STAMPS DEAL FOR EXTRA FIRST-ROUNDER AT DRAFT
Calgary swaps selections with Winnipeg to acquire OL Nkanu at No. 8
Happy birthday, Dwayne Cameron!
Here's hoping you got all you wanted and more from the 2024 CFL draft while hitting your 51st milestone.
“Yeah, it was an exciting birthday,” said the Calgary Stampeders draft guru, while highlighting Tuesday evening's annual pick-em.
“You know, we feel like we came out with two starters with the two first-round picks, and then we got right from there.”
Indeed, after coming into draft day with one first-round selection at fourth overall, the Stampeders traded to get another, moving up to eighth after making a deal with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
That meant taking speedy defensive back Ben Labrosse at No. 4 and offensive lineman Christy Nkanu at No. 8.
“I've been kind of hoping to go in that direction for a couple months now,” said Cameron of Labrosse. “Everybody in the organization's excited about him — the fastest player in the combine (last month).
“He's got an NFL rookie minicamp opportunity this upcoming weekend, so we'll see where that goes.”
After seeing where the first handful of picks went Tuesday, the Stamps stepped up to get offensive lineman Nkanu, trading their two second-round picks — at Nos. 13 and 14 overall — to the Bombers for the eighth and 28th overall choices.
“Nkanu's ability to play both tackle and guard,” said Cameron, of why the flip of picks was made. “He hasn't played centre, but he's practised playing centre, so you know he's a four-and-a-half, maybe five-position guy. The athleticism and the ability to mirror defensive lineman both in the interior and the exterior, the strength to stoutness, those are kind of the reasons why he stood out for us.”
From there, it was drafting third- and fourth-round talents in Calgary's George Idoko and Quebec's Jason Janvier-messier — both defensive linemen — who can also contribute this year.
“We feel like George and Janvier-messier are gonna make immediate impacts for us on special teams. And the other guys? We'll see how they develop and go from there.”
All but Labrosse and eighth-rounder Kaylyn St-cyr — one of three defensive backs taken in the Canadian draft — are eligible to return to their respective schools.
“We couldn't get enough of the defensive backs in this draft,” added Cameron. “It's interesting in that it seems like each year how the draft falls overall is getting closer and closer to what we have in our room. Obviously, each team goes through their own process and every once in a while, you'll get a surprise at somebody that either lasts longer on the board than you would have expected them to or goes much earlier.
“But there really weren't too many surprises in this draft that kind of fell on us.”
NATIONAL DRAFT
DB Ben Labrosse, 24 (1st round, 4th overall)
College: Mcgill; 6-foot, 189 pounds
2022: 35 tackles, 29 solo, three interceptions, a pass breakup Cameron: “He's a tremendous athlete with a lot of upside. Inexperienced at this point in time. Only two years of college football, so we think there's certainly more there in terms of his development.”
OL Christy Nkanu, 25 (1st round, 8th overall)
College: Washington State; 6-foot-4, 320
Cameron: “Fantastic good football player. Can play that guard position on both sides. Can play the tackle position for ya. Can mirror defensive linemen both inside and out. A fixed-out body type who is certainly going to help that offensive line group for (O-line) coach Pat Delmonaco.”
DL George Idoko, 23 (3rd round, 28th overall)
College: Saskatchewan, 6-foot-1, 224
2023: 43 tackles, 34 solo, four sacks, two forced fumbles Cameron: “Very quick defensive end, ran a 4.8 (-second 40-yard dash) at 225 pounds at the combine, so a good athlete. I know (special teams co-ordinator) Mark Kilam is certainly excited about having him come in and work on the special teams while (defensive line coach) Juwan Simpson works to develop him as a pass rusher. We're happy to get him in the third round.”
DL Jason Janvier-messier, 23 (4th round, 33rd overall)
College: York; 6-foot-2, 230 2022: 37 tackles, 30 solo, 5.5 sacks, four pass knock-downs Cameron: “A little bit heavier at 232 pounds and a little bit taller than George, but very similar body type. Suffered a significant elbow injury a game and a half into the 2023 season, so there was very little recent film available. I think had he played the entire season in 2023, he probably would have been a little higher on draft boards. But we're excited to get him. A really high energy, very high-motor player. And it comes with a great attitude.”
FB Paul-antoine Ouellette, 26 (5th round, 42nd overall)
College: Montreal, 6-foot-3, 239 2023: Unavailable
Cameron: “Unfortunately, he had to go through an emergency appendectomy and missed all but the final three games of the 2023 season for the University of Montreal. But when I visited there in January, their head coach Marco Iadeluca raved about the young man and expects big things from him. He's a converted wide receiver. So new to the fullback position but displays an aggressive attitude, physical mentality and also has long-snapping experience.”
TE Tanner Mclachlan, 25 (6th round, 51st overall)
College: Arizona, 6-foot-6, 255 2023: 45 receptions, 528 yards, four touchdowns
Cameron: “I think we'll probably wait a little while because he's a sixth-round draft pick of the Cincinnati Bengals in the NFL. He's big. He runs for 4.6 in the 40. You know, that's one of those picks that you just kind of make and you see how things go down the road.”
DB Jackson Sombach, 24 (7th round, 60th overall)
College: Regina; 5-foot-8, 195 2023: 32 tackles, 25 solo, two interceptions, 15 pass breakups Cameron: “If he were to walk in the room, you wouldn't be sure exactly what you got. But you put the film on, and you just see that kid fly around and make plays. He's just a tad over 5-foot-8, so you know he doesn't have great length that way. But he plays the boundary halfback spot and has played free safety for Regina. He's physical. He's a ball hawk, smart, intelligent . Got the opportunity to work with him at the combine.”
DB Kaylyn St-cyr, 25 (8th round, 69th overall)
College: Montreal; 5-foot-11, 206 2023: Unavailable
Cameron: “Kaylyn comes from a highly successful program that has won Vanier Cups. Has played boundary halfback and free safety for them in the past. He has been primarily their boundary corner for the last couple of years. He's a conference allstar and bigger than I thought actually when we first saw him in person at the combine. He'll come in and compete for coach Kilam on special teams and get an opportunity to fit in probably at the free safety spot on defence and we can kind of see where it goes from there.”
GLOBAL DRAFT
TE Ron Tiavaasue (1st round, 4th overall)
College: New Mexico State; 6-foot-4, 275
Tiavaasue is a product of Auckland, New Zealand who played tight end at New Mexico State. As a member of the Aggies in 2023, he had three catches for 44 yards and a touchdown as well as two carries for 24 yards and one major. Tiavaasue played four games for the NCAA'S Utah State Aggies in 2022 and 19 combined games at Missouri State in 2020 and 2021. At Missouri State, he had 21 receptions for 247 yards and two touchdowns. Tiavaasue has been invited to take part in the upcoming rookie mini-camp of the National Football League's Jacksonville Jaguars. DL Julius Welschof, 25 (2nd round, 13th overall)
College: Unc-charlotte; 6-foot6, 265
Welschof is a native of Miesbach, Germany. He completed his collegiate career with the NCAA'S Unc-charlotte 49ers in 2023, recording four tackles in four games for the 49ers, after three seasons at Michigan. In 34 games with the Wolverines, Welschof had 23 tackles and half a sack. Following last week's NFL draft, Welschof signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a free agent.