2023/2024 Blue Bombers Off-Season Thread (BRADY’S BACK! DALTON’S BACK!)

[bluedawg]

The Hodge mock draft seems decent but I think it's missing the mark with the Bombers.

Here's what I think are the Canadian draft needs:

WR - I've got to imagine they'll bring in a WR to compete with Jeremy Murphy early in the draft for a dress roster spot

FB - This one is obvious. We dont have one

iOL - I think the iOL is going to be set but the team needs to add someone to sit on practice roster this year and develop

LB - Jesse Briggs retired. Shayne Gauthier probably doesn't have much more in the tank. Need a guy who can be a core ST stud and develop into a rotational player at the least

LS - Mike Benson is going to be 37? Would be good to find someone who can be the LS of the future.

I would hope the Bombers go WR/iOL/LB in some order with the three top 20 picks and go from there

[Mike]

Go figure. A terrible mock from Hodge as usual. I’d be pretty annoyed if we used 2 of our first 4 picks on special teamers. The whole thing seems real unlikely, to be honest. First round seems like a total mess.

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, JCon said:

And you would spend draft capital in the first 3 rounds to do this? Or, you would wait until later in the draft to fill out your special teams depth and add an American FB to do some blocking and power running? 

Only if the fb was both an instant upgrade on teams and blocking, as well as a guy who could be a back up ball carrier to Brady immediately.  
 Other wise we have too much need else where. 

[JCon]

 

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, bluedawg said:

The Hodge mock draft seems decent but I think it's missing the mark with the Bombers.

Here's what I think are the Canadian draft needs:

WR - I've got to imagine they'll bring in a WR to compete with Jeremy Murphy early in the draft for a dress roster spot

FB - This one is obvious. We dont have one

iOL - I think the iOL is going to be set but the team needs to add someone to sit on practice roster this year and develop

LB - Jesse Briggs retired. Shayne Gauthier probably doesn't have much more in the tank. Need a guy who can be a core ST stud and develop into a rotational player at the least

LS - Mike Benson is going to be 37? Would be good to find someone who can be the LS of the future.

I would hope the Bombers go WR/iOL/LB in some order with the three top 20 picks and go from there

 

7 minutes ago, Mike said:

Go figure. A terrible mock from Hodge as usual. I’d be pretty annoyed if we used 2 of our first 4 picks on special teamers. The whole thing seems real unlikely, to be honest. First round seems like a total mess.

I’d add de to the wil option. 
 

As for priority, it’d be ol then rotational dl/lber. 
 

Wr would depend on who is available, while we need a guy or two this could as well be one of the TEs or a lower number pick who fills the woli role. I don’t think we need to look for a home run ni wr, we have soo many guys on offence that need touches a high upside offensive guy wouldn’t develop much in the next two years. 
 A big body versatile teams wr who can block, a ghetto woli prospect would be a strong pick up. 
 We could fill the fb/teams/back up ni wr all with one body. That type of roster efficient ni would be huge for us. The perfect world guy would be able to run the ball and catch, playing h back plus. But that is likely too much to expect. 

[JuranBoldenRules]

Don't think Bombers will draft too much for positional need in this one since there are a lot of great players in the draft.  But it will be heavy on OL/DL, LB/DB, receiver.  I expect almost all their picks in the first half of the draft to be from these position groups.

See what combine looks like but doesn't look like any viable tailbacks in the crew, couple guys that might get converted into FB/TE types.  Not much use in drafting a guy that's played FB in U Sports and runs like a lineman.

[GCn20]

I suspect that we will be looking at the trenches early in this draft. The last few drafts have been BPA, but I'm not sure we have that luxury this year.

Edited March 13 by GCn20

[rebusrankin]

The idea of us taking a lineman in round 1 and a DL in round 2 works for me but I don't get us taking the rb/fb Hodge suggests. If the draft went they way he did I think we'd go OL going to the US as a futures pick in round 2. The ST in round 3 pick and the rational is laughable.

[GCn20]

2 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

The idea of us taking a lineman in round 1 and a DL in round 2 works for me but I don't get us taking the rb/fb Hodge suggests. If the draft went they way he did I think we'd go OL going to the US as a futures pick in round 2. The ST in round 3 pick and the rational is laughable.

Yea...FB maybe after the 3rd round. We don't use one enough to be really all in before that. Would make no sense as our FB is really just a 6th OL most of the time.

