Taking a look at which teams made the smartest and most questionable picks in the 2011 CFL draft.
The 2011 Canadian Football League draft was all about the trades that happened, the ones that didn't and the winners and losers.
Let's begin with the all the talk about the trades.
"Seems like things were going pretty helter skelter the whole time," Winnipeg general manager Joe Mack said. "I think it makes it exciting for the fans also to see everybody's willing to be aggressive to try to improve their team through the draft."
Edmonton general manager Eric Tillman publicly stated he was looking to deal the second overall pick if he could acquire what he wanted, which was believed to be at least two American starters. He decided in the end to sit tight. Trader Tillman simply couldn't get the deal he wanted -- which may have been asking a lot anyway, but nothing ventured, nothing gained -- so he settled for behemoth offensive lineman Scott Mitchell out of Rice. Taking Mitchell second overall was the safe bet and may turn out to be the better choice in the immediate future.
Edmonton has historically employed anywhere from three to as many as five Canadian offensive linemen. Tillman has talked about length about his team's need for Canadian depth. A Canadian offensive lineman stands a much better chance of making an impact. Calgary hit a home run a few years ago after taking two in the first round that immediately became starters. That's all about good scouting.
Winnipeg, which had the top pick in the draft, settled on linebacker Henoc Muamba of St. Francis Xavier because they rated him higher on their draft board. There had been talk that Muamba's agent wanted his client to hold out and explore NFL options, even though Muamba told Sportsnet.ca he wanted to play now and the CFL is the place he wanted to be.
Mack indicated Muamba's agent had some phone issues Saturday so the deal couldn't be consummated. Mack hopes to have the deal done in the next few days.
"I don't foresee any problems at all," Mack said. "We'll just let that process run its course."
He would not divulge any financial terms of length.
Usually, the deal is in place prior to the selection to ensure there isn't a public relations nightmare. In Winnipeg, which has routinely dealt away its top picks, this is a big deal to have the top pick and can't be squandered on a contract dispute. Then again, with the NFL in a state of flux, it would be hard to imagine a deal wouldn't be done -- and we're not talking huge coin.
The base would be about $45,000-$55,000 or so the first year, an increase of $5,000 the next year and a signing bonus of $10,000-$15,000.
Winnipeg prefers active, physical linebackers, almost routinely Americans, so taking Muamba first overall was an interesting selection. A case could be made that Winnipeg's has a larger need on the offensive line, but Mack thought otherwise. He said Muamba is comparable to some of the Bombers' current linebackers, which is high praise indeed.
Mack said he had many offers to acquire the Bombers' fourth overall pick but kept it and selected receiver Jade Etienne from the University of Saskatchewan. Both Nathan Coehoorn of the University of Calgary (selected fifth overall by Edmonton after a trade with Hamilton) and Harvard's Marco Iannuzzi (taken sixth by B.C.), were rated much higher, so go figure on this move. It could be seen as a reach, but Mack felt otherwise.
Calgary moved up from sixth to third in a multi-pick deal with B.C. to grab University of Calgary receiver Anthony Parker. He may be the best player at a skilled position and is a natural fit for the Stamps.
The Argos made a deal with Saskatchewan to move up to seventh from 12th overall and took Tulsa offensive lineman Tyler Holmes. He still has a year of college eligibility remaining and is on the National Football League radar. Once again, this is a curious move. The Argos are not that far off from contending for the Grey Cup, so why not take a player who can help you immediately? This kid is at least a year away from the CFL and possibly longer, so why didn't the Argos snag a defensive tackle, particularly with defensive lineman Adriano Belli set to announce his retirement?
Montreal, in need of a kicker, took Brody McKnight of Montana with the last pick in the first round. It was a wise move. They made a deal after the draft to acquire B.C. dual-purpose kicker Sean Whyte, who apprenticed behind Paul McCallum and is clearly ready to be a full-time player. At the very least, they can groom McKnight while Whyte is the immediate starter. That's what B.C. did with Whyte.
Hamilton finally got on the board with the 10th overall pick and chose Moe Petrus, an offensive lineman from Connecticut who still has a year of college eligibility. Again, why wouldn't the Ticats take a player who can help them now rather than one who is at least a year or more away from joining the team? The Ticats' top draft selections in recent years haven't been good. In fact, many of them failed substantially to live up to their billing.
Defensive tackle Maurice Forbes, selected 13th overall and the second of seven selections the Ticats had, will make more of an immediate impression. The Ticats needed a defensive tackle to account for the loss of Jermaine Reid to Edmonton via free agency. The Ticats' third pick was another defensive lineman, Laval's Marc-Antoine Fortin. Of the seven selections, three are expected to return to school.
At the very least, Winnipeg had a pick in every round, which hasn't been the case in the past. But with a 4-14 record last year, the Bombers need to hope one or more of these pick make an immediate impact.
The team that won the draft -- in my opinion -- is Montreal. They drafted for the present and the future. They took Philip Blake, an offensive lineman from Baylor who still has another year of eligibility and underclassman Vaughn Martin, the defensive lineman who has played two years in the National Football League with the San Diego Chargers. Montreal can afford to wait on players because they have quality Canadian talent.
Blake comes from an emerging program of offensive linemen at Baylor. His teammate Danny Watkins was taken 23rd overall in the NFL draft by the Philadelphia Eagles. If he's anything close to Watkins in ability, he could be in the CFL a long time.
After Martin completes his third year in the NFL, he will be vulnerable unless he proves he can start or play special teams. To date, he has played only 20 of 32 games in two years, has only seven solo tackles, and only one sack. San Diego will have to decide after Martin plays three years whether to cut him -- assuming it doesn't happen before -- - or keep him and make him vested for a future pension. Martin, 6-foot-4, 330 pounds, was a fourth-round pick who received huge coin as a signing bonus, which is why he has remained with the Chargers. They have too much invested in him at this point.
The fact that Martin was eligible for the NFL draft two years before the CFL draft points to an obvious problem that needs to be addressed. Players at American colleges aren't eligible for the NFL draft until they play four years or declare themselves early. A Canadian university player can become eligible for the NFL draft by declaring himself early, but to be eligible for the CFL Draft a player has to have had played at least four years in college or university or be at least 25. The rule, in my opinion, should be if a player declares himself for the NFL draft, he should be eligible for the CFL draft. After that, it's up to teams to decide when to select the player.
If Martin comes to the CFL -- and it may not be that far off -- it will be a steal for Montreal.
Some teams drafted for the present, and some of those selections are curious, while others have looked at the future, and at least one, Montreal, did a little of both.
Time will tell who wins in the end.
