One of the things many purists love about football is that it’s the ultimate team sport. Coaches construct the roster based on how they sit fit. It’s then up to those players at every position to execute the game plan. When it comes to next Tuesday’s CFL Draft, the fruits of labour can be sweet and rewarding for the national scouts responsible for vetting the newest crop of Canadians turning pro.
For the BC Lions, that’s where Rob Ralph comes in. Heading up his fourth draft as Lions’ director of Canadian scouting, Ralph views it as Christmas in late April. With eight selections next Tuesday night, it presents yet another opportunity to build on what they’ve accomplished the last few years at the draft table. Ralph doesn’t mince words over the depth this year’s prospect pool.
“This is the deepest draft I’ve seen in years,” Ralph said from his home in London, Ontario.
“There are plenty of good football players, plenty of good athletes at multiple positions and a lot of good special teams players who are going to contribute for years to come. The quality of these prospects is something I haven’t seen in probably seven to ten years. I’m really quite excited to see this year’s crop.”
One major element of teams who consistently draft well are stacked at one key position: offensive line. This year’s draft is chalk full of solid run and pass protectors, including a pair of UBC Thunderbirds in Giovanni Manu and Theo Benedet who impressed scouts from both north and south of the border at a recent Pro Day at BC Place. More on that in a well-written piece from 3 Down Nation’s JC Abbott HERE.
“With teams utilizing three or four of their starters up front and then three or four more as backups and on the practice roster with Canadians, all of the teams are looking for offensive linemen,” Ralph added.
“It’s a good group with a lot of skill, a lot of size and a lot of athleticism. So, we always consider it a deep draft when it’s full of solid offensive linemen.”
READ: CFL Mock Draft 2.0 Has Lions Addressing Secondary Early
Ralph, Neil McEvoy, Rick Campbell and assistant general manager Ryan Rigmaiden have been pouring through film while also making good use of their time at last month’s National Combine in Winnipeg, the annual jamboree which allows brass from all nine teams to view roughly the top 70 prospects up close. It’s no doubt easy to get tunnel vision. Ralph and the brass stay locked in by focusing on their strategy.
Co-GM Neil McEvoy times the 40-yard dash at last month’s CFL National Combine in Winnipeg.
“Neil and coach Rick’s philosophy is to always take the best player,” the scout explained.
“We create vertical boards with our positional rankings and then we create a horizontal board where we put together all our vertical boards into one big horizontal. We’ll grade the defensive backs versus the offensive linemen and defensive linemen versus the running backs. It’s one long draft board and basically when it’s our pick, the guy with the highest grade or ranking regardless of position. Every team has wants or needs but we try to get the best available at the time.”
It’s in Combine setting where the human element also shines through, particularly when it comes to the interview process.
“What we want to find out is the character. We know we’re drafting a football player but we also want to get to know the person,” Ralph said.
“These are guys that are also going to contribute to our province and our community. The interview process is about 80 per cent of our evaluation at the combine. The other 20 per cent is just a conformation of what we’ve gathered on game film throughout the last year.”
Ever wonder what goes on behind the scenes at the Combine?
The @CFL spent some time inside #BCLions interview room as our brass got to know @BSUBeaversFB WR Dhel Duncan-Busby 🏈
WATCH 🎥: pic.twitter.com/U3Iua24z9a
— BC LIONS (@BCLions) April 23, 2024
The draft process for Ralph begins the previous May when evaluating prospects at the East-West Bowl. Next month, it all begins in Waterloo, Ontario and a first look at prospects eligible to be drafted in 2025. The yearly cycle allows the Lions and all CFL clubs to reap the rewards of bringing in the right pieces to make up National roster spots.
Linebackers Ben Hladik, Bo Lokombo and safety Adrian Greene represent examples of starters who were originally brought in at the CFL Draft. Fullback David Mackie is an example on the other side of the ball to go along with several Nationals who contribute to key roles on special teams. 2024 training camp will see the return of two 2023 draft picks:
“Good football players create good competition for our starters, backups and practice roster guys. Competition creates a better team. We want to bring in as many good football players as we can to push these starters,” Ralph explained.
“The draft is one of the areas we replenish our team. We go out and pick eight or nine Canadians to come in here and compete and push our starters. That’s an important part of rebuilding your national players.”
The Lions hold the following selections on Tuesday night: round 1, 6th overall, round 2, 15th overall, round 2, 19th overall (bonus pick for having the most National snaps in 2023), round 3, 26th overall, round 5, 44th overall, round 6, 53rd overall, round 7, 62nd overall and round 8, 71st overall. The club’s round 4 selection (35th overall) belongs to Ottawa as a result of the trade for return man Terry Williams in 2022.
The entire CFL Draft can be viewed live on TSN with television coverage of the first two rounds while remaining rounds can be streamed TSN+. It all begins at 5:00 pm. The CFL Global Draft kicks off at 8:00 am on Tuesday with the Lions holding the following picks: round 1, 6th overall and round 2, 15th overall.