Breaking Down The Riders 2018 Draft

Breaking Down The Riders 2018 Draft

Published: Friday, May 4th 2018, 5:05am

by: Greg McCulloch (@GregOnSports)

Having only five picks, it was a quiet night for the Riders on draft day. But Head Coach and General Manager stuck to his word and concentrated on the offensive and defensive line.

Four out of five picks were in the trenches, while the fifth was a linebacker.

Let’s break down the picks:

Round 1 – 5^th overall: OL Dakoda Shepley – UBC

Shepley is a beast of a man standing at 6’5” and 315lbs. At the combine, he was the fastest lineman with a 5.27-second 40-yard time and had the most reps on the bench press for the weekend. He ended up 3^rd overall on the CFL Scouting Bureau rankings, so getting him at 5 was good luck. However, he just signed a 3-year rookie deal with the New York Jets in the NFL. Now it’s a waiting game to see if and when he comes to the CFL.

Round 2 – 14^th overall: LB Micah Teitz – University of Calgary

Teitz is an athletic linebacker who stayed below the radar till this past Canada West football season. He didn’t crack the scouting top 20 till the final rankings after a really strong combine and interviews with 8 of the 9 franchises. He finished top 5 in most defensive categories and has been described as “having a motor that won’t quit.”

Round 5 – 36^th overall: DL Matieu Breton –  Bishop’s University & Round 6- 45^th overall DL Tresor Buama-Mafuta St.Mary’s University

Riders went Defensive Line in consecutive rounds in 5 and 6. Breton and Buama-Mafuta look like a prototypical “Chris Jones Types.” Breton is 6’5” and 275 while Buama-Mafuta is 6’3”and 315lbs. We know Jones is excited to get them in camp and find a spot for him. Both will be competing for a spot with Makana Henry and possibly Eddies Steele, depending on how many Nationals Jones will need to work into the line.

Round 8 – 63^rd overall: OL Christopher Smith – York University

At 6’6” and 290lbs, Smith has the size and you can’t teach that. Typically, 7^th and 8^th round picks do not have long CFL careers usually, they come in as a camp body and maybe make the practise roster. However, Josh Stanford is still on the roster and has played well in limited action, so maybe Smith has a shot.

Now that the draft is out of the way we are that much closer to training camp.

Bring on football!