Redha Kramdi, selected by the Blue Bombers in the second round, 16th overall, of the 2021 CFL Draft
It was both inevitable and, truthfully, completely expected.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have been on a long run of late, after all, posting double-digit win seasons over the last eight years, winning a pair of championships and appearing in five straight Grey Cup games.
That type of success regularly draws a ton of eyeballs, and it often means a roster gets attacked by rivals in free agency — and especially so if that talent is Canadian.
That certainly happened to the Blue Bombers over the winter with two starters lost in the open market in CFL All-Star cornerback Tyrell Ford (Edmonton Elks) and West Division All-Star Liam Dobson (Hamilton Tiger-Cats).
As well, there were other changes to the homegrown talent with starting receiver Drew Wolitarsky released and subsequently scooped up by the Ticats, joining a Canadian exodus to Steeltown which also included veteran running back Johnny Augustine and defensive end Owen Hubert. As well, fullback Bailey Feltmate retired and defensive back Noah Hallett was not re-signed.
Helping offset some of that were the depth additions the Blue Bombers made in free agency by signing defensive backs Josh Hagerty (Edmonton) and Enock Makonzo (Hamilton), receiver Gavin Cobb (Edmonton) and defensive end Brock Gowanlock (Montreal).
We bring all this up today on the eve of the CFL Draft with the first pick going off the board Tuesday at 5 p.m. and with the Blue Bombers Canadian content needing an influx of new blood.
GM Kyle Walters spoke late last week about the importance of the Draft in terms of roster composition but also its impact on the salary camp in Part 1 of our preview, found here:
Today, we dive into guessing what the Blue Bombers might do tomorrow and offer up a look at the current Canadian composition in our CFL Draft preview…
What are the Blue Bombers Canadian areas of need?
The losses of Ford and Dobson doesn’t just take two starters out of the lineup, it impacts the team’s ratio flexibility. CFL squads are required to start a minimum of seven Canadian starters and last season there were regularly eight in the lineup.
The Blue Bombers can still meet the seven Canadian starter threshold easily with running back Brady Oliveira, receivers Nic Demski and Kevens Clercius, centre Chris Kolankowski and guard Pat Neufeld on offence and with dime back Redha Kramdi and a Canadian at nosetackle with Jake Thomas and Cam Lawson.
Here’s where things get interesting: the Blue Bombers appear to have Canadians in waiting to take over Dobson’s left guard spot in Gabe Wallace and Tui Eli — who can also play centre — but are also very open to playing three Americans up front. Last year Stanley Bryant and Eric Lofton manned the tackles, but Kendall Randolph filled in at both guard and tackle and was solid and the club is high on American guard Micah Vanterpool.
That certainly could impact how high the Blue Bombers select an offensive lineman, especially in a draft class not stacked at the position.
Losing Ford doesn’t mean the Blue Bombers try to find another unicorn in a starting Canadian cornerback in the draft. But it could lead to the team looking for more depth on defence and for special teams with their early picks, especially with Hallett and Hubert gone, along with linebacker Max Charbonneau who was recently released as well as running back Johnny Augustine and fullback Bailey Feltmate.
Consider this, too: seven Canadians are in their 30s, including starters Neufeld (36), Thomas (34), Kolankowski (33) and Demski (31) along with linebacker Shayne Gauthier (33), defensive back Nick Hallett (31) and long-snapper Mike Benson (37).
Any Blue Bombers interest in Canadian QBs Kurtis Rourke and Taylor Elgersma?
It’s a fair question, considering they are both talented pivots and with Zach Collaros 36 and heading into the final year of his contract. Still, the team’s QB depth chart is also full with Collaros, Terry Wilson, Jake Dolegala, Chris Streveler and Shea Patterson, who was signed in free agency.
But with Rourke — the Indiana star and brother to B.C. Lions starter Nathan Rourke — being drafted on the weekend by the San Francisco 49ers and Elgersma, the Wilfrid Laurier star, getting a ton of NFL interest as an undrafted free agent, there’s risk either one of those picks might not be available soon, if at all.
As well, Stanford receiver Elic Ayomanor was selected by the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth round, LSU defensive tackle Paris Shand was signed by the Buffalo Bills after the draft, as was Montana defensive lineman. Several other Canadians eligible for the CFL Draft have accepted rookie camp invitations from NFL teams, although that’s unlikely to impact where they might be selected on Tuesday.
FYI
This year’s draft will be the 12th for the current Blue Bombers regime of GM Kyle Walters and head coach Mike O’Shea, along with Assistant GM Danny McManus and new Directors of Player Personnel Eric Deslauriers, Jim Jauch and Brock Sunderland and an increased role in the process for Director of Football Operations Matt Gulakow.
Consider this, for what it’s worth, of the 80 selections made by Walters over the years, the breakdown by position is as follows – defensive backs (17), defensive linemen (17), offensive linemen (16), receivers (12), linebackers (nine), running backs/fullbacks (six), kickers (two) and long snapper (one).
Here are some other CFL Draft Day basics to help get Blue Bombers fans up to speed:
CFL DRAFT DAY
What: the CFL’s 2025 Global and CFL Drafts
When: Tuesday, April 29th. The Global Draft begins at 10 a.m. and is then followed by the main CFL Draft at 5 p.m.
