ARGONAUTS.CA STAFF/CFL.CA STAFF
TORONTO — The excitement is building for the Toronto Argonauts heading into the CFL Canadian Draft as the Argos hold the first overall pick for just the fifth time in club history.
The double blue hold three of the first 11 selections and nine picks overall in the 2010 draft. The last time the Argos had first dibs in the draft was back in 1997 when the club selected long-time centre Chad Folk out of the University of Utah. Folk went on to play 12 seasons for Toronto winning Grey Cups with the team in 1997 and 2004.
The Argos would certainly love to duplicate that level of success with this year’s pick. Who they take with the first pick, however, is still anyone’s guess wth several players being mentioned as potential number ones. Queen’s LB Shomari Williams is the CFL Amateur Scouting Bureau’s number one rated prospect, with Nevada OL John Bender, Concordia LB Cory Greenwood, Baylor OL Danny Watkins and Washington State OL Joe Eppele rounding out the top five.
The 2010 draft class is especially deep so having three picks in the top 11 and nine picks overall should have Argos fans salivating at the club’s opportunity to improve.
“There’s maybe not the top two or three guys who stand out but I think there’s two full rounds of guys who are going to make teams,” said Argonauts head coach Jim Barker following the CFL evaluation camp in March.
A trade is also an option. With the Argos holding so many early picks and looking to fill voids left by numerous off-season transactions, the club may want to think of moving one of thier picks. Barker has not ruled out the idea but has indicated that the deal would have to be pretty attractive, especially if it concerns trading the first overall choice.
Toronto has taken an offensive player all four times it has held the first overall pick, and three of the four players selected have been offensive linemen with Western Ontario running back Mike Kirkley being the lone exception in 1982. In the 1980 and 1974 drafts the club chose offensive linemen Greg Barrow from Florida and Rand Halsall out of Wake Forest with the top picks.
The Argos next pick in this year’s draft will be the first of the second round (number eight overall). The Argos also acquired this year’s eleventh overall pick from Edmonton in May 2008 in exchange for non-import K/P Noel Prefontaine. The Argos’ fourth selection, #20 overall, came to Toronto, from Hamilton, in the 2009 deal for import WR Arland Bruce III. Their remaining picks are number 24, 27, 32, 40 and 44 overall.
The draft kicks off this Sunday, May 2 with TSN’s live coverage of the first two rounds starting at 12:00 noon ET. Fans can also follow the entire draft through real-time updates of every pick on argonauts.ca . Additional features will be availalble on Twitter at twitter.com/TorontoArgos on on the official fan page of the Toronto Argonauts Football Club on Facebook.