The dust has settled at the 2016 Canadian Football League Combine, and it’s time for league evaluators to pore over the results of the roughly 50 top draft-eligible prospects who participated.
While the league’s annual pre-draft assessment event provides a chance for players to move up draft boards, that’s not always the case as some falter under the lights and glare of personnel staff.
With that in mind, let’s take an in-depth look at five risers and fallers.
Riser: Brian Jones, receiver, Acadia
The Grand Lake, N.S., native generated quite a buzz among CFL scouts with a strong performance all weekend long. Jones proved he’s an athletic freak: six-foot-four, 233 lb., 34-inch vertical, 10-foot-8.5-inch broad jump, 4.13-second short shuttle, 6.92-second three cone and 4.69-second 40-yard time. The explosiveness and burst he has for a receiver with his size is rare.
Some scouts were wondering how Jones would fair against top-tier talent because he played university football in the AUS out east, commonly viewed as the worst CIS conference in the country. That seemed to fuel Jones, who went against high-end competition and thrived. He looked smooth in all the football drills and seemingly caught every single pass thrown his way. Jones went from a mid-round pick to one of the favourites to be the first receiver off the board in round one.
Faller: Josiah St. John, offensive lineman, Oklahoma
The athletic tackle went through all physical testing events at Oklahoma’s NFL Pro Day on Wed., March 9.
So St. John chose to stand on those numbers and not participate in testing at the CFL Combine, which scouts didn’t mind. However, three-down league evaluators would have liked to see the young man, who could be the best offensive line prospect in the 2016 class because of his potential to be a ratio-breaking tackle, pad up and participate in the football drills on Sunday. Said one CFL scout: “It was disappointing to see him standing around in street clothes.”
Riser: Rupert Butcher, defensive lineman, Western
Far and away, Butcher was the best performer in the one-on-one drills of any D-lineman. He looked nearly unblockable when the pads went on, displaying quickness and a clear ability to use his hands to shed blockers. Butcher kept offensive lineman off-balance by using a few different moves, including a strong bull rush.
With a number of the top defensive-line prospects not in attendance, Butcher seized the opportunity by stealing the spotlight and impressing CFL scouts.
Faller: Joshua Stanford, receiver, Virginia Tech/Kansas
There is no questioning Stanford’s natural athleticism.
That said, pro scouts are wondering how much he really loves the game at this point. After starting 12 games and setting freshman records with 40 catches for 640 yards at Virginia Tech in 2013, Stanford managed to play in just nine games recording 10 receptions for 102 yards in 2014 and 2015 combined to end his university career.
It has been a steady decline for the Mississauga product and what he did at the combine didn’t help turn that around. Stanford skipped out on an interview with one CFL team and put up pedestrian testing results, especially when you consider the natural athletic talent he possesses. You can see he’s a smart route runner, but he didn’t look comfortable catching the football.
Riser: Taylor Loffler, defensive back, UBC
By the way Loffler moved around on the field Sunday you would never be able to tell that he’s had four major surgeries—two on his right ACL and two labral repairs. He displayed the ability to shadow receivers in man coverage closely. Most scouts project Loffler to play safety in the CFL and he served notice that he could potentially line up and be left in one-on-one situations, providing flexibility for a defensive coordinator in mixing up looks on the back end.