I don't think any of this is particularly unreasonable, though it is classic erring on the side of negativity. It's pretty clearly the best draft of any team in 2019, even if you rightly suggest that you can't judge a draft immediately after it happens. This is as impressive and diverse a haul as we could possibly have hoped for through the first five picks.
I wasn't thrilled at the time with Oliviera but the more I've looked into it, the more I like it. Being able to play a Canadian at RB is a massive plus, let alone one who can run, catch and block. Oliviera has the ability and pedigree to be Andrew Harris, even if he doesn't top out at his level. I was more interested in Wilkinson but there's clearly a reason he dropped as far as he did and Oliviera is a better pro prospect at a more unique position. Beyond that, missing out on one high potential player in favor of another is not something I would generally complain about. I think your previous statement that every prospect has pro potential before they play a game is way off. There are countless players that are drafted that even the picks themselves know their ceiling is a high motor depth special teams player. All five of the Bombers first picks have definite star potential which is more than we can say about any other team's picks.
Desjarlais was without a doubt the right pick at that spot. Very, very low bust potential and a very high chance to be a good to great player for a long time. I don't think I need to preface that every prospect ever taken has a chance at busting and that's not a good reason to have high expectations and optimism for high draft picks. There is essentially no chance that he starts the season as anything lower than the sixth o-lineman. They aren't going to risk PRing him and risking another team taking him a la Jacob Ruby a few years ago.
Kongbo was the best defensive prospect the CFL draft has seen in an extremely long time. Combined with the fact that he had minimal NFL interest, his pick was a no-brainer. ACL injuries are not really of any concern in 2019. It won't affect his long term explosiveness and the argument can be made that the injury was a good thing for the Bombers since it basically took him completely off the NFL radar without the risk of long term complications. He is a good enough prospect that even with missing the entire camp, he can contribute this season and if the Bombers want to ease him into the lineup or hold off until next season, it's really not a big deal as Jefferson is on a one year deal and he could theoretically step into that spot in the situation where Jefferson doesn't re-sign. You have to make that selection. He had by far the biggest star potential in this draft. Above even Betts who is overrated and extremely one dimensional. You cannot restrict yourself by not drafting a player because you may lose him after his first contract. If you lose him to the NFL because he was so good that he gets that opportunity, so be it. He's not a huge risk to "go home" for his second deal because he has minimal ties to any other CFL market.
Griffiths is a perfect Jake Thomas upgrade/replacement. He will get reps this season and he has every bit of talent to succeed at the pro level.
I get cautious optimism but it's hard for me to get behind anything less than that regarding this draft. It was as close to a home run as you can get for something that is highly chance related. I respect your right to call some people out for being needlessly positive about certain things, hell I find is as annoying as you do. I've been critical of Walters for a number of things and he's had some extremely questionable draft decisions. Ekakitie at 1 and Brendan Morgan over Lemar Durant stick out as blunders that were extremely obvious even at the time and his (or his staff's) ability to find International stars has been lacking to the point of being laughable. It's just that sometimes it's nice to just be happy when things go as well as anyone could have reasonably expected.
