The B.C. Lions were able to make eight picks this year at the 2016 CFL Draft in hopes to building up a team that is ready to win in the playoffs after a first round playoff exit last season.
1st Round, 3rd Overall: Traded to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
1st Round, 5th Overall (from Hamilton): OL Charles Vaillancourt (Laval)
2nd Round, 12th Overall: DB Anthony Thompson (Southern Illinois)
3rd Round, 21st Overall: Traded to Hamilton Tiger-Cats
3rd Round, 23rd Overall (from Hamilton): WR Brett Blaszko (Calgary)
4th Round, 30th Overall (Traded to Hamilton & Reacquired): OL Dillon Guy (Buffalo)
4th Round, 32nd Overall (from Hamilton): WR Shaquille Johnson (Western University)
6th Round, 48th Overall: DB Brennan Van Nistelrooy (Okanagan)
7th Round, 57th Overall: RB Nathan O’Halloran (Windsor)
8th Round, 65th Overall: DL Boyd Richardson (UBC)
B.C. Lions 2016 Draft Grade: 8/10
B.C. Lions 2016 CFL Draft Review
The Best Player: It really is no secret here that trading down for Charles Vaillancourt was a clear winner for B.C. With a first round draft that is so deep on offensive linemen, teams will no doubt, go ahead and take advantage of that. Vaillancourt is considered to be arguably one of the best offensive lineman on the board this year. He was a three-time CIS all-star with Laval.
The Head-Scratcher: Seventh round pick Nathan O’Halloran from Windsor seems like an odd pick for B.C., despite them losing a key player in running back Andrew Harris this off-season to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. B.C. already has a few good running backs on their roster including Anthony Allen and Jeremiah Johnson, both acquired in the off-season in free agency. O’Halloran did not have impressive stats either in 8 games with Windsor, -3 yards and 0 touchdowns. He will need to impress on special teams during the pre-season in order to make the roster.
The Surprise: You could expect a pleasant surprise from B.C.’s 30th overall pick who they used to draft offensive lineman Dillon Guy. Most people would not have expected him to still be on the board in the 4th round. B.C. originally had the 30th overall pick, traded it to Hamilton to drop in the 1st round for the 5th overall pick, then traded with Hamilton again to get the 30th overall pick back. Guy might have been overlooked due to injury related concerns. Aside that, his high and great competition at the end of the day could possibly be a steal for the Lions.
The Rest: Anthony Thompson is a fairly big defensive back (6-foot-1) that is huge on tackles. He made 55 tackles in his senior year, playing all 11 games and starting in 8 of them. Could add a big boost on the defense.
Brett Blaszko is a big receiver at 6-foot-4 and was money with Calgary. Averaging 93.1 yards per game, totaling up to 745 yards and 10 touchdowns in 8 games. This guy is can be a big impact wide receiver where needed.
Shaquille Johnson was the CIS rookie of the year in 2012. He had 61 catches, 792 yards, and five touchdowns. Johnson broke Andy Fantuz’s record for catches by a CIS rookie (previous record was 57 catches). He was also a speed machine when he did the 40-yard dash.
Brennan Van Nistelrooy racked up 14 tackles and four interceptions with Okanagan, Alberta in the 2015 season. He is a strong player despite only being six feet tall.
Boyd Richardson is a big defensive lineman (6-foot-3) and is a player maker on defence. He had 39 tackles in total in the 2015 season. Very good late round pick.
The Bottom Line: The B.C. Lions came around more in both ways, offensively and defensively, during the second half of last season but fell short in the first round of the playoffs. They did address their needs though. They added more weapons for Jennings and Lulay to throw to. They added to their defensive core to make it stronger. They also had some great additions to their offensive line to protect those quarterbacks. The Lions drafted well this year and you can expect some of their rookies to make an impact. There is plenty of competition in the Western Division and getting some key contributions from rookies could help the Lions go a long way this year.
