Nye: Breaking down the Riders’ Draft night
‘Canada’s OBJ.’
That’s high praise for the Roughriders’ first round pick on Tuesday night.
When you watch Samuel Emilus’ film however, you can see why those who follow Louisiana Tech were comparing the Canadian to Odell Beckham Junior, who starred cross state at Louisiana State.
The ability to go up and bring down a ball in traffic is what also caught Jeremy O’Day and the Roughriders’ attention when they went to work on Emilus.
They made sure to interview him in person at his pro day and ran the numbers — which were impressive — and also saw Emilus jump up the rankings, debuting at 11th in the CFL Scouting Bureau’s final, pre-draft edition.
The Riders thought he was the best receiver in the draft not named John Metchie III.
While O’Day told media in advance of the draft he was quite comfortable with the depth they had across all the positions with Canadian talent, there is starting to become a need at the receiver position in Saskatchewan.
Brayden Lenius, O’Day’s second ever selection as a GM, is off to give the NFL a shot with a depleted receiving corps in Atlanta. Terrell Jana, another second-round pick for O’Day, is deciding on moving on from his professional football career.
Emilus is hopeful he can lock on to an NFL camp this off-season, with a rookie camp scheduled next week, but if not, the Riders will be happy to see him bring his toughness and athleticism to Saskatoon at main camp in 10 days.
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The Riders liked Zack Fry’s agility and quick feet and snagged the Western o-lineman in the second round of the CFL Draft (Brandon VandeCaveye/Western Mustangs)
The biggest surprise for Rider Nation was the fact that O’Day skipped on drafting another U of S Huskie in the first round, as he’s done the previous two CFL Drafts.
Highly ranked Noah Zerr was waiting in his hometown of Langenburg, Sask. to see if his boyhood dream of wearing the Green and White in professional football could become a reality, when Emilus was announced as the Riders pick. Zerr didn’t wait long for the BC Lions to pick him in round two, as former Huskie offensive lineman and Lions o-line coach, Kelly Bates will be thrilled to coach him in Vancouver.
O’Day, however, clearly felt there was more depth still on the board for offensive lineman. He was in no panic to skip on a receiver with high potential to take a guy based on his birthplace.
That brings us to the Riders’ next two picks: Zach Fry and Diego Alatorre Montoya.
Both offensive lineman caught the Riders’ attention for different reasons. Fry was described by O’Day as the offensive lineman with the ‘best feet’ in the draft. Fry may not be the strongest guy in the draft but his ability to dominate the line with his agility and quick feet is what made him such a strong offensive lineman for the Vanier Cup champion Western Mustangs.
Alatorre Montoya is the opposite of Fry. While Fry will have to work hard with the Roughriders’ strength and conditioning coach to make the jump to the next level, Alatorre Montoya is a bully on the offensive line and with his national recognition might have been a sneaky steal in the third round for a guy that can play across the offensive line but will best fit in the interior in the CFL.
The Roughriders are building an offensive line through young prospects. Logan Ferland and Mattland Riley will have some more youth along the offensive line to push each other while O’Day has complemented them with signing free agents Evan Johnson and Jamal Campbell in the last two seasons.
Zach Herzog racked up tackles through four seasons at Michigan’s Hillsdale College and could be a late-round steal for the Riders (Photo: Anthony Lupi)
Following round three, I’m sure head coach Craig Dickenson was quite happy with the next four selections because they are all outstanding collegiate defenders that have great speed, athleticism and a nose to make a tackle.
Yes, I’m talking about special teams capabilities, which will please a head coach that relates well to both sides of the ball after a lengthy career as a special teams coordinator, before replacing Chris Jones as the head coach in Saskatchewan.
And you never know any one of Tommy Bringi, Tristan Fleury, Jayden Dalke and Zach Herzog could be O’Day’s next steal of the draft. He’s had a few in the last few years. Receiver Kian Schaffer-Baker was picked in the fourth round of 2020 and now appears to be solidifying himself as a starting Canadian on offence. Defensive lineman Charbel Dabire was drafted in the fifth round in 2019 and is projected to possibly get more involved in the defensive line rotation this season.
O’Day bookended his draft with receivers as he did eventually keep it local by drafting Riley Boersma in the final round. The University of Regina product was a combine beast heading into the draft and hopes to prove his athleticism on the field can make him a contributor on the football field as he was never a No. 1 target at receiver for the U of R over his career.
The best news for O’Day coming out of the draft is that he isn’t desperate for any of these players to make the roster in 2022. He’s already built a great foundation of National depth where any future draft pick that beats out a current member of the team will do so on merit and not necessity.
That’s a healthy situation to have for any general manager in the CFL.
