No Second Guessing: Elks play it straight in CFL Draft
01/05/2024 06:37
TORONTO — When it comes to Chris Jones, you never really know.
The Edmonton Elks’ general manager and head coach has a history of loving a mystery. Whether it’s the status of a player ahead of a game, or what he might do with the first overall pick in the CFL Draft, if Jones sees a chance to keep people guessing he usually jumps at it.
He never publicly said that he’d take Joel Dublanko first overall, but it was the pick that made the most sense. In the weeks leading into the draft, he said he was open to all possibilities. Two years ago, Jones traded the first overall pick to the Montreal Alouettes and used his newly-acquired fourth overall pick to take Enock Makonzo. In 2016, when he was the GM of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, he took Josiah St. John with the first overall pick. Eight years after that draft, with Dublanko drawing Singleton comparisons, Jones didn’t hesitate to go to where the draft buzz hummed loudest.
MORE CFL DRAFT COVERAGE
» First-And-Joel: Elks take Joel Dublanko first overall in CFL Draft
»A team-by-team look at the CFL Draft
» Elks take Eteva Mauga-Clements first overall in Global Draft
» REDBLACKS take WR Nick Mardner second overall
»CFL Draft Tracker: View the entire 2024 draft
» Mock Draft 2.0: How close were we?
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On the heels of a third straight season out of the playoffs, Jones and the Elks may have seen a plug-and-play solution in a 25-year-old with some NFL and USFL experience.
“I’m going into camp with the mentality of winning my job,” Dublanko told TSN shortly after being drafted.
“I’m going to go out there and do my absolute best. Do everything I can to help support the team. I’m someone that wants to win and win now and I think we’re on the same page as the coaching staff. I’m not here for any other reason than to win games and pack the stadium full of Edmonton Elk fans. I want to put pride back into this city of this winning culture, re-ignite it. I’m excited to get out there and be part of a winning team and play some ball.”
“We are excited to have a player of Joel's calibre in our building,” Elks assistant GM Geroy Simon said. “High football IQ, leadership, a winner and a high character individual is what we're getting.”
Down Alberta’s QEII highway, the Calgary Stampeders made some interesting moves. After using the fourth overall pick to take combine standout defensive back Benjamin Labrosse, they navigated a late-first round trade with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to draft a promising offensive lineman at eighth overall, in Christy Nkanu. They used their fourth round pick on York d-lineman Jason Janvier-Messier, who worked his way from the CFL’s Invitational Combine to the Stamps.
Feeling a similar urgency to win as the Elks, the Ottawa REDBLACKS added a pair of high end prospects to their roster in the early rounds of the draft. They took Auburn receiver Nick Mardner second overall and added San Diego State defensive lineman Daniel Okpoko (ranked seventh and 13th, respectively, in the CFL’s Scouting Bureau spring edition).
After the Saskatchewan Roughriders used the third overall pick to take offensive lineman Kyle Hergel, they put some emphasis on National depth at receiver. Already top-heavy on that front with Samuel Emilus, Brayden Lenius, Mitchell Picton and Kian Schaffer-Baker, GM Jeremy O’Day looked to Dhel Duncan-Busby in the third round, D’Sean Mimbs in the sixth round and Ajou Ajou in the seventh round.
In taking Laval receiver Kevin Mital at fifth overall, the Toronto Argonauts will hope to develop the Hec Crighton winner into an eventual replacement for star National receiver Kurleigh Gittens Jr. Another intriguing Argos’ draft pick came in the sixth round when they took Howard o-lineman Anim Dankwah. The six-foot-eight, 355-pounder was the 11th-ranked prospect in the spring edition of the Scouting Bureau and has signed as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles, making him an investment pick.
The BC Lions added to their offensive line with their first round pick, taking Windsor’s George Una at sixth overall. They took two other highly talented o-linemen but will play the waiting game with each of them. Theo Benedet went in the second round, 15th overall, but signed as an undrafted free agent with the Chicago Bears. With their last pick in the draft, the Lions chose Theo Johnson with the 71st pick.
“We are excited about this year's crop of selections and believe we have multiple guys who will come in and compete right now,” Lions’ co-GM and head coach Rick Campbell said. “The bonus selection in round two put us in a situation where we could acquire an excellent future pick in Theo Benedet."
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats won’t have to wait for their offensive line selection, after they nabbed Laval’s Nathaniel Dumoulin Duguay with their first round pick, at seventh overall. Their second round pick, defensive lineman Wilfrid Laurier’s Luke Brubacher, should provide some stiff competition for his fellow rookie in training camp. Interestingly, the Ticats’ draft class consists entirely of U SPORTS players.
Finally, the Blue Bombers didn’t have a first round pick, but they made up for it with four selections in the second round. After their trade with the Stamps, they took receiver Kevens Clercius 13th overall and running back Michael Chris-Ike at 14th. They got offensive lineman Gabe Wallace at 17th overall and got defensive lineman Kyle Sampson at 20th overall to close out the second round. They also picked up another high profile prospect at 46th overall, when they took UBC d-lineman Giovanni Manul, who was drafted 126th overall by the Detroit Lions.
It’s a quick turnaround for the CFL Draft class of 2024. Rookie camps open on May 8, with full camps getting underway May 12.
