If you have never participated in a draft (outside of a fantasy draft) let me tell you that it is quite the process. I know this first hand, as just this week I was involved in drafting my son’s 13U baseball team!
Ok, I get it. The draft that I participated in does not come close to compare with a CFL draft. But the realities are similar; the choices you make in a draft matter. So before I critique the Bombers on the choices they made, let us look at those choices.
1. NUER GATKUOTH
Selected: Round 1, 4th overall
Position: Defensive end
School: Wake Forest/Colorado State
Ht: 6-4; Wt: 227
Born: May 3, 2002, in Edmonton, Alta.
2. DANTE DANIELS
Selected: Round 2, 10th overall
Position: Tight end
School: North Carolina State
Ht: 6-5; Wt: 272
3. KEVIN CLINE
Selected: Round 2, 20th overall
Position: offensive line
School: Boston College
Ht: 6-7; Wt: 320
Born: May 29, 2001, in Boca Raton, Fla.
4. CHARLES-ELLIOT BOULIANE
Selected: Round 3, 24th overall
Position: linebacker
School: Université de Montreal
Ht: 5-11; Wt: 229
Born: February 19, 2002, in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Que.
5. ETHAN STUART
Selected: Round 4, 33rd overall
Position: defensive back
School: McMaster
Ht: 6-0; Wt: 223
Born: January 17, 2002, in Oakville, Ont.
6. BRODY CLARK
Selected: Round 5, 42nd overall
Position: linebacker
School: York University
Ht: 6-0; Wt: 217
Born: September 11, 2001, in Delta, B.C.
7. BEN BRITTON
Selected: Round 6, 51st overall
Position: receiver
School: University of Calgary
Ht: 6-3; Wt: 205
Born: August 10, 2003, in Calgary, Alta.
8. JOSHUA JACK
Selected: Round 7, 60th overall
Position: receiver
School: St. Mary’s University
Ht: 6-0; Wt: 195
Born: December 20, 2000, in Brampton, Ont.
9. BRADY LIDSTER
Selected: Round 8, 69th overall
Position: kicker
School: University of Windsor
Ht: 6-0; Wt: 185
Born: December 15, 2004, in St. Thomas, Ont.
Some Take Aways
Generally in a draft you are looking to fill your biggest needs first. It would be terrible to let players go that could fill holes that you already have, or that you know are coming. Having said that, if you believe a guy will stay on the board for a while (understanding what the other teams are looking at) you may decide to fill a secondary need first (especially if you do not think that guy will last long as an option).
Offensive Line
The Bombers did make a curious move. They traded their 13th pick and their 2nd round pick in 2027 to move up to 10th pick and choose TE Dante Daniels. And remember, Daniels was not even listed as a top 25 prospect. So why target him that aggressively? What does he bring that the Bombers think that they absolutely need?
Maybe one commenter on social media has this one figured out. Here is a question floated out on social media, “I can’t help wonder why we didn’t pick some more OL. The offensive line is the most important piece of a football team in my opinion. It’s also the number one most important position to pick at the Canadian draft. We only took one (whose floating the NFL) and our o-line has been pretty rough the last couple seasons. We need to restock it for sure with possible Canadian talent but hard to do so picking only 1 that’s a gamble if he will be here anytime soon. Definitely not the draft I thought we would put together.”
And the same person offered this as a possible explanation, “Another head scratcher pick for the Bombers. They traded their 13th pick and their 2nd round pick in 2027 to move up to 10th pick and choose TE Dante Daniels who was not ranked in the top 25. He’s 6’6″ 275LBs and listed as a blocking TE. I could only imagine the Bombers are hoping to develop him into an OL. Pack some muscle on and have him as a 6th OL or even an OL.”
Defensive End
It is not every day that you have a player as disruptive as Willie Jefferson. And while people will say that his stats dropped off, part of that has to do with the the defensive system that Winnipeg plays. Having 3 rush up front is not going to get you a lot of stats – regardless of how effective it is.
Also, do not forget that the Bombers got Jake Ceresna in free agency. Yet, neither Jake nor Willie are getting any younger (with Ceresna being 31; and Jefferson 35). So it is evident that the Bombers need to start thinking of a succession play for that position.
Some may argue that the Bomber can simply go and find other defensive end players already in the league. But I disagree. As I wrote earlier, “I believe it could be hard for the Bombers to attract defensive line players due to their scheme – you are not likely to rack up the stats based on how they play.” So I like this draft choice.
Receiver
If the Bombers proved anything in 2025 is was this; their receiving group was not nearly good enough, nor deep enough. So to see the Bombers take late picks to get two receivers makes sense to me. The question for me will be do they sign these two receivers to the practice roster, and if not, will they ever see a CFL football field. While I do not know that, I know this; getting receivers in the draft can save you from shelling out big bucks if you have an injury late in the season.
Kicker
It is somewhat surprising that Brady Lidster lasted that long in the draft! He was the top kicking prospect in the draft. Seriously, does every team think they are locked down at that position already? This is a position that can win or lose you games. And no, Sergio Castillo is not going to get beat out in training camp. Do not just pencil Sergio Castillo in. Do not even write him in with a pen. Grab your biggest, fattest sharpie and write in name in all caps…he is the starter!
But then what? At some point Sergio Castillo is going to call it a career. Hopefully at no point does Castillo get inured. But in either case, the Bombers need a plan, and they need it now. Remember 2021? Nobody, not even Bob Irving knew how the Bombers were going to solve their kicking woes. But, On October 19, 2021, the Blue Bombers acquired Castillo’s playing rights via trade from the BC Lions, (which is wild in the first place) in exchange for a conditional 4th round pick in the 2022 CFL draft (which is even crazier how little the Lions valued him).
Final Thoughts
I would have liked to see the Bomber firm up their offensive line through the draft. But I understand that you cannot just draft offensive linemen; you need to sure up other positions. And while the Bombers seem to have their quarterback position closer to secure (more about that in a future article) there was only one quarterback selected in the draft…so I will not blame the Bombers for that.
Where do you think the Bombers went right and wrong in the draft?
Let me know in the comments section wherever you are reading this. Catch all my articles here.
