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The football “sleeper play” — where a man could lose himself in a crowd by the sidelines, yet remain an eligible receiver — has been banned for decades.

Still, “sleeper” plays continue at draft time.

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The B.C. Lions feel they pulled one off by selecting Dillon Guy in the 2016 Canadian Football League draft, held last week.

Already regarded as a light sleeper because of his injury history, Guy became a deep sleeper when he fell to the fourth round.

How much risk were teams willing to accept for a player just months removed from reconstructive knee surgery? Not much. The Lions got the Hamilton, Ont., native with the 30th overall pick, a point in the draft where teams are beginning to throw the dice and hope for the best.

“It don’t mean sh …,” says Guy, an offensive lineman from the University at Buffalo. “Once you step on the field, everyone is equal.”

Guy was the No. 7 prospect in the initial rankings put out by the CFL Scouting Bureau last September — rated three spots ahead of Charles Vaillancourt, an offensive lineman from Laval University who eventually became the Lions’ first-round pick, fifth overall, in 2016.

Now, they’ll be competing for spots on the Lions’ playing roster at training camp, likely at centre or guard.