Combine key to filling roster

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This article was published 19/03/2024 (866 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

General manager Kyle Walters and head coach Mike O’Shea were acquainted with Winnipeg long before they turned the Blue Bombers into a powerhouse.

As young players trying to stick out in their respective draft years, they made the trip to the Manitoba capital for the CFL combine.

This year’s player evaluation event is back in Winnipeg, starting Thursday and running through Sunday.

“I remember it was at the Golf Dome and Mike Kelly (former Bombers offensive co-ordinator and head coach) handed me a cheeseburger. That’s the way it ran back then,” said Walters, who was selected in the second round of the 1996 draft by Hamilton.

“When we showed up for the testing, we got a handshake and a cheeseburger and off to the Golf Dome we went. It was awesome, I have fond memories about it.”

O’Shea was chosen fourth overall by Edmonton in 1993.

“It was just neat coming together with guys you played against and guys you knew were good football players in other conferences that you got a chance to meet. And then, you know, we all ended up at the Palomino (Club),” said O’Shea.

Fortunately, Winnipeg is more equipped to host these days. More than 70 national prospects and 12 Global players will go through interviews, testing, and drills at the Winnipeg Soccer Federation North complex and the Fort Garry Hotel with coaches, general managers and scouts from all nine teams in town.

It’s clearly a process the Bombers put a lot of value in as 24 out of the 27 Canadians currently on the roster had their names called on draft day.

The Blue and Gold have 10 selections in the eight-round draft — they traded quarterback Dru Brown to Ottawa for a fifth and they earned an additional second as a reward for being at the top of the league in snaps by Canadians — on April 30 and will pick eighth overall after losing last year’s Grey Cup to the Montreal Alouettes.

“From a general manager’s point of view, you can secure good, young Canadian players that are in their first-year contracts which allows you to free up money to maybe sign some of your veteran guys to better deals,” said Walters.

“So, the draft, from my standpoint, is important to find those young guys that can contribute to the success on the field from a contractual standpoint as much as anything. And it’s much easier to re-sign guys that have been in our building for three years as they tend to not want to go anywhere because they’ve experienced the way we do things and they tend not to want to leave and that also helps from a salary cap management standpoint, rather than going out and trying to secure free agents from other teams. We tend to focus on keeping our own.”

The Bombers have done a solid job at keeping their own, as running back Brady Oliveira, receivers Dalton Schoen and Drew Wolitarsky, defensive end Willie Jefferson, safety Brandon Alexander, defensive back Deatrick Nichols, and offensive lineman Stanley Bryant, Patrick Neufeld and Chris Kolankowski were all retained this off-season.

The club did, however, say goodbye to right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick (Saskatchewan), receiver Rasheed Bailey (Toronto), defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat (retirement) and guard Geoff Gray (unsigned).

“You do hate losing leadership, guys that know how we want things done and guys who hold guys accountable, but there’s such a large group of leaders in our locker room and there will be more that step up when they recognize the opportunity,” said O’Shea.

“I don’t see that part being any issue. You also hate losing the guy, the person, that each one of these men were, that’s important. In terms of leadership, we’ve got a lot of it.”

Bombers add NFL draft pick

The Bombers have an opening at right tackle and American Larnel Coleman might be the guy for the job.

The club signed the 6-6, 310-pound product of the University of Massachusetts on Tuesday.

Coleman was picked in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft by the Miami Dolphins and played one game with the team before getting sent down to the practice roster.

Most recently, Coleman was released by the United Football League’s Birmingham Stallions.

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

X: @TaylorAllen31