WINNIPEG – When it comes to the CFL Draft, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers may finally be dealing from a position of strength.

That was the sentiment for General Manager Kyle Walters this week, who addressed the media ahead of the 2016 CFL Draft on Tuesday, May 10. Despite not having a first round pick, Walters said Friday his team is in a better position than a year ago at this time.

It starts with the strength of the O-line, which now gives Walters the ability to go best player available with every pick.

“That’s a little bit different from the draft last year,” said Walters, “when we all stood in here and said ‘yeah, we’re taking an O-lineman – it’s a done deal it’s just we’ll see which one’.”

Not one of the top four players in the CFL Scouting Bureau is an offensive lineman but, as usual, an early run on O-linemen is expected.

“I think everybody every year is looking to add some depth at the offensive line,” said Walters, noting that with most teams starting at least three of their seven required national players on the O-line, nearly half of the league’s starting nationals play at that position.

But while O-line depth is surely on Walters’ radar (the Bombers currently have 11 under contract, four of which are nationals), that doesn’t mean it’s O-line or bust – unlike last year.

“Is it a strong group of offensive linemen, will one or two fall to 10? I can’t predict that, you never know what teams are going to have,” said Walters.

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The last two years Walters has fortified his O-line with plenty of long-term upside, adding Matthias Goossen and Sukh Chungh with second overall picks in back to back years. Veteran Jeff Keeping was added for depth this off-season while Patrick Neufeld returns likely start this year, giving Winnipeg three national starters up front.

The Bombers won’t pick in their originally slotted second overall position this year after surrendering the pick in the supplemental draft a year ago to selected Garrett Waggoner, so where will they lean when they pick back to back to open the second round?

For Walters it’s wait and see, as now the goal isn’t to address any specific need but to build all around depth — a position that says the Bombers are on the right track.

“I’ve stood up here the last couple of years and said we pretty much have to draft an offensive lineman because we need them to play,” said Walters. “That’s not the case this year. We have more depth in various areas but based on our draft board, we’re not going to reach anywhere just to take a guy to fill a positional need.

“That’s the difference this year [and last], and it’s a nice spot to be in to be honest with you.”

No regrets over Waggoner

When Walters made the call to give up a 2016 first round draft pick last year for the services of Garrett Waggoner, the plan wasn’t to finish eighth in the league and lose the second overall pick. Still, the Bombers’ GM said Waggoner is off to a good start in his career and there are no regrets over the decision.

“For sure, when you look back at Garrett last year at his productivity vs. the other first round picks, I think he’s on point,” said Walters.

A 25-year-old Dartmouth graduate standing 6-foot-1, 225 pounds, Waggoner logged seven special teams tackles and one defensive tackle while getting his feet wet during his rookie season last year. The thinking is if Waggoner were in this year’s draft, he’d likely still be highly-touted.

“If Garrett was in the draft this year? Yeah, he’d be in the talk as a first-round pick,” said Walters.

“If you add him as the 10th guy in the first round, he played every game and with the exception of Nic Demski and Sukh Chungh he was the next most productive first round draft pick last year.”

“If Garrett was in the draft this year? Yeah, he’d be in the talk as a first-round pick.”



While Chungh and Goossen appear to be on the right track early in their careers, most Canadian Draft picks require patience. The Bombers’ GM pointed out that it’s not until year three you really start to get a grip on what type of player you’ve got.

“It’s such a big step and a big development and if you can find an endearing quality about any of your young Canadian kids in their first couple years, they have a shot, and we’ve certainly seen that in Garrett.

“When you start talking about Canadian draft picks, give the kids a year, give them two years before you start making a serious assessment about their long-term futures in our league.”

The CFL Draft will be held May 10 at 7 p.m. ET. To view the full draft order, visit the CFL.ca Draft Tracker, which will be updated live throughout Tuesday’s draft.

– With files from BlueBombers.com