COVID 19 really messed up a lot of important sporting events! Especially with Canadian Football. Not only was there no 2020 professional Canadian Football season but University sports in Canada took a hit as well. As each division decided to cancel its 2020 season. Due to the unfortunate circumstances previously mentioned, it really puts a damper on the upcoming CFL draft. Lo and behold there is still going to be a 2021 CFL draft this up and coming April. With the 2021 year kicking off strong, I (BigAL) will be doing an early look at the 2021 CFL draft prospect list. Big AL will be predicting the 2021 first 9 draft picks. Given that this upcoming draft order has been released. Before I begin here is a look at which team is projected to pick in the first round.
Hamilton Tiger Cats
Saskatchewan Roughriders
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
BC Lions
EE Football Team
Ottawa Redblacks
Toronto Argonauts
Calgary Stampeders
Hamilton Tiger-Cats VIA- Montreal Alouettes
Now that we know who is drafting when without further a due…
Hamilton Tiger-Cats you are on the clock…
And with that being said we have a draft for strategy in the sense that you don’t pick the best player most suitable for your team however you pick a player that another team would need and want as trade bait so that you can get a player you need to help your team instantly. Hamilton has a lot of talent all around but most likely is looking for more weapons for whichever QB they currently own the rights to that they decide to go with. This is why they would need an extremely talented receiver that they know they can already trust. To find such talent they are best to look at BC. Given that BC has every piece to the puzzle-filled minus any help on the O Line yet receivers on their team have proven themselves worthy of being apart of a team pushing for a championship. BC shouldn’t have a problem sacrificing a weapon that Mike Reilly might miss but willing to do so in exchange for a new young strong offensive linemen. While yes Brandon Banks is an excellent receiver Hamilton cannot just rely on one person and they would need some in-depth Canuck talent. Here is when Hamilton takes the number one O Lineman off the board. With that being said with the first-round pick of the CFL draft Hamilton is proud to select Alaric Jackson OL from Iowa.
Next up...
Saskatchewan Roughriders makes it pretty clear with there an extremely talented all-around team that they do not need any help anywhere so to pick up a want is available to them which is why picking up the very best available player is most likely a scenario they would be looking into so with that being said Saskatchewan is most likely to go with defensive back Patrice Rene from North Carolina. Rene is a beast of a DB standing at 6 foot 2 weighing in at 208 pounds yet differed his draft year to this year because of a 2019 ACL tear. However, in 35 games Rene recorded 75 tackles 10 pass deflections, and two interceptions. No doubt about it, those are impressive numbers! It is no wonder why Rene is so highly ranked as a CFL draft prospect.
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers seem to currently have their team put together thus may not have a lot of money to spend. Still having to sign some key players from last year's draft it would be very important for Winnipeg to sacrifice their pick here however let’s face it, they cannot focus all their effort and trust into starting QB Zach Collaros. Collaros is good no doubt however question has it, is Collaros the reason too why Winnipeg finally after a 30-year drought won a championship!? Debatable. As Zach did do a lot of work to get to the final game in 2019, Collaros still did not pass for a single touchdown during that Grey Cup game. A two-headed monster role was created in the Peg between now NFL player Chris Sterveler and Zach Collaros, which played a HUGE factor as to why Winnipeg was so successful in getting to the 2019 Grey Cup game in the first place. I guess what I am saying is the Blue Bombers could be just as fortunate to win another national title for 3 down football without Zach Collaros this upcoming season, so as long as Winnipeg finds away to fill the void. Although recently Zach signed a 400–500-thousand-dollar deal per season for the next two-three years in Winnipeg and the Blue Bombers are a team all about loyalty. Therefore, simply releasing Collaros would be a slap across the face to Zach and make Winnipeg look bad to their own fanbase. Hence a difficult decision must be made in the capital of Manitoba in terms of the team’s quarterback department. If the team takes a look into the quarterback role what they need to do at this point, given all the previous information inputted in this blog entry is, consider trading Collaros and releasing some smaller contract players to free up some salary room. The question is, however… which team is willing to take on Zach!? And how can Winnipeg replace their number 1 guy as of right now?? Ottawa may require quarterback help. Yes, Nick Arbuckle is a suitable option for the nation's Capital football team, but Arbuckle seems to be not willing to take a pay cut in salary to be a team player and Ottawa doesn’t have much in-depth in the QB role. Seems as if they might keep their options for quarterbacks open. Perhaps Winnipeg could entice a bottom tier, 2019 season team, with a 6th round pick by trading away Winnipeg’s number 3 pick and Collaros in exchange for the Ottawa Red Blacks’s , QB Nick Arbuckle. With that all being said, Ottawa RedBlacks you are on the clock… And with that pick, Ottawa would most likely want to help out their brand new QB and probably would go with the next best Wide Out of the board. Which is Josh Palmer from Tennessee.
