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“Not that we don’t consider other guys, not that we wouldn’t select somebody else, but we all know the importance of Canadian O-linemen in the draft,” said Redblacks general manager Marcel Desjardins. “There are some very good players at other positions in this draft, too.”

TSN’s Duane Forde and CFL.ca’s Marshall Ferguson could see the Redblacks going with a defensive back in the first round.

“I don’t think it’s too high (to pick a defensive back),” Forde said. “You look at this draft, obviously this is a lot talent at the top end in terms of the offensive line group. When you look at a team like Ottawa that seems somewhat set in terms of its Canadian starters on the offensive line, when you’re looking to add depth you don’t necessarily have to go there in the first round. It is a year when you could see them stray from the trend.”

“The defensive back group, to me, is pretty special,” Ferguson said. “When I looked at the size and speed numbers to get a sense for what type of group it was, they are bigger and they are faster than the average groups over the past six years or so.”

Asked what kind of talent was available in the draft, Desjardins said, “The dynamic of the draft this year, to me, is there are a bunch of high-end guys, then are there are very few of what’s deemed to be a notch below that, then there are a bunch of guys below that.”

Some of the top-rated players have either NFL free-agent contracts or at least mini-camp invites. When asked if that influences the Redblacks in their selections, Desjardins said, “It’s obviously a factor, but let’s say you have three or four of those guys rated the same. If three of those guys are down south and one isn’t, the likelihood is you’re going to go with the guy you know you’re going to get into camp. If there are three high-end guys that are down south and then there’s a big dropoff to what you feel the next pick will be, are you more inclined to roll the dice, make that selection and get the guy sooner rather than later? The answer is yes. Put it this way, you’re not going to take a late second-rounder in the first round because guys are down south.”