3 minutes ago, rebusrankin said:

The idea of us taking a lineman in round 1 and a DL in round 2 works for me but I don't get us taking the rb/fb Hodge suggests. If the draft went they way he did I think we'd go OL going to the US as a futures pick in round 2. The ST in round 3 pick and the rational is laughable.

I could see us going OL round 1, DL round 2, and OL flyer in round 3.

Edited March 13 by GCn20

[wbbfan]

If we really wanted to go after some one that hard I’d go for a guy like tanner mclachlan. 6’5 245 te who put up good athletic numbers 4.61/35” vert/9’10 broad/ 1.58 10. He seems like a real fifo type too. Hard nosed, tough, good blocker does the little things. He might end up being a late pick if not he will be a priority fa but good probability to end up here if you take him. 
the other Canadian te Theo Johnson is gonna be a decent mid round pick down south. 6’6 260 4.58 40” 10.5’ broad all the eye popping numbers. Doesn’t have significant Production though or any of the intangibles of mclachlan. 

[JCon]

My fear is that we reach for a player because they fill a position of need, rather than using the ratio more effectively. 

Edited March 13 by JCon

[wbbfan]

3 minutes ago, JCon said:

My fear is that we reach for a player because they fill a position of need, rather than using using the ration more effectively. 

My fear is we draft more low upside special teams guys who aren’t good at special teams :s

[Pete]

1 hour ago, bluedawg said:

The Hodge mock draft seems decent but I think it's missing the mark with the Bombers.

Here's what I think are the Canadian draft needs:

WR - I've got to imagine they'll bring in a WR to compete with Jeremy Murphy early in the draft for a dress roster spot

FB - This one is obvious. We dont have one

iOL - I think the iOL is going to be set but the team needs to add someone to sit on practice roster this year and develop

LB - Jesse Briggs retired. Shayne Gauthier probably doesn't have much more in the tank. Need a guy who can be a core ST stud and develop into a rotational player at the least

LS - Mike Benson is going to be 37? Would be good to find someone who can be the LS of the future.

I would hope the Bombers go WR/iOL/LB in some order with the three top 20 picks and go from there

first off I'm not sure about Hodges order = I don't see a wr being drafted #1 by any team. If Edm wants him they would trade down, Secondly Sask has to go with an OL  pick. There main need has been and continues to be olinemen. And there are decent choices here so its not a case of taking the best talent  available..

I would see us going OL, DL, FB, WR

[Mike]

Why is everybody so horny for a fullback early on all of a sudden? First of all, when’s the last time a top pick was used to draft a fullback and it actually panned out? Fullbacks in the CFL don’t need to test well or be elite athletically. They need be smart. Our fullback last year was a 30 year old rookie, not a pop-off-the-charts young athlete. 
 

Second of all, we have a perfectly capable fullback for the packages we roll out. His name is Chris Streveler.

[bluedawg]

Tanner McLachlan is going to be in the NFL for a while. Theo Johnson also, and he might even be an NFL starter for a while.

I would think the 2 UBC OL, the Illinois OL, the Boston College OL, the Howard OL and potentially the Memphis LB will sign NFL deals or be drafted.

When is the last time the Bombers took a player, early or late, who had signed an NFL deal? They just don't seem to be as willing as other teams to wait.

[Fatty Liver]

Prior to last season Mike Miller was the FB since he arrived in 2018 and he rarely touched the ball.  Doesn't seem like a priority worthy of drafting a specific player to fill the role as it's mainly blocking.  Any left over Natl. LB type could probably fill in adequately including Gauthier.

Edited March 13 by Fatty Liver

[MOBomberFan]

48 minutes ago, Mike said:

First of all, when’s the last time a top pick was used to draft a fullback and it actually panned out?

Well over 30 years ago, Sean Millington. I suppose Patrick Lavoie panned out well enough for a 2nd round pick. Lots of successful FBs were late picks or undrafted FAs. Recent noteables like Declan Cross, Calvin McCarty, Alexander Dupuis and Milanovic-Litre were 4th rounders, Rob Cote was undrafted. Nikola Kalinic was an early 2nd rounder but of course he has dashed off to the NFL.

I liked Oosterhuis but it's a stretch to say he panned out as a first rounder 8th overall

[17to85]

9 minutes ago, MOBomberFan said:

I liked Oosterhuis but it's a stretch to say he panned out as a first rounder 8th overall

Oosterhuis was a defensive lineman though?

