CFL draft grades for the East Division

While it doesn't always get a ton of popular attention, the annual CFL draft is a vital part of how teams build their Canadian content. Thus,Tuesday's draft had a lot of implications for the league's teams, both for this season and for the years to come. Of course, no one knows exactly how these picks are going to work out, and moves that looked like reaches now may appear brilliant down the road, while seemingly-can't-miss prospects may not pan out. Still, we can make some guesses about these picks based on the information we do have, particularly players' college careers and combine statistics. With that in mind, here's a look at how the East Division teams did, going from west to east. Go here for a look at the West Division teams.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats: C-: A lot of the Tiger-Cats' poor grade here isn't about anything they did in the draft itself, but rather their pre-draft decision to send first- and third-round picks (8th and 24th overall) to Montreal in exchange for offensive lineman Ryan Bomben. That move may work out okay for this season, but it could hurt them in the long run: this was a remarkably deep draft, as well as one with great top-end talent, and Hamilton could have potentially grabbed two impact players instead of one if they'd sat tight (and had those players for a longer period of time). When it came to the actual draft itself, the Ticats did okay: in particular, they picked up a nice pair of linebackers in Montreal's Byron Archambault and Saint Mary's Jonathan Langa (17th and 20th overall). However, their later-round picks weren't as impressive, and their lack of a pick before #17 makes them one of the few teams leaving this draft without a top prospect.

Toronto Argonauts: B: The Argonauts grabbed some nice players early on in Calgary centre/guard Sean McEwen (third overall) and Western defensive end Daryl Waud (12th overall), but both have questions about how quickly they'll be available, given that McEwen plans to finish his college degree and Waud has an NFL tryout coming up. That doesn't mean picking them was a bad choice, but it does make it less than a resounding victory, especially that high. The Argos' middle-round picks weren't that inspiring, but they did get some nice finds late, especially Laurier RB (and OUA MVP) Dillon Campbell in the fifth round.

Ottawa Redblacks: C+: Ottawa's choice of local centre/guard Alex Mateas out of UConn first overall wasn't a bad move, especially if they can retain him through his initial free agency (where picking a local guy often helps). Mateas is a talented lineman who should help the Redblacks. He may not have been the best available player, though: there's certainly a case for Sukh Chung and Danny Groulx at the least. Beyond that, Ottawa didn't have a lot of really interesting picks, and they made the somewhat-curious decision to take Calgary receiver Jake Harty 10th overall, ahead of more universally-acclaimed receivers like Addison Richards and Lemar Durant. Maybe Harty will justify the team's unconventional faith in him, but maybe he won't.

Montreal Alouettes: A-: Montreal threw off a lot of people by taking Laurier defensive back Chris Ackie fourth overall instead of an offensive lineman, but Ackie may be the best defensive player in this draft, and the Alouettes were still able to grab a top lineman (Virginia OL Jacob Ruby) with that eighth-overall pick they picked up from Hamilton in their pre-draft trade. They also collected a variety of other interesting players, including highly-touted McMaster LB Nick Shortill (13th overall), versatile Michigan State OL James Bodanis (24th overall), athletic South Alabama QB Brandon Bridge (31st overall) and powerful BYU DL Quinn Lawlor (48th overall). The main nit to pick with the Als' draft is that they might have managed to still get some of the same guys by trading down and building their pick stores even more. Bridge in particular may be a reach in the fourth round: he's incredibly talented, but the restrictions on Canadian QBs make it hard to justify taking one that early. Apart from that, though, this seems to have gone very well for the Alouettes.