The annual CFL Combine wrapped up eight days ago in Toronto and was a chance for GM’s, coaches, and scouts to evaluate some of the best talent this country has to offer. The MMQB took the week off last week so CFL.ca could really focus in on one of the year’s most significant weekends. So why was last weekend so important? This week’s MMQB focuses heavily on that.

Stock report

The CFL Combine really is the great equalizer. Because selections in the Canadian Draft are made from different levels of NCAA football, the CIS, and junior football, it can sometimes be tough to get a great read on an individual player based on the in-season competition he’s facing. The Combine allows for a better comparison.

Getting a large number of draft eligible players together in one place makes it a whole lot easier to see how they stack up against one another. CFL.ca’s Justin Dunk has turned into a good friend of the MMQB and he joined me on the radio this past week to explain.

“That film [is] very valuable to scouts,” Dunk said. “Especially when you’re trying to compare an NCAA Division I guy or maybe an NCAA Division II player against a CIS player or a Canadian junior football player.”

So just how much can the Combine affect the draft status of any given player?

It can actually be significant. The Combine isn’t the be all and end all because CFL teams invest a great deal in scouting all year long. Most of the players assembled in Toronto last weekend had been seen extensively by all nine teams. Sometimes, however, you can’t be sure on a player until you see him against other players of the same age and skill level.

Picture it for a second if you can. Say you’re really high on an offensive lineman coming out of the CIS. Odds are your assessment is fairly accurate, but think of how much better a feel you’d have after watching him lock horns with a few NCAA defensive linemen. It’s why you can see stocks rise and fall significantly following this event.

“If it’s the first time a coach or maybe an area scout is seeing a prospect and they have a great performance, well, they can really rise on the board because of that initial performance,” Dunk told me. “Vice versa, if somebody is not having a great time and just had an off weekend for whatever reason, they can go down the draft board as well.”

Michael Couture of Simon Fraser is a really good example. Playing NCAA Division II football with the Clan, Couture competed against some solid competition. But there were some questions about how he’d perform alongside fellow offensive linemen from powerhouse schools like Laval and Oklahoma. He did well, and by many accounts, he’s vaulted himself nicely up the draft board.

“I think coming in [to the Combine] there was a clear maybe five or six guys [at offensive line],” said Dunk. “Couture was sort of right behind that group, kind of at the top of the second tier.

“What the combine did for him was provide him a forum to show his athleticism and show that he can be on the same level as those players, and I think he did that.

“For me, now, he’s in that top tier pretty firmly.”

The Combine is an extremely useful tool leading up to the CFL Draft, which I believe is the most significant date on the off-season calendar. It absolutely will have an impact on draft positioning on May 10, so let’s see who used it to really raise their stock.

Adding it up (Part One)

With so many faces changing teams this off-season it’s safe to say 2016 free agency has been among the most significant ever. Over the next few weeks, the MMQB is going to pinpoint the most impactful addition made by each team, at least in our opinion. With West Division teams like Saskatchewan and Winnipeg stealing the headlines for most of this off-season, we figured we’d start out East instead.

Toronto Argonauts: Josh Bourke, OL

He might have been the top available offensive lineman in free agency and the Argos got him. For Toronto to add a player of Bourke’s caliber is huge for so many different reasons.

First and foremost, he’s an outstanding player. In nine seasons with the Montreal Alouettes, Bourke was named an East Division All-Star seven different times. You don’t do that by accident and Bourke will join a team that is desperate to keep quarterback Ricky Ray upright in 2016.

By allowing Trevor Harris to sign in Ottawa, the Argos are putting all of their eggs in Ray’s basket. That’s not a bad choice, mind you, because Ray is one of the greatest quarterbacks in CFL history. But at the age of 36, and after playing only three regular season games in 2015, the priority has to be keeping Ray healthy. Adding Bourke will definitely help do that.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Alex Hoffman-Ellis, LB

This was a tough one because Hamilton was rather non-descript when it came to free agency. The Tiger-Cats focused just as much on keeping players from signing elsewhere as they did in additions with defensive lineman Ted Laurent being the best example. Of the additions Hamilton did make, however, I think Hoffman-Ellis is the most important.

With Taylor Reed’s departure to Calgary, the Ticats were in need of an impact linebacker and I think they’ve got one. Hoffman-Ellis started ten games at linebacker with the Lions in 2015 and was a steady force alongside one of the league’s best in Adam Bighill. What will be really interesting is where Hamilton slots its newest linebacker for the coming season.

Hoffman-Ellis started last season as Solomon Elimimian’s backup at middle linebacker but was moved to the weak side after the 2014 MOP’s season came to an end seven games in. With All-Star Simoni Lawrence likely locked in on that weak side, will the Ticats move Hoffman-Ellis back to the middle with the loss of Reed?

I like Hamilton’s other two free agent signings. Demond Washington is a solid DB who can help out in the return game while Chad Owens is still a dynamic receiver. But Hoffman-Ellis has the best chance to make a big impact and I think he’s got the ability to do so.