Tuesday is the Canadian Football League's draft day, as both the Global and Canadian drafts will occur.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders have picks in seven of the eight rounds of the Canadian draft, including the fourth overall pick.
As unique as the Canadian Football League is, the league’s draft process is just as distinct. Football operations departments around the league need to evaluate athletes on their physical and mental abilities and whether or not they may ever play for them keeping in mind the players' desire to pursue a career in the National Football League.
Roughriders' Vice President of Football Operations and General Manager Jeremy O’Day admits it is a balancing act.
“I take out my crystal ball," O'Day said while laughing. "It's something we talk about when you have guys on the board that were signed in the NFL and you're trying to project. It's based on risk and reward. You're looking at a player, if you feel like that player is going to be a starter and feel like he'd be able to play for a long time, then that weighs into your decision.”
Considering that, O’Day admits the draft's first round can be a bit of a gamble.
“The first round is really a little bit of a crap shoot. If you look back at the history of first-round draft picks, it's the nature of our league. You're picking guys coming in, competing against a small number of starters on the roster. A lot of times those first-round picks, when they get in their second contract, they're off to another team.”
O’Day, who is entering his seventh season as Saskatchewan’s general manager, believes this year’s draft class is deep.
“The first three rounds are going to be good. Last year, we had a whole bunch of Canadian players drafted in the NFL. This year, only two were drafted, two undrafted players signed contracts and then a bunch of guys are in mini-camps. Last year's class was a little more top-end heavy regarding really good players. This year is a bit more where we'll probably see more of the guys sooner.”
Also unique is the Canadian Football League’s Global Draft, in which the Saskatchewan Roughriders will have the sixth and fifteenth picks. O’Day said they take a calculated approach to the Global initiative.
“You only have to have one Global. Once you have a good Global, you're drafting on top of that. We use two globals with [Habakkuk Baldonado] and our punter [Adam Korsak]. What you’re looking at is whether anyone in the Global Draft will come in and be better than the guys you have or compete with them.”
O’Day added roster considerations also play a factor.
“Another question for us is if that player doesn't beat out the player he's competing with, would he stay on our practice roster? In some cases, they wouldn't. It's a lot of gathering information for a couple of rounds of picks.”
The 50-year-old O’Day, who is entering his 27th season with the Roughriders, admits there is a delicate balance between choosing the best player available and the player that best fits your roster.
“If the best player is an area of strength and there's a really good player in an area of need, I think there's a conversation to be had. Plus, other things that go into it are, where our guys are in their current contracts. Do we have players who are under contract for a longer term? Are they coming up on their contract?”
After draft day, rookie camps across the CFL open on May 7.