The BC Lions are next up and the answer here is simply more and more protection for Mike Reilly. This is going to be an onward trend until BC can figure out what the heck is going on with their Offensive Line! So with that being said, BC is proud to select Liam Dobson OL from Maine. Dobson without any question is one of and if not arguably THE best offensive lineman in the NCAA! Good pick here by BC.
EE Football team is next on the clock. Edmonton seems to have a solid team already put together. They do however have some pieces that need to be filled. Yet such pieces might glue together this upcoming free agency frenzy. This makes me think Edmonton will just grab the next best player on the board. With that being said Edmonton will be proud to select Amen Ogbongbemiga Line Backer from Oklahoma State. Hubbard was not the only Canadian that made Oklahoma State so successful. Line Backer Amen was a HUGE factor as to why Hubbard was able to get on the field in the first place. Amen recorded 76 total tackles, 47 solo tackles, and 29 assisted tackles. On top of these tackles, Amen also put up 2.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles. NOT in ALL of Amen’s NCAA D1 Career however in just the 2020 season ALONE! These are impressive numbers for sure but what is just as impressive is Amen’s size. Standing at 6 foot 1 and weighing in at 235 pounds and still can ball out like no other. This guy is not just scary, he is Ray Lewis from Baltimore Ravens scary. It is a no-brainer to draft Amen!
Ottawa RedBlacks are up next on the clock. After previously receiving the number 3 pick from Winnipeg earlier in this draft… Ottawa can do whatever they wish here. It’s simple to go for the guy everyone wants here! This gives us an obvious answer Ottawa RedBlacks would be silly not to take Jevon Holland, Defensive Back from Oregon. Holland is probably the best DB in the 2021 CFL draft class and is ranked number 5 overall in such a draft class. So getting him at number 6 is a steal while it's also a very likely scenario. There is no need for much detail just know that he is probably one of the most talented DBs to come out of Oregon.
Toronto Argonauts are finally on the clock and I say finally because they did not deserve such a low-ranked first-round pick. They should be top 3, not bottom 3 of the draft based on positioning in the 2019 season. Lots of moves have been made in the six due to Pinball Clemons taking over as GM. Such moves make me (an Argo fan) look forward to the 2021 CFL season. Clemons could however still make us Argos even more excited with a sexy pick. Last year they picked up a few talented receivers such as WR Brissett from Virginia and the Darvas Daniels signing caught our Argo fan's attention in terms of the Wide Outs. Not taking on Derrell Walker however could be a disastrous decision. I think one more Wide Receiver in the big city would not hurt at all. So taking the next best WR off the board would be an amazing option for Toronto. This is why drafting Terrell Janna WR from Virginia is an excellent pick for the Argo’s!
It is no so surprising to see Calgary with a bottom pick of the draft because this is usually where they are however even when a random lottery decides your odds of getting a good pick or not the Stampeders are next on the clock. Calgary already has a stacked lineup and can do whatever they want here. So with no time to waste Calgary is going to pick the next best overall option off the board and with that being said Cowtown is proud to select Offensive Linemen from New Mexico State Sage Doxtater. Doxtater is making headlines at his University down south with his name all over the New Mexico University athletics website. The school seems to be pretty darn proud that Doxtater is ranked highly in the CFL draft class of 2021. It’s this kind of attention that can win an OL an award north of the border.
and last but certainly not least we have the last piece to the Jonny Manziel puzzle trade aka Hamilton Tiger-Cats- Via Montreal. Here is when Hamilton would most logically choose the next best guy off the board. This is why Daniel Joseph Defensive Linemen will be an excellent option for Hamilton!
So in sum, those picks were my (Big Al’s) predictions for the first round of the 2021 CFL draft! I hope you enjoyed the read. Take it easy and peace out for now! 😊