Five of the most interesting storylines in the 2015 CFL draft

Tuesday's CFL draft (8 p.m. Eastern, TSN2/RDS2/TSN.ca) features one of the strongest classes of talent we've ever seen thanks to a 2013 rule change that essentially put two years of NCAA talent into this year's class. That alone would make for a fascinating draft, but there are a lot of other remarkable storylines ahead of this one. Here are five to follow.

Who does Ottawa take first? There often hasn't been a lot of drama about the first overall pick, with selections like Henoc Muamba and Ben Heenan (2011 and 2012 respectively) being apparent well ahead of time. This year, it's a little more up-in-the-air. It seems likely the Redblacks will take an offensive lineman, given the strength of that group this year, but which one will they take? Alex Mateas, the UConn centre who has strong Ottawa roots (and thus, might stay beyond his rookie contract), is rumoured to be the favourite, but Laval's Danny Groulx is an interesting option too; he's relatively local and has the size to play tackle, which can be a tougher position to fill. Other options include Calgary guard Sukh Chung, who TSN's Duane Forde said he'd take first overall if he was picking, Richmond tackle Jacob Ruby and Calgary centre Sean McEwen. The Redblacks also have needs across the board, so they might not even go to the offensive line at all; that could lead to an interesting pick such as defensive lineman Daryl Waud, receivers Lemar Durant or Nic Demski or defensive back Chris Ackie. They could also trade down from the first slot, as they did last year. Whatever they do, at least they're providing some suspense.

Who's the first non-offensive lineman picked? As discussed above, it's likely (if not a sure thing) that Ottawa selects an offensive lineman. After that, though, it gets a little more tricky. The five offensive linemen mentioned above have all received a lot of hype, but how do they stack up against top players at other positions? And how much will team needs factor in? It's possible we could see a non-offensive lineman picked first by Ottawa or second by Winnipeg, but it's also possible the first five picks could all be linemen. What might be even more interesting is seeing who's the first non-lineman, though. Will it be Durant? Demski? Ackie? Waud? There's a case for all of those guys, and for a few others (such as explosive Regina defensive back Tevaughn Campbell), and it may come down to what position the team that decides to break the OL run values most.

How many first-round trades will we see? The first round alone in 2014 saw an incredible five trades. It seems unlikely we'll get quite that many this year, but there could well be first-round movement, and it could come from a variety of sources. Perhaps Saskatchewan, Edmonton, Hamilton or Calgary (picking sixth through ninth at the moment) moves up to grab one of those top five offensive linemen if it looks like there's going to be a #1-5 run on them, or perhaps one of those teams moves up to ensure they can get the non-OL target they're after. Maybe Winnipeg's preferred player is taken by Ottawa and the Bombers see more value in moving down from the #2 slot, or maybe the Redblacks have enough guys they're high on they trade down from #1. Perhaps a team gets out of the first round altogether to amass more selections in the second round. We'll see just how this plays out, but there could be several first-round picks trading hands.

Where do the players who've already signed in the NFL go? While there were a ton of players who attracted NFL interest, only three have actually signed with that league so far; top-ranked CFL prospect Christian Covington (taken in the sixth round of the NFL draft by Houston), second-ranked prospect Brett Boyko (who signed as a priority undrafted free agent with Philadelphia) and fourth-ranked prospect Tyler Varga (who signed as a priority UDFA with Indianapolis). All of these players have great talent, but drafting them is a risk; they might never play a down north of the border. Still, Forde said Monday teams will still probably gamble on them relatively early.

"I think the third round, if not earlier, is where you're going to see teams looking at guys like Brett Boyko and Tyler Varga," he said.

It's going to be interesting to see if that prediction comes true, and if so, which team is willing to pull the trigger on that kind of a high-risk, high-reward gamble.

Where will Brandon Bridge go? Bridge, a quarterback out of South Alabama, is in a remarkable spot. He's incredibly talented, and became the first quarterback ever ranked in the top 20 CFL prospects (clocking in at #19 in April), but under the current rules, teams receive no ratio benefit for playing a Canadian quarterback. Bridge's talent should be enough to get him a look from a CFL team somewhere, whether that's in the draft or not, but it will be well worth watching to see if someone elects to use a pick on him (and if so, how high that pick is).

We'll get the answers to all these questions and more in tonight's CFL draft. The first two rounds will be televised on TSN2 and RDS2, with further coverage streamed on TSN Go and TSN.ca. Stay tuned to 55-Yard Line for much more draft coverage.