Darrell Davis: Roughriders drafting strategy mixes risk with patience

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The Saskatchewan Roughriders aren’t really good enough to wait for players.

After back-to-back 6-12, non-playoff seasons the Roughriders need immediate improvement, so it was strange they used their first two picks in Tuesday’s CFL draft on players who aren’t expected to attend this year’s training camp.

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Offensive lineman Kyle Hergel from Boston College, taken third overall, is such an impressive prospect he was signed as an undrafted free agent and given contract bonuses by the NFL’s New Orleans Saints. Linebacker Nick Wiebe, a highly-touted University of Saskatchewan product chosen 12th, is recovering from ACL surgery.

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On a conference call with media following his selection, Hergel said he was honoured to be chosen by Saskatchewan but he would be practising with the Saints on May 8, when the Roughriders open rookie camp. Although undrafted players rarely make NFL rosters immediately, Hergel has enough talent and versatility to develop as a practice-squad player. For Wiebe, most high-performance athletes take eight months to fully recover from torn anterior cruciate ligaments; he could be ready by midseason..

So “If?” and “When?” are legitimate questions to ask the Roughriders.

Indeed, one day earlier Roughriders general manager Jeremy O’Day told a media conference the team’s coaches and scouts gathered regularly to discuss positives and negatives about drafting players, poking holes in each other’s assessments, and it was educational to defend potential draft choices. The uncertainties about Hergel and Wiebe undoubtedly were raised.

“There’s risk,” said O’Day, when asked first about Hergel and then about Wiebe. “We’ve gotta be willing to do it and it didn’t scare us.

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“(Wiebe’s) coming off an injury; he’ll miss time as well. So again, someone we’ll have to wait a little while on. But we saw the benefit of him coming back from injury and we decided to get him.”

The Roughriders were among the CFL’s most active clubs during the offseason, adding important pieces like running back A.J. Ouellette, offensive tackle Jermarcus Hardrick, both Americans, and Canadian linebacker Adam Auclair along with a new coaching staff under the auspices of first-time head coach Corey Mace.

The Roughriders were also well-prepared for the draft. Analysts at TSN and 3DownNation, who follow talent evaluation as closely as any CFL scout, praised the Roughriders selections as they completed the process with three receivers, another linebacker, one more offensive lineman and a defensive back.

Sixth-round selection D’Sean Mimbs, a University of Regina receiver, is the son of former Riders running back Robert Mimbs. And seventh-round pick Ajou Ajou, a receiver whose draft value fell drastically in recent years, could be the sleeper of the draft. The Roughriders also selected a defensive lineman and punter earlier in the day when the CFL held its global draft.

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The team’s cupboard isn’t bare, but it’s still unusual for the Roughriders to select down-the-road players. Each of their last five first-round picks joined the team immediately, contributing in various amounts from 2022’s Sam Emilus becoming a star receiver to 2020’s Mattland Riley retiring after one game.

Being patient is a bold strategy that was often employed by Edmonton, Calgary and Montreal during their respective heydays, when they used early picks on long-range prospects because they already had front-line Canadians on their rosters. Sometimes it didn’t work out, with draft choices like running back Chuba Hubbard and defensive lineman Christian Covington enjoying prolonged NFL careers without joining the Calgary Stampeders or B.C. Lions respectively, at least until Covington announced Wednesday he was joining B.C. nine years after being drafted.

The Roughriders can try it, too. With O’Day having signed a new three-year contract, he can exercise some patience and make long-range plans. There is risk. There may be rewards.

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