Redblacks opt for a sure thing over a prospect, dealing top pick to Calgary for Jon Gott

The Ottawa Redblacks may be an expansion team, but they're clearly showing that they want to compete in their first season. Ottawa was set to pick first in this year's CFL draft, but just about half an hour before the draft started Tuesday, Redblacks' general manager Marcel Desjardins sent the top pick to Calgary (along with the rights to retired offensive lineman Marwan Hage) in exchange for Canadian offensive lineman Jon Gott. That's an interesting move, especially as this draft isn't considered to be deep in elite talent thanks to the rule change excluding redshirt NCAA players this year. Ottawa won't pick until the 10th overall selection now, and that may drastically decrease the Redblacks' chances of bringing in a top-quality player through the draft. However, draft prospects can often take a while to develop. Gott is a five-year veteran who started 15 games for Calgary last year (14 at guard, one at centre), so he should be ready to go from Day One. Whether that's a deal worth making or not likely depends on your opinion of the top prospects in this class and your thoughts on how soon Ottawa needs to be competitive.

The appeal of this move is that the Redblacks get a proven, capable Canadian starter at guard, and that's something that may or may not have been possible in the draft. The top two prospects (and top two offensive linemen) according to April's rankings, Laurent Duvernay-Tardif and David Foucault, both have received significant interest from the NFL, with Duvernay-Tardif being selected by Kansas City in last weekend's NFL draft and Foucault receiving numerous NFL minicamp offers. The third guy in that ranking, Laval's Pierre Lavertu, could have potentially been a solid starter at guard or centre, but he may have some NFL interest as well, and just because some offensive linemen draftees have been able to step in and contribute right away doesn't mean that all of them could. After Lavertu, the next OL option on the April list is eighth-ranked Matthias Goosen from SFU, and while he's proven to be a versatile guy who played everywhere from tackle to centre in college, there are question marks around him too. Gott is certainly a surer thing, and it's quite possible he'll make the Redblacks' line stronger initially.

There does seem to be a more limited upside here for Ottawa here, though. While Gott is a known commodity from his 56 CFL games, and a reasonably effective one, he's never been named a league all-star and was only named a divisional all-star once, this past year. All-star selections aren't everything, to be sure, especially when it comes to linemen, but while Gott has played well, he hasn't often stood out as dominant. He's also battled significant injuries over the years, and while five years and 56 games in the CFL are assets from an experience standpoint, they put plenty of mileage on your body. The 28-year-old Gott likely isn't close to done just yet, of course, and he should provide a solid option for Ottawa for at least a few years, but this may be a move Redblacks fans regret if the first overall pick winds up turning into a perennial all-star in Calgary.

In the end, it's all about risk management, and the Stampeders are saying that they have a higher tolerance for a boom-or-bust prospect (or even one who's not ready initially) thanks to their existing offensive line depth. (Getting Ottawa to throw in Hage's rights is also notable; he obviously wasn't interested in going to Ottawa, but a non-expansion team might be able to talk him out of retirement.) It's easier for an established franchise to do that, to be sure, and the Redblacks are taking what looks to be a safer route here. That route also fits in with other decisions such as signing veteran quarterback Henry Burris; this is a team that wants to compete out of the gate, not just build for the future. The question is if they're potentially limiting their future growth with these kind of risk-adverse moves, though. Throwing five-yard outs instead of Hail Marys is all well and good for a while, but it certainly limits your chances of a major reward.

*Correction: this post initially said Gott had never been named an all-star. He was named a divisional all-star in 2013.