Desjardins pleased with Redblacks haul in draft

Ottawa product Ankou could be sleeper pick if he doesn’t make NFL

There was a curveball or two thrown at the Ottawa Redblacks during Sunday night’s CFL Draft, but the team came out of it confident it got some players who could be key contributors, either immediately or down the line.

After continuing its emphasis on building offensive line depth and grabbing 6-foot-3, 297 lb., offensive lineman Evan Johnson (University of Saskatchewan) with their first-round pick (ninth overall), the Redblacks, with their second-rounder, grabbed a big, fast, tough fullback, Anthony Gosselin (Sherbrooke). Gosselin, who spent the past few days at a rookie mini camp for the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs, could be the team’s fullback of the future.

“When we look at that type of body, we’re looking for a guy who’s going to come in and play special teams and contribute,” said Redblacks GM Marcel Desjardins. “In order to do that, you have to have pretty good size and be able to run very well. He does both. It’s a position we use quite a bit. We think he has a great chance to be on our roster this season.”

It’s the third straight season the Redblacks have drafted an offensive lineman with their first pick (Alex Mateas in 2015 and Jason Lauzon-Seguin last year). Desjardins said about Johnson: “He’s got a great skill-set, athleticism, feet, strength and he’s still young. His ceiling is extremely high.”

With their third-round pick, Eli Ankou, who’s from Ottawa, the Redblacks took a gamble.

Property of the Houston Texans, Ankou, a monster on the defensive line, has a good chance to stick in Houston.

But if, and this is a big if, he gets cut, he’s open to the idea of playing in his hometown.

“He’s a player who can come in here and dominate,” said Desjardins.

“For me, Plan A is the NFL, for sure,” said Ankou on Sunday.

“But if all else fails, I still have that door open to be in Ottawa. I’m 100 per cent into the NFL, but if the opportunity presents itself, I’m there.”

As for the rest of the Redblacks’ draft picks, we’ll let the Redblacks GM have his say:

RB Louis-Philippe Bourassa, Montreal: “A long snapper. The way we had him graded, we felt we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have such a proficient snapper.”

DL Mathieu Dupuis (brother of former Pittsburgh Penguin Pascal Dupuis), Montreal: “He’s an interior defensive lineman who’s like a bulldog in there. He’s strong, he’s powerful, he’s disruptive, he’s a high-energy type of guy, a slightly bigger version of (Ettore) Lattanzio.”

REC Austen Hartley, Calgary: “He’s not the biggest guy, but runs very well. He’s a good route runner and he catches the ball well. He’ll have a chance to be on our team as well.”

RB Ed Ilnicki, Alberta: “He has a running back/fullback body type. He’s a bigger guy, a special teams type of guy initially who’ll have a chance eventually to maybe be the replacement for Kienan (Lafrance).”

OL Jordan Filippelli, Calgary: “He’s a guy who needs to be a little lighter and work and some of his athletic skills. But at that point in the draft, he was a guy we felt we couldn’t pass up. As we all know, Canadian offensive linemen are something we cherish around here.”

Looking back at what the Redblacks did on draft night, Desjardins said: “We’re relatively happy with what we were able to get. You’re not always going to get your top guys and you kind of hope some guys are going to fall until later.

“Teams reached out looking for trades, but we were happy with where we were and weren’t willing to sacrifice even three or four slots to get a pick later. It just wasn’t worth our while and we ended up with a lot of good football players.

“I don’t think we drafted a player who had no eligibility left so they all have a chance to go back to school. When I look at the big picture, our overall depth at all positions, I think we’re in a very good place.” IN AND OUT: The Redblacks added 6-foot-2 receiver Bilal Marshall (Purdue) and defensive lineman Avery Ellis (Temple) on Monday, cutting a pair of nationals, running back Pascal Lochard (Laval) and long snapper/linebacker Kevin Malcolm (McMaster). It’s going to be a real dogfight for jobs at the receiver position: Brad Sinopoli, Greg Ellingson, Diontae Spencer, Kenny Shaw, Tori Gurley, Juron Criner, Joshua Stangby, plus other promising players.