May 7, 2018

Steinberg’s MMQB: High risk, high reward at the draft

Johany Jutras/Argonauts.ca

There’s always a delicate balance to strike with the CFL Draft, especially in the first round. Taking the best player available is the ideal strategy, but it’s not always the most realistic. NFL contracts and aspirations always throw an interesting wrench into the proceedings and the 2018 CFL Draft was no different. In saying that, the script got flipped a little last week.

Off the board

“Sometimes you have to take a chance to get one of the best players available in the draft. We hope our calculated risk will pay off.”

That quote comes right from Toronto Argonauts general manager Jim Popp, who very likely took the biggest risks of the first round. The defending Grey Cup Champs used their ninth overall selection on Bowling Green offensive lineman and CFL Scouting Bureau top prospect Ryan Hunter.

The issue is Hunter is currently a member of the Kansas City Chiefs after signing a contract after last month’s NFL Draft. As such, there’s no telling if and when Hunter will ever take a snap north of the border. For Toronto to use its first pick on Hunter is gutsy and certainly not conventional; typical guys in his situation fall much further down the board.

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The Argos picked up Ryan Hunter with the ninth overall pick in Thursday’s draft (Bowling Green)

The Riders are in a very similar spot after using their fifth overall pick on UBC offensive lineman Dakoda Shepley. Much like Hunter, Shepley signed south of the border immediately after the NFL Draft and is now a member of the New York Jets.

I won’t lie; both decisions are probably too risky for my blood, which makes them even more impressive from afar. To have the guts to take a gamble with such an important selection is partly why Popp and Riders’ GM Chris Jones have made the careers in this league they have.

If I were making the choices for either Saskatchewan or Toronto, I’d have gone with far safer picks in their situations. For instance, University of Calgary linemen Darius Ciraco and Ryan Sceviour were both on the board for the Riders at number five. The Argos, on the other hand, opted for Hunter over guys like Godfrey Onyeka (DB, Wilfrid Laurier) and Rashaun Simonise (WR, Calgary). I really can’t imagine how difficult those choices must have been.

If either Shepley or Hunter ends up shaking loose in the NFL over the next few years, than Sask and Toronto are going to look really good here. Arjen Colquhoun is a perfect example for the Edmonton Eskimos, as he spent a year with the Dallas Cowboys before joining the CFL team that owned his rights. There’s no doubting how big the reward COULD be for the risks taken by Popp and Jones.

Those risks are just too prohibitive for me, though. The CFL Draft is where sustainable success is truly built and that’s why taking players who are sure bets to play is a priority from my standpoint. But risk-takers can hit it big, and I know this: I’ll be the first to tip my hat to Jones and Popp if their first round gambles end up paying off in the next few years.

The Money List

The 2018 Money List is starting to take shape after adding our receiver last week. We’re highlighting players at each position to build a team for championship success right now, and today we’re focusing on a pair of high impact defensive positions.

Here’s the list so far:

Quarterback: Bo Levi Mitchell, Calgary Stampeders
Receiver: Greg Ellingson, Ottawa REDBLACKS

And this week’s addition:

Defensive tackle: Micah Johnson, Calgary Stampeders

There’s not a more devastating interior defensive lineman in the league than Calgary’s Johnson, and for me, it’s not all that close. The fact the Stampeders have been able to employ Johnson as a defensive tackle really isn’t fair, because he has the skillset to be an effective linebacker or rush end, too. As such, there’s not an interior lineman that can combine speed and strength like Johnson can, and that’s why he gets the nod on this list.

Micah Johnson (left) continues to dominate in the middle of the Stamps’ D-line (Patrick Doyle/CFL.ca)

It’s not like Johnson is just coming out of his shell, though. Instead, the five-year veteran has only just started to have lady luck smile on him the last couple of years. A few horrific injuries limited Johnson to just 29 games combined in his first three CFL seasons. Despite that, he still totaled an impressive 11 sacks in those three years, which is why it comes as no surprise to see him tear things up the last two seasons.

Johnson has missed just one regular season game the last two seasons and has racked up 16 total sacks during that stretch. That’s a good total for an edge rusher, but it’s fairly unheard of for someone in the middle.

You can expect more big things from Johnson in 2018. Sure, the Stamps have said goodbye to Charleston Hughes, but with fellow Money List contender Ja’Gared Davis returning for another year, that helps mitigate that loss. With Davis on the end and Johnson in the middle, opposing offences are going to have their hands full with Calgary’s pass rush once again.