Jason Halstead/CFL.ca
They did a ton of interviews, watched 50-plus prospects go through a variety of drills and tests, and then fixated on every rep in a day of one-on-ones.
And now the real work begins for Kyle Walters and the rest of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers football brain trust.
The Canadian Football League’s National Scouting Combine wrapped up Sunday at the University of Winnipeg’s RecPlex, and as expected, some of the top names coming into the event popped off the page. But some of those further down the rankings, be they from the CFL’s Scouting Bureau or a team’s own evaluations, also moved up and down the prospective draft board.
Just how much, you ask?
“Substantially,” said Walters, the Bombers GM.
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Mark Chapman was one of the standouts at the 2018 CFL Scouting Combine in Winnipeg (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Now Walters & Co. – like all CFL teams – will get to work finalizing their draft grades again. The Bombers will review combine film and notes over the next few days before meeting again on Wednesday as a staff to make adjustments to their prospect board.
The 2018 draft class is said to be substantially deeper than last year and is loaded with offensive line talent and some high-end receiver prospects.
“I think there’s a bunch of positions that still need to be sorted out,” Walters said. “There’s good talent, it’s just I don’t know if the high-high end in the Top 25 is going to be a whole lot different than down here. It’ll be interesting to see how teams grade out those first three-four rounds of draft picks.
“I think there’s a well-rounded group that everyone’s going to find somebody they like wherever they’re picking.”
The Bombers hold the seventh choice in the first round and then are also slotted in at the 16th, 26th, 33rd, 41st, 49th, 58th and 67th spots.
Walters weighed in on a variety of prospects in meeting with the media Sunday. Here’s his take on what he saw:
On Central Michigan receiver Mark Champman, one of the standouts:
“He’s smooth, as we saw on film. Explosive and fast and he had a good day.”
On Okanagan Sun/Calgary Dinos receiver Rashaun Simonise who Walters called one of most-intriguing prospects coming into the combine.
“You can tell he hasn’t played football in a bit. He certainly looked a little rusty. You watch the film from Calgary from a few years ago and it doesn’t quite look like the same guy. Now the question is, can he get back to that? That’s what the evaluators have to find out because he’s long and athletic and once every few reps you’d be like, ‘OK, there it is.’ But he just needs to bring back the consistency that you saw, or can he get that consistency back. But he’s certainly still a very intriguing prospect.
“He came out and competed. The biggest question for him was what kind of young man he is. We interviewed him and he seemed like a good young man. I think he’s ready to put the past behind him and move forward. Whatever team drafts him might have a little work to do to develop him to try and get him back to the way he was when he was playing full-time at Calgary.”
The players he singled out as shining included, in no particular order, DBs Godfrey Onyeka (Wilfrid Laurier) and Royce Metchie (Guelph), O-linemen Dakoda Shepley (UBC), Darius Ciraco (Calgary), Ryan Sceviour (Calgary) and Arnaud Gendron-Dumouchel (Montreal).
He was also asked specifically about McMaster WR Daniel Petermann, one of the combine stand outs.
Dan Petermann was a standout with his fastest 40-yard dash time (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
“He caught everybody’s eye – he ran the fastest 40 and had great vertical jump and competed well. He was a productive player all through college. He is the McMaster all-time leader in receptions… he’s got a pedigree to him. He came out and made some catches and he’s one that came out and caught everyone’s attention this weekend for sure.”
The Bombers interviewed University of Regina QB Noah Picton, who stood out on Sunday but will continue to have questions asked about his height (five-foot-nine).
“It was great to sit down with him. Boy, he’s what you see on film. There’s a reason he’s so productive in college: he can sling the ball over the park. Obviously, his size is going to be the negative to his game but, boy, he can make throws, he seems to compete and he’s a good quarterback.”
On Western University DB Jordan Beaulieu:
“He’s a good football player on film. Then you see him at Toronto regional and his testing numbers. There’s an example of a young man who, most of all through his testing numbers and the way he carries himself… he’s really gained attention as well from the testing and the interview process.”
