Stock Assessment: Receivers and defensive backs

Marshall Ferguson

CFL.ca

@TSN_Marsh

The CFL Draft is rapidly approaching and the stock assessments continue. It’s time to break down the wide receivers and defensive backs that are about to hear their names called on April 30.

General managers, coaches and scouts from across the league went to the CFL Combine presented by New Era in Winnipeg to take notes about every prospect and put together their draft boards. Let’s get into who helped their case and who may have left something to be desired and how that might impact teams’ decisions ahead of the CFL Draft.

REC KEVIN MITAL
LAVAL
STOCK: UP ⬆

It’s pretty hard to up your stock when everyone know you’re one of the truly elite on field performers in U SPORTS over the past couple years, but there were some questions surrounding Mital in Winnipeg and he answered nearly every single one with a 500-ft home run of a combine.

REC KEVENS CLERCIUS
UCONN
STOCK: UP ⬆

Size, length, speed and experience, Clercius left a bit to be desired in quickness and change of direction in testing and on-field but he’s just too attractive of an overall package to be denied a top flight draft slot come April 30.

REC D’SEAN MIMBS
REGINA
STOCK: DOWN ⬇

Okay it’s not actually down, Mimbs is a great player but this is born from my frustration of not being able to watch him work through combine practices due to a hamstring injury suffered during testing.

REC AJOU AJOU
GARDEN CITY
STOCK: DOWN ⬇

It was a difficult combine for Ajou whose journey has been well profiled. His draft stock is what it is at this point and his football journey will be defined by everything that comes after draft night is done. A chance to be the great steal of 2024, but the fear that he has regressed will push him down the pecking order.

REC DHEL DUNCAN-BUSBY
BEMIDJI STATE
STOCK: STABLE

The talent is real, we all knew it coming in and Dhel looked comfortable as ever while running and catching as if he were on auto-pilot (in a good way). Playing receiver looks so easy for Duncan-Busby and I can’t wait to see him challenged in a CFL training camp to face heightened competition, the question is where will that happen?

REC DARIUS SIMMONS
MCGILL
STOCK: SLEEPER

While we’re all talking about Mital and Clercius, Simmons very quietly had an excellent combine and I believe his production in combination with personality and humility will make whoever selects him extremely happy at a great value in a deep receiver class.

REC EZECHIEL TIEIDE
CONCORDIA
STOCK: MYSTERY

There’s no mystery about Tieide’s exploits as a receiver, but how a team will use him in the coming years intrigues me after he filled in playing QUARTERBACK on combine Sunday after an illness swept through the QB room. This smells like a National receiver who throws a double pass touchdown in the 2027 Grey Cup that you’ll tell your grandkids about.

DB BENJAMIN LABROSSE
MCGILL
STOCK: UP ⬆

The testing was absolutely out of this world and the experience speaks for itself as McGill puts forth Simmons and Labrosse priming themselves to have a noteworthy draft.

DB JERRELL CUMMINGS
UBC
STOCK: UP ⬆

I knew Cummings would be well put together and smooth in special teams drills but seeing how hard he’s worked to add to his body and skill set has me believing and nine CFL clubs will do the same as the Thunderbirds will be remembered in this draft for more than just their hulking offensive lineman.

DB YANI GOUADFEL
BISHOP
STOCK: DOWN ⬇

In one of the really great, raw, honest moments of our combine broadcast on CFL+, Calgary Stampeders defensive backs coach Dwayne Cameron was mic’d up and got on Gouadfel for effort on broken plays. While it’s a small sample and unfair to highlight too much against a career of accomplishments it was memorable for something you rarely get to experience in real time without any obscuration.

OTTAWA DBs
STOCK: DOWN ⬇

Carleton’s Louis Lavaud and Ottawa’s Kevin Victome had a difficult testing session at the combine and rebounded nicely through the on-field portion of events but both will be tested considerably in CFL camps athletically and that could drop their stock to the later rounds.

DB KAYLYN ST-CYR
MONTREAL
STOCK: STABLE

Despite getting signed like Mimbs mentioned above, St-Cyr had multiple scouts wandering up to have a conversation while in street clothes at the combine hoping to gain a little more understanding abut the player they’ve come to appreciate thoroughly on film. The interest was wide spread and I believe that will carry over to draft night.

DB JACKSON SOMBACH
REGINA
STOCK: SLEEPER

From the invitational, slightly in the shadow of former Rams defensive back Jaxon Ford, and battling some size inefficiencies, Sombach showed out really well in Winnipeg and I believe will be one of those scrappy late camp keepers that coaches have a really hard time letting another team get their hands on.

DB DANIEL BELL
MOUNT ALLISON
STOCK: MYSTERY

He’s an absolute monster and carries his weight well, extremely accomplished in the AUS and fit the combine looking like a pro all the time, but what will his natural fit be on a CFL field? I don’t think it’s an easy answer but I know someone will find a way to get him out there quickly.

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