[SpeedFlex27]

12 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Oosterhuis was a defensive lineman though?

Yeah, he never played fullback full time.

[JuranBoldenRules]

2 hours ago, wbbfan said:

If we really wanted to go after some one that hard I’d go for a guy like tanner mclachlan. 6’5 245 te who put up good athletic numbers 4.61/35” vert/9’10 broad/ 1.58 10. He seems like a real fifo type too. Hard nosed, tough, good blocker does the little things. He might end up being a late pick if not he will be a priority fa but good probability to end up here if you take him. 
the other Canadian te Theo Johnson is gonna be a decent mid round pick down south. 6’6 260 4.58 40” 10.5’ broad all the eye popping numbers. Doesn’t have significant Production though or any of the intangibles of mclachlan. 

Don't think either of those guys play up here tbh.  That's the big issue with this draft, especially considering how big NFL PR's now and no limits on it in terms of tenure.  Guy can bounce around PR's for a decade.

[wbbfan]

1 hour ago, bluedawg said:

Tanner McLachlan is going to be in the NFL for a while. Theo Johnson also, and he might even be an NFL starter for a while.

I would think the 2 UBC OL, the Illinois OL, the Boston College OL, the Howard OL and potentially the Memphis LB will sign NFL deals or be drafted.

When is the last time the Bombers took a player, early or late, who had signed an NFL deal? They just don't seem to be as willing as other teams to wait.

Theo will for sure. Tanner will get a decent look  for a year maybe two. It’s possible that a coach will fall in love with his work ethic and intangibles alone. But he’s a pretty good investment for a mid draft pick or later. His chances of falling out after a year then two is pretty high. And his floor up here is pretty high as well. 
 Geoff gray? Idr when the timing changes with respect to the nfls draft. But we did in that period of time take a few nfl risk guys. 

 

1 hour ago, Mike said:

Why is everybody so horny for a fullback early on all of a sudden? First of all, when’s the last time a top pick was used to draft a fullback and it actually panned out? Fullbacks in the CFL don’t need to test well or be elite athletically. They need be smart. Our fullback last year was a 30 year old rookie, not a pop-off-the-charts young athlete. 
 

Second of all, we have a perfectly capable fullback for the packages we roll out. His name is Chris Streveler.

I don’t think any one other than hodge thinks we will or should go fb in the top half of the draft. If the right guy is available sure, but I don’t see that happening this year. Stranger things have happened down the road we could see a first round fb at some point. But I mean both tes and maybe both FBs probably better than kalinec was. 

[rebusrankin]

1 hour ago, Mike said:

Why is everybody so horny for a fullback early on all of a sudden? First of all, when’s the last time a top pick was used to draft a fullback and it actually panned out? Fullbacks in the CFL don’t need to test well or be elite athletically. They need be smart. Our fullback last year was a 30 year old rookie, not a pop-off-the-charts young athlete. 
 

Second of all, we have a perfectly capable fullback for the packages we roll out. His name is Chris Streveler.

For the record, I am not horny for a fullback. Cheerleaders on the other hand.....

[wbbfan]

2 minutes ago, JuranBoldenRules said:

Don't think either of those guys play up here tbh.  That's the big issue with this draft, especially considering how big NFL PR's now and no limits on it in terms of tenure.  Guy can bounce around PR's for a decade.

Not in year one or two. But big athletic under skilled tes are pretty common each year down south. 

1 minute ago, rebusrankin said:

For the record, I am not horny for a fullback. Cheerleaders on the other hand.....

Cheerleaders are fb horny? Damn no wonder wade is always working. 

On a side note, I think we’ve got lbers that could fill the fb role as well. 
 
Id love a big running tweener rb/hback to free up a Canadian spot, but I don’t think any of the guys this year are that. A te/fb hybrid would be good over a wr, but not worth a high pick. 
 

[Goalie]

Fullback. lol. 
 

what is this. 1980. 

[MOBomberFan]

53 minutes ago, 17to85 said:

Oosterhuis was a defensive lineman though?

40 minutes ago, SpeedFlex27 said:

Yeah, he never played fullback full time.

He played all over the place when he wasn't filling in for someone on the DL, they got him on the field a variety of ways. DT/DE, OL, FB. One memorable moment of 2009 was Oos catching the ball in open field for a good 20 yard gain. He played enough snaps at FB to have 2 receiving TDs in his career, that's not nothing. I'm not knocking him, I was a big fan