It seems the Winnipeg Blue Bombers have identified their biggest need and are going to use the first overall pick in Sunday’s CFL draft to fill it.

Many experts believe the Bombers will pick Iowa defensive lineman Faith Ekakitie to start off the draft. He’s a big, athletic player and is the highest-ranked defensive player — who doesn’t have an NFL contract — available in the draft.

Of course, there are other needs as well and with two first-round picks (they also pick sixth), one second (15th) and one third (23rd), the Bombers will have a good opportunity to add to their already strong Canadian depth.

It’s not a particularly strong draft class — in fact one agent called it “extremely weak” — so it would not be a surprise to see the Bombers make a trade, nor would it be a shock to see them take a couple of risks with their picks.

Here’s an in-depth look at what the Bombers have at each position going into the start of training camp on May 28 and some potential draft targets for them to look at Sunday:

OFFENSIVE LINE

CURRENTLY ON ROSTER: *Travis Bond, *Stanley Bryant, Sukh Chungh, Michael Couture, *Manase Foketi, *Jermarcus Hardrick, Zachary Intzandt, Patrick Neufeld, Matthias Goossen.

*Denotes import

THE LOWDOWN:You can never have too many good Canadian offensive linemen. The only problem is after Justin Senior and Geoff Gray, who both have NFL deals, it’s not a particularly strong draft for offensive linemen. Mason Woods of Idaho and Dariusz Bladek of Bethune-Cookman are the next best options, but both had poor combines and there are question marks about their ability. Calgary’s Braden Schram could be a nice option in the second round, as could Evan Johnson of Saskatchewan and Jeremy Zver of Regina. Qadr Spooner of McGill is highly ranked (13th by CFL scouting bureau) but is thought by some to be overrated. It makes a lot of sense for the Bombers to pick and stash Gray. It’s just a matter of when they might be willing to risk a pick on him. If they want him, they’ll have to grab him by at latest the third round as they don’t have fourth or fifth-round picks and he’ll surely be gone by the sixth.

RECEIVERS

CURRENTLY ON ROSTER: *Darvin Adams, *Stephen Burton, Matt Coates, *Quinshad Davis, *Clarence Denmark, *Weston Dressler, *Kieren Duncan, Julian Feoli-Gudino, *Ryan Lankford, *T.J. Lowder, Addison Richards, *Gerrard Sheppard, *Kenny Stafford, *T.J. Thorpe.

THE LOWDOWN:With Rory Kohlert leaving through free agency, the Bombers could definitely use another solid Canadian receiver and there are some decent ones available in the draft. Right now Feoli-Gudino is the starting Canadian receiver, with Coates and Richards in the mix. McMaster receiver Danny Vandervoort is the highest-ranked player (fourth) in the draft who doesn’t have an NFL contract, but he’s likely to go before the sixth pick and it’s unlikely the Bombers will make him the top pick. Carleton’s Nate Behar was miffed that he wasn’t the top receiver in the CFL scouting rankings (he’s ninth overall) and could have something to prove. Regina’s Mitchell Picton could be a mid-round pick with some impact.

RUNNING BACKS

ON THE ROSTER:Andrew Harris, *Timothy Flanders, *Kendall Roberson, *Lache Seastrunk, Christophe Normand (FB), Mike Miller (FB), John Rush (FB).

THE LOWDOWN: The Bombers could be in the market for a Canadian tailback to back up Harris. Johnny Augustine of Guelph moved into the top-20 rankings (he’s now 17th) after an impressive combine. He has a Guelph connection to Bombers GM Kyle Walters, who raved about Augustine at the combine. The only teams other than Winnipeg that will start Canadian running backs this year are Calgary (Jerome Messam) and possibly Saskatchewan (Kienan LaFrance), so Augustine seems likely to end up in one of those three places. The Bombers seem set at fullback but there is an intriguing player available in Anthony Gosselin of Sherbrooke.

QUARTERBACKS

ON THE ROSTER:*Matt Nichols, *Dominique Davis, *Dan LeFevour

THE LOWDOWN:They’ll be bringing in at least one more import QB for training camp, after Myles Carr was released following mini-camp.

DEFENSIVE LINE

ON THE ROSTER:Trent Corney, *Shayon Green, *Jackson Jeffcoat, *Tristan Okpalaugo, Rupert Butcher, *Justin Cole, *Padric Scott, *Jamaal Westerman, *Drake Nevis, Jake Thomas.

THE LOWDOWN:This is where the Bombers have their biggest need and it’s why many experts believe they will take Ekakitie, a 6-foot-3, 275-pound product of Brampton, Ont. He can immediately push Thomas for a starting job, with Nevis or Scott playing the other tackle spot. The recent release of Canadian DT Brandon Tennent is a good indication the Bombers intend to add at the position through the draft. Among the other players available in a strong group of defensive linemen are Junior Luke of Montreal, who slipped in the rankings after the combine, and Kay Okafor of St. Francis-Xavier. He’s been described as a raw wild card, who might have the highest ceiling of any player in the draft.

