Riders in the Final Stretch Before Training Camp

Well just when you think you can figure out the Saskatchewan Roughriders, they go and pull a surprise on you that might make this a fun season to follow.

The conventional wisdom heading into the CFL draft was people would be looking at a run on offensive linemen, and then the Riders might be looking at an offensive lineman, or maybe a receiver. However the Riders just before the draft traded Cory Watson, an oft-injured Canadian receiver they got from Winnipeg to Edmonton for Jurgen Hus, a former long-snapper with the University of Regina Rams and some draft picks.

The Riders are looking to field seven Canadian starters and Watson might have been a big help on that front, but his salary plus his injury status meant the Riders would not be getting the value they had hoped for in the initial trade. The Riders then signed two offensive linemen they had drafted the year before who had returned to university and that seemed to have dealt with the depth problem they have on the offensive line.

Now Winnipeg had two picks in the first round and they picked some offensive lineman out of Calgary with the second pick and were looking at adding Nic Demski, a receiver with the University of Manitoba Bison, with the next pick. Demski is fast and he can run back kicks. Winnipeg is also hosting the Grey Cup and is looking to put people in the stands with local attractions.

So the Riders selected Demski. In one move the Riders move past the Watson fiasco and turn up the dial on their receiving corps, which with the exception of Weston Dressler could be best described as slow and pedestrian. Adding some speed to the corps will help spring other receivers loose and if the Riders experiment with Jamal Richardson pans out and he gives them half season, it could be enough to see the Riders back in the Grey Cup and capturing it on the field of their mortal enemies

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The Riders went for Rory Connop, a 6’5” 282 lb defensive lineman in the third round as it appears the Riders are attempting to build one of the members of the d-line as Canadian. In the fourth round they got Matt Rea a full back from Michigan State who was drafted because of his special teams play. With the changes going on in special teams, expect to see a new approach with new personnel that realistically speaking, could take as much as a couple of years to get into place.

Kwame Adjei was taken from Mount Allison in the fifth round and should be nothing more than special team’s material. He may get a look at a backup Canadian position in the defensive backfield. Tyler Langlais, a defensive lineman from Calgary was taken in the sixth round, but while described as a physical kid, he has had injury issues and may not make much of a contribution to the Riders.

The Riders picked Melvin Abankwah of Saint Mary’s in the sixth round, and this kid was on the radar screen due to his use of performance enhancing drugs. The Riders said if he screws up here he has nowhere else to go but out of the league. This pick has some in the Canadian university field ticked at the Riders because it seems to award job abuse. The Riders wrapped up their draft with BrandonTennant of Laval, another project at defensive tackle.

Demski will likely be the breakout star of this bunch, although if the Riders get some good development from the defensive linemen types, that would go a long way towards building up Canadian content for the future.

The Riders signed two American wide receivers and let go of Woody Turrenne. Turrenne had been injury prone prior to this and the Riders need guys who can stay on the roster, help out in the ongoing roster development. The Riders desperately need to upgrade their receiving corps with speed, but whether it pays off depends on the recruiting they have done in regards to speed and size.

There are a number of ways players can contribute, and one of the more interesting ways will be on special teams. Punter Robin Bartel is not returning to the Riders, so the Riders will be trying to decide between Chris Milo, Hugh O’Neill and Denton Koiodzinski. The Riders will likely go with one punter and one field goal kicker and punter

 The Riders will be taking part in the CFL supplemental draft on Wednesday at 11 a.m. This draft apparently looks after players whose status wasn’t determined. The new collective agreement has changed the definition of what we used to call Canadian, so there are players out there who might not make the NFL, but because of how they are graded as a Canadian would do well here. 

Rider Coach Cory Chamblin said he didn’t want the Riders to be predictable. The Riders haven’t been that and still have an opportunity to show some interesting moves. The only problem the Riders might have is a return to the outlaw status of the Danny Barrett years. Barrett did what he could to lift the Riders out of mediocrity but he could not lift the Riders to the Grey Cup.