a fitting replacement who’s ready to produce. |
|
|
|
|
Teams have been hot and cold on Bladek since the CFL Combine. His body has greatly evolved since his days at Bethune-Cookman but his drive to play the game and be a CFL player have not. Bladek wants to be here and wants to compete NOW. He is tired of waiting around after a year working following the paperwork for his national status not being completed in time for the 2016 CFL supplemental draft. I see this as a lineman-heavy draft for the CFL’s West Division Champions and Bladek would be a great place to start. |
|
|
|
|
Fabion Foote comes with one year of exceptional production and some great testing numbers. I’m not sure that’s enough to push him ahead of Kay Okafor or Kwaku Boateng. If it is enough, it’s due to his natural fit as a three technique defensive tackle — unlike Boateng — and his more refined pass rush moves unlike Okafor. If Ottawa sees those attributes as well, why not join the fold of stout defensive tackles in the nation’s capital where Foote can develop behind experienced pass rushers such as Zach Evans and Connor Williams? |
ROUND 2
|
|
|
|
Trestman and Popp could make a splash by leaping into the first round with some wild package of picks and young players but I don’t do trades in mock drafts because it’s like saying you know what food will taste like before anyone told you the ingredients. If the Argos stand tall to start the second round, they could add immediate offensive line depth in Qadr Spooner who showed above average athleticism at the combine. |
|
|
|
| I wanted to give the Riders Dondre Wright here but he and Woodson are so close in overall grade that with Wright possibly going earlier, it could be a natural next step in the draft. |
|
|
|
|
Be it because of Laval roots or offensive style, I am keeping Auclair in the East. He could be next to fellow Rouge et Or tight end Patrick Lavoie in Ottawa but a dynamic french Canadian pass catcher and special teams contributor like Auclair would be a great selection for Kavis Reed in his first draft as Alouettes general manager. I understand the NFL angle here and Montreal not having a first round selection doesn’t make taking a possible futures pick easy to do — but it feels right and most mock drafts are completely wrong anyway so why not do what just feels right? |
|
|
|
|
Mathieu Girard started several games in 2016 when Mike Filer injured his ankle late in the fourth quarter of a Week 4 victory at Montreal. The next week the Ticats went to Edmonton, had a comeback for the ages and Jeremiah Masoli set a completion streak record. Lost in all of that was that Girard held his own against Almondo Sewell for four quarters. Girard retired this off-season to take a job back home in Montreal and now Hamilton has to find his replacement as a young swing man capable of playing solid, mistake-free football at multiple positions in a moment’s notice. Meet your new Tim O’Neill, Braden Schram. |
|
|
|
| Every year there is a mystery man who becomes a national just before the draft. This year it was Cameron Judge, linebacker and special teamer from UCLA. His athletic testing numbers are through the roof and his natural fit is as a special teams tackling machine capable of filling in for free agent acquisition linebacker Cory Greenwood. |
|
|
|
| If Andrew Harris goes down in a game where you have to protect your new starting quarterback Matt Nichols, why not employ the services of a running back who looks as chiseled as a roman statue and owns a black belt in karate? Johnny Augustine can do it all, including an increased ability to run routes which would fit Harris’ usage patterns in Paul Lapolice’s Winnipeg offence. |
|
|
|
| Herdman has been the most difficult evaluation of any prospect in the 2017 draft. An exceptional on-field talent who just doesn’t test well, I think he gets a chance to contribute quickly in BC. |
|
|
|
| It seems unfair for me to gift wrap the Calgary Stampeders a player with the highest ceiling of any draft eligible player but it just feels like something one of the best personnel-collecting teams in the CFL would do. I can’t wait to watch Okafor develop and seeing him do it in Calgary under Devone Claybrooks and Corey Mace would be special. |
|
|
|
| Maybe I like home cooking too much but Adeleke showed dramatically improved man coverage skills compared to game film while also running the best 40-yard dash at the national combine. He can play and could develop as a really nice option behind Antoine Pruneau in Ottawa down the line. |
ROUND 3
|
|
|
| It’s not fair for a player of this caliber to fall this far in the CFL draft. I’m just not sure there is a natural fit for one of my favourite players in the 2017 class. Kwaku isn’t an interior rusher and he doesn’t strike me as someone with the movement to drop back and play linebacker. With that said, he could be taken much earlier as a growing defensive end with special teams upside. |
|
|
|
| His pro day numbers were good but raw. A tall middle linebacker who will make a special teams impact quickly? Sure sounds a lot like Fred Plesius, whom the Alouettes acquired in the off-season, creating a role for Mulumba along his side. |
|
|
|
| From the ‘where did he come from’ category is Jordan Hoover. The Waterloo defensive back put up exceptional numbers at the national combine and showed he can cover too. With last year’s 41st overall pick Elroy Douglas being released last week, I believe Hoover could stay in his Waterloo black and gold. |
|
|
|
| Aaron Milton said farewell in free agency February. Enter Sean Thomas-Erlington, as well rounded a running back as there is in this class. |
|
|
|
| There is a chance the Bombers want one of the top two receivers this year but if they don’t get them, expect a wait for either Picton or Alex Morrison of UBC. |
6 (24). BC
|
|
| He tested well, he can play special teams quickly and he dominated one-on-ones at both the Ontario Regional and CFL Combines. |
|
|
|
| Depth, depth, depth, depth, depth, depth.. EVERYBODY! |
|
|
|
| This guy is built to be a special teams gunner. He and Pruneau side by side on punt and kick coverage could be a lot of fun. |
ROUND 4
1 (27). Toronto
|
2 (28). Calgary
|
3 (29). Montreal
|
4 (30). Saskatchewan
|
5 (31). Edmonton
|
6 (32). Saskatchewan
|
7 (33). BC
|
8 (34). Calgary
|
9 (35). Ottawa
|
ROUND 5
1 (36). Toronto
|
2 (37). Saskatchewan
|
3 (38). Hamilton
|
4 (39). Montreal
|
5 (40). Edmonton
|
6 (41). Edmonton
|
7 (42). BC
|
8 (43). Calgary
|
9 (44). Ottawa
|
ROUND 6
1 (45). Montreal
|
2 (46). Saskatchewan
|
3 (47). Hamilton
|
4 (48). Montreal
|
5 (49). Edmonton
|
6 (50). Winnipeg
|
7 (51). BC
|
8 (52). Calgary
|
9 (53). Ottawa
|
ROUND 7
1 (54). Toronto
|
2 (55). Saskatchewan
|
3 (56). Montreal
|
4 (57). Saskatchewan
|
5 (58). Hamilton
|
6 (59). Winnipeg
|
7 (60). BC
|
8 (61). Calgary
|
9 (62). Ottawa
|
ROUND 8
1 (63). Toronto
|
2 (64). Saskatchewan
|
3 (65). Montreal
|
4 (66). Hamilton
|
5 (67). Edmonton
|
6 (68). Winnipeg
|
7 (69). BC
|
8 (70). Calgary
|
9 (71). Ottawa
|