LINEBACKERS

ON THE ROSTER: Jesse Briggs, Shayne Gauthier, Sam Hurl, Thomas Miles, Frank Renaud, Garret Waggoner, *Kyle Knox, *Nick Temple, *George Stone, *Ian Wild, *Kyrie Wilson.

THE LOWDOWN:The Bombers are loaded with Canadian linebackers so unless they think UCLA’s Cameron Judge or Maine’s Christophe Mulumba (ranked 6th) are major upgrades, it doesn’t seem likely they’d spend a high pick on this position. Calgary’s Connor McGough (ranked 20th) can play defensive line and linebacker and could be an intriguing second to fourth round selection for some team. Winnipegger Jordan Herdman of Simon Fraser was once thought to be the top linebacker available but his draft stock dropped considerably after a poor pro day and a poor combine. His twin brother Justin, also an SFU linebacker, could go in this draft as well.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

ON THE ROSTER:*Brandon Alexander, *Sam Brown, *Roc Carmichael, *Josh Celerin, *Kevin Fogg, *Terrence Frederick, *Chris Greenwood, *T.J Heath, *Bruce Johnson, Derek Jones, *Moe Leggett (dime back), Taylor Loffler, Brendan Morgan, *Terrance Parks, *Robert Porter, *Chris Randle, *C.J. Roberts, *Darnell Walker, Jr., Justin Warden.

THE LOWDOWN:The Bombers could use a Canadian safety to back up Loffler, who was the biggest coup of last year’s draft (19th overall). DB Dondre Wright of Henderson State is ranked 19th overall this year and could fit the bill.

KICKER/PUNTER

ON THE ROSTER: *Justin Medlock.

THE LOWDOWN:The only Canadian kicker getting much attention is Felix Menard-Briere of Montreal. He has a mini-camp tryout with the New York Giants and will likely end up in a CFL camp. Since the Bombers have arguably the best kicker in the league in Medlock and he’s an import, they are likely to just try out another import or two at those positions for future looks.

BOMBERS PICKS

Round 1, 1st overall

Round 1, 6th overall

Round 2, 15th overall

Round 3, 23rd overall

Round 6, 50th overall

Round 7, 59th overall

Round 8, 66th overall

Gray would be OK with playing in CFL if things don’t work out

There’s a perception out there that Manitoba offensive lineman Geoff Gray might not want to play in the CFL if things don’t work out with the Green Bay Packers.

Not true.

Gray’s father Bob told the Sun this week the entire family would love to see Geoff in Blue and Gold if his NFL opportunity doesn’t pan out.

Gray has been focused on playing in the CFL for years and only switched his focus to the NFL this year when teams started showing interest in him.

The 6-foot-6, 315-pound offensive lineman does have a year of school left as he pursues an engineering degree and, depending on what happens with the Packers, he could choose to spend another year at the U of M before turning pro.

That would likely only happen if he gets cut this spring, which is unlikely.

Gray will take part in the Packers rookie mini-camp this weekend.

While his size and skill set obviously impressed the Packers and several other NFL teams that tried to sign him, Gray is at a disadvantage because he has never played American football.

In four-down football, the defensive linemen stand over the ball, whereas in Canada they are one yard off the ball. It’s up for debate which is more difficult for the offensive linemen, but regardless, it’s something Gray has to learn in a hurry.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have the first, sixth, 15th and 23rd picks in Sunday’s CFL Draft (6 p.m., TSN) and they could use one of them to stash Gray on the layaway plan.

Gray is the third ranked player by the CFL scouting bureau and any team that selects him will be taking a big risk for a potential huge reward.

In a generally underwhelming draft, the Bombers, who have excellent Canadian talent already, have the luxury of being able to afford to take that kind of risk.

MINI-CAMPERS

Draft-eligible players who have been invited to NFL mini-camps:

Christophe Mulumba, LB, Maine, Buccaneers

Kwaku Boateng, DE, Wilfrid Laurier, Bears

Jordan Herdman, LB, Simon Fraser, Chiefs

Alex Morrison, Rec, UBC, Giants

Felix Menard-Briere, K, Montreal, Giants

Anthony Gosselin, FB, Sherbrooke, Chiefs

Kahlen Branning, DB, Regina, Lions (Bombers control rights)

Jeremy Zver, OL, Regina, Giants

Connor McGough, DL, Calgary, Giants

Robert Woodson, DB, Calgary, Giants

ALREADY GONE

Draft-eligible players who have been drafted in the NFL or signed NFL free agent deals:

Justin Senior, OL, Mississippi State, Seattle Seahawks

Geoff Gray, OL, Manitoba, Green Bay Packers

Eli Ankou, DL, UCLA, Houston Texans

Anthony Auclair, TE, Laval, Tampa Bay Buccaneers