How to watch: The Global Draft is not televised, although the selections can be followed live on the CFL’s Global Draft Tracker.
The first two rounds of the CFL Draft will be broadcast on TSN, tsn.ca, rds.ca and the TSN and RDS apps. Coverage of rounds 3-8 is available on TSN+. The league’s pick-by-pick tracker is here.
THE BLUE BOMBERS CFL DRAFT PICKS:
ROUND 1: 6th overall
ROUND 2: 15th overall
ROUND 2: 18th overall (bonus pick as a reward for national snaps in 2024)
ROUND 3: 27th overall
ROUND 4: 36th overall
ROUND 5: 45th overall
ROUND 6: 54th overall
ROUND 7: 63rd overall
ROUND 8: 71st overall
THE BLUE BOMBERS GLOBAL DRAFT PICKS
ROUND 1: 8th overall
ROUND 2: 17th overall
BLUE BOMBERS DRAFT PICKS CURRENTLY ON THE ROSTER
Jake Thomas
DT Jake Thomas* (Round 4, 29th overall, 2012)
LB Shayne Gauthier (Round 4, 28th overall, 2016)
RB Brady Oliveira* (Round 2, 14th overall, 2019)
OL Tui Eli (Round 4, 34th overall, 2019)
DB Nick Hallett (Round 7, 61st overall, 2019)
LB Tanner Cadwallader (Round 7, 64th overall, 2020)
DB Redha Kramdi* (Round 2, 16th overall, 2021)
DB Jake Kelly (Round 2, 15th overall, 2023)
DT Tanner Schmekel (Round 4, 35th overall, 2023)
DT Collin Kornelson (Round 5, 44th overall, 2023)
WR Kevens Clercius (Round 2, 13th overall, 2024)
FB Michael Chris-Ike (Round 2, 14th overall, 2024)
OL Gabe Wallace (Round 2, 17th overall, 2024)
DT Kyle Samson (Round 2, 20th overall, 2024)
LS Ian Leroux (Round 4, 37th overall, 2024)
WR AK Gassama (Round 6, 55th overall, 2024)
OTHER BLUE BOMBER CANADIANS CURRENTLY ON THE ROSTER
Nic Demski
OL Patrick Neufeld* – Round 5, 33rd overall, by Saskatchewan in 2010; traded to Winnipeg in 2013 for DE Alex Hall and a second-round pick in the 2014 draft. Three-time CFL All-Star (2021-23).
SB Nic Demski* — Round 1, 6th overall, by Saskatchewan in 2015; signed with Winnipeg as a free agent in 2018. Has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons; led the Blue Bombers in receiving with 76 receptions for 1,030 yards and six TDs. Named a West All-Star.
LS Mike Benson – Veteran long snapper signed with the Blue Bombers in 2021. First signed with Edmonton as an undrafted free agent in 2012 and has now played in 157 career games with Winnipeg, Edmonton, B.C. and Ottawa
C Chris Kolankowski* – Round 6, 49th overall, by Toronto in 2016; Has started 51 games over the last two years at centre
DT Cam Lawson* – Round 2, 16th overall, by Montreal in 2021; Acquired in a draft day trade with the Alouettes in 2022. Posted a career high five sacks in 2023 and then missed all of 2024 with a knee injury in camp. Expected to be 100 percent healthy this year.
WR Gavin Cobb — Round 4, 30th overall, by Edmonton in 2022; Signed in free agency this winter. Former Manitoba Bisons product who is an exceptional athlete. Appeared in 29 games for the Elks in the last two years with 18 catches for 308 yards and two TDs. Also earned spot returns on kickoffs and punts.
DE Brock Gowanlock — Round 8, 66th overall, by Montreal in 2020; Another former Bisons product, Gowanlock played in three games last year after suffering an injury. A member of the Als Grey Cup championship team in 2023.
DB Josh Hagerty — Round 6, 47th overall, by Toronto in 2021; Hagerty was signed in free agency in February and has played in 32 games, including 15 last year with Edmonton, where he tied for the team lead in special-teams tackles.
DB Enock Makonzo — Round 1, 4th overall, by Edmonton in 2022: Makonzo suffered an Achilles injury prior to the start of training camp last year after signing with Hamilton. He appeared in 19 games over two years with Edmonton in 2022-23 and finished second on the team with 57 total tackles in ’22.
*Indicates starter
BLUE BOMBERS GLOBAL PLAYERS ON ROSTER
P Jamieson Sheahan — Round 1, 8th overall, 2023 Global Draft; The Blue Bombers Aussie-born punter over the last two years. Finished last year with a 44.4-yard average.
DE Lucky Ogbevoen — Round 2, 17th overall, 2024 Global Draft; Product of Vienna, Austria who played in the European League of Football in 2022. Spent most of last year on the practice roster, dressing for one game.
LB Fabian Weitz — Round 1, 8th overall, 2024 Global Draft; Born in Cologne, Germany, the University of Buffalo product dressed for seven regular-season games and the 111th Grey Cup, playing exclusively on special teams.
MOCK DRAFTS
-For those of you in to the annual educated guesses, here’s a couple:
From Marshall Ferguson of CFL.ca:
And from John Hodge of 3Down Nation.
TOP 20
-The final draft rankings from the CFL’s Scouting Bureau, released Monday:
Elic Ayomanor vaults to top spot in spring edition of CFL Scouting Bureau
