2015 CFL draft first round recap: early run on OL leads to surprises in middle

The 2015 CFL draft was a difficult one to predict, given how much talent was involved and how many notable storylines there were, and that played out in the first round Tuesday night. The surprises began even before the draft did, with Hamilton trading out of the first round to acquire Montreal lineman Ryan Bomben, and they continued once new CFL commissioner Jeffrey Orridge started announcing picks. Ottawa taking third-ranked prospect Alex Mateas first overall wasn't unexpected, given his skill level and his hometown connections, but it wasn't a foregone conclusion, and things got weirder from there.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers picked second, and elected to take Calgary Dinos' guard Sukh Chung, listed at sixth in the CFL's final pre-draft prospect rankings. That also wasn't completely unexpected, as some (including TSN's Duane Forde) had Chung as the top player in this draft, but Winnipeg did have plenty of other options, including other linemen like fifth-ranked Danny Groulx and 13th-ranked Jacob Ruby as well as a variety of skill players. It was the third pick, from the Toronto Argonauts, that was really surprising. They elected to stick with offensive linemen (marking the only time in CFL draft history that three offensive linemen were taken in the first three picks) and with Dinos, taking another Calgary player, 10th-ranked centre/guard Sean McEwen.

On talent alone, choosing McEwen isn't a bad pick, as most had him right in the group of five top offensive line prospects. However, he talked a lot before the draft about going back to school this year to finish his degree, which had many thinking he might fall in the draft. McEwen said on a conference call afterwards that he hasn't decided how he'll finish his degree yet, and he may still be able to play this year, but that's still some extra uncertainty for a third-overall pick. It may wind up being a good one for the Argos, but it was one many didn't see coming.

Things got even more unpredictable when it came to the fourth pick, where Montreal took Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks' defensive back Chris Ackie. That's no knock on Ackie, who was ranked 11th overall heading into this draft. Many saw him as the best defensive player in this class, and his combination of combine-proven speed and agility with impressive game tape speaks well for him. He's also a versatile player who should be able to help either at DB or LB, which could give them additional options for how to use the likes of Marc-Olivier Brouillette and Mike Edem. However, it was interesting to see the Alouettes go away from the run on offensive linemen, especially with a Laval product like Groulx still available.

The most out-of-nowhere pick came next, with the B.C. Lions taking another Golden Hawk, Ese Mrabure-Ajufo. Mrabure-Ajufo was the second-ranked defensive lineman pre-draft, behind Western's Daryl Waud (who already has another NFL minicamp coming up with Washington, which may have hurt his stock), but he was ranked 17th overall compared to Waud's seventh, and he didn't have a lot of pre-draft buzz. B.C. clearly liked him, though, and comparing across positions isn't easy; who knows if he's better than the linemen or receivers that were still on the board? We'll find out as the years go on, but there weren't many people who called this pick.

With the sixth pick, Saskatchewan also made a bit of a surprising choice. Many figured they'd go receiver, and they did, but they chose Nic Demski from the Manitoba Bisons. There was a real debate about who the top receiver in this class was, ninth-ranked Demski or eighth-ranked Lemar Durant, but Forde and many other draft analysts figured Durant had a slight edge. From this corner, picking Demski could be a great move; he's not as big, but he's more polished, has arguably better college film, seems more versatile and might turn out to be the better of the two receivers in the long run. It's not something that was expected, though.

This set up Edmonton to take the long-overlooked Groulx, a guy who seemed like even a potential first-overall pick before the draft, at number seven. Groulx could be an excellent fit for the Eskimos, as he has the size to play tackle in the CFL and the experience doing so at a high level. He's looked great in college with Laval, and also shone at the CFL combine, especially in the one-on-ones. Whether Edmonton lines him up at tackle or guard (as they did with another former college tackle, Matt O'Donnell, who left to return to the NFL this offseason), he should be a nice part of their line going forward.

Montreal then had a second pick, eighth overall, thanks to their pre-draft trade with Hamilton, and they used it to take Ruby. This makes some sense; Ruby's a guy with tackle size who did well at Virginia (where, oddly enough, he was recruited by head coach Mike London, who happens to be the father of current Alouettes' receiver Brandon London), and this let the Alouettes get in on that group of five top offensive linemen, also potentially replacing the depth they lost from trading Bomben away pre-draft. We'll see how Ruby does in the CFL, but this may turn out to be a nice pick.

Calgary then pulled out another surprise with the ninth and final pick of the first round, going to the offensive line again despite the group of five being gone. They elected to take another Laval lineman, Karl Lavoie. This also could work out well; Lavoie did well for the Rouge et Or and played tackle there, and even if he likely projects as a guard at the CFL level, evaluators still had lots of praise for him. It's just notable to see the Stampeders go that way at this spot, taking a guy who wasn't even in the final top 20 instead of grabbing a more-highly-touted prospect. Of course, those rankings are just an average of team submissions and are far from the be-all and end-all, but it's interesting to see them off by this much without NFL interest being the reason why. Calgary did grab more universally-acclaimed prospects later in the draft, though, taking Durant 18th overall, fourth-ranked Tyler Varga (who has signed in the NFL) 19th overall, and 15th-ranked DB Tevaughn Campbell 22nd overall. So, they wound up with the popular picks and the not-so-popular ones, just in an unusual order. That seems a fitting way to wrap up a highly unconventional first round.