Faith Ekakitie
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers could add eight more names to their prospect pool in next spring’s Canadian Football League Draft.
The league’s scouting bureau released its Top 20 winter rankings on Wednesday, with Nebraska Cornhuskers offensive lineman David Knevel – a Brampton, Ont. product – ranked first. Offensive linemen hold down the top four spots, and half of the Top 20 player rankings. Western University running back Alex Taylor, a Winnipegger via St. Paul’s High School, is ranked 16th.
The Bombers, who selected defensive tackle Faith Ekakitie with the first overall selection last year courtesy of the blockbuster trade with the Toronto Argonauts involving Drew Willy, will select seventh overall in the first round. Winnipeg has picks in each of the eight rounds, selecting seventh, 16th, 26th, 33rd, 41st, 49th,58th and 67th overall.
Faith Ekakitie (56).
The club had forfeited its third-round selection, 24th overall, in selecting University of Minnesota receiver Drew Wolitarsky in a supplemental draft last June, but secured a second third rounder – the 26th pick – in the Willy trade.
The Bombers have scored big in the last four CFL Drafts, stockpiling a Canadian talent cupboard that had been left wanting after mediocre to poor drafts from 2009-2013. Since then, the draft has yielded starters Matthias Goossen, Sukh Chungh, Taylor Loffler along with Derek Jones, Jesse Briggs, Chris Normand, Trent Corney, Michael Couture, Shane Gauthier, Ekakitie and Abu Conteh – all of whom are still part of the team and have played at least one game. Others from those draft classes who saw action but are no longer with the team include Addison Richards, Brendan Morgan, Justin Warden and Garrett Waggoner.
Qadr Spooner, a second-round pick in 2017, spent the entire year on the practice roster while sixth-round pick Ian Marouf attended training camp and then rejoined the practice roster in October, and receiver/long-snapper Brendon Thera-Plamondon, a seventh-round choice, attended camp last year and will be back in 2018.
Not to be forgotten is University of Manitoba product Geoff Gray, selected eighth overall by the Bombers last spring. Gray, the mammoth offensive lineman, signed his first National Football League contract with the Green Bay Packers as a priority free agent, was then added to the New York Jets practice roster and on Tuesday was signed to the Cleveland Browns 53-man roster.
Qadr Spooner (64).
The CFL Scouting Bureau ranking released Wednesday will be updated again in April, following the draft combine here in Winnipeg during CFL Week, which runs from March 22-25th.
Here’s a look at the Top 5 prospects from the winter rankings, courtesy the CFL:
- David Knevel, OL, Nebraska (Brampton, Ont.): The 6-9 senior played in 31 games for the Huskers and as a starter at right tackle. Was an Academic All-Big Ten in 2016.
- Trey Rutherford, OL, Connecticut (Markham, Ont.): Started all 12 games for the Huskies in 2017.
- Ryan Hunter, OL, Bowling Green (North Bay, Ont.): Started 12 games at right tackle for the Falcons.
- Peter Godber, OL, Rice (Toronto, Ont.): Appeared in 36 games over three years with the Owls, starting the last 23. Has been a member of C-USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll every year since 2014.
- Julien Laurent, DL, Georgia State (Toronto, Ont.): Started nine games at nose guard, missing three due to injury.
