Over at Examiner, I looked at what the Ti-Cats might do with their first-round pick, so I won't go into that here. But what about their other draft picks? What could the Cats do to help bolster what is shaping up to be a very stacked roster?
A lot will depend on what they do in round one, but I expect the draft to heavily feature both Offensive and Defensive Lineman. Those are the areas of most concern for the Cats. Even if the team takes an offensive or defensive lineman in round one, it doesn't preclude them from taking more in later rounds. Bolstering the lines if of the utmost importance, so I could see Hamilton using half of their draft picks on players along the lines.
With Sam Giguère now signed, I would think that takes Receiver completely off Hamilton's draft board. But with so few holes to actually fill, the Cats could take a flyer on someone in the late rounds and hope they pan out. The team is not thin at Receiver, but it never hurts to add players to that position.
Lastly, we have Kyle Quinlan. The topic of Canadian Quarterbacks has been hotly debated this off-season, and Quinlan is the main reason. A lot of Quinlan's hype came after he put up that masterful performance in the Vanier Cup against Laval, and he has kept that momentum going throughout the draft process. He may be a marginal prospect, but he is one that holds a lot of intrigue. Quinlan participated at Ti-Cats Training Camp last season and he plays at McMaster, so it is natural that he would be linked with the Tabbies. I could see him going to Hamilton in the fifth round.
The Ti-Cats are in a very fortunate position entering the draft this season. They don't have a ton of holes to fill; they selected mostly futures last season, many of which will be coming to camp this year, so they can afford to take chances. We'll see what they do starting tomorrow at 3:00PM.
I hope with their first 5 picks, they go oline and dline. With their 6th pick, I would go Quinlan. I think he will be a late round pick. No one will draft him higher as it would look like a wasted pick on a guy who will probably never have an impact at the QB position.
ReplyDeleteI personally think that Quinlan can play at the CFL level, he's honestly a better QB than Cleo Lemon and already knows the CFL game. Most back ups in the CFL still don't understand the game.
If someone does draft Quinlan, will they actually give him a shot or will he be relegated to 3rd and short, holding or appearances with 3 mins left in a blowout.
Going back to the article, the Cats are thin on the lines. With Creehans new D system, it looks like we need guys who can get pressure not guys who clog up the middle. This is where I still don't understand the Baggs release. Let the guy get after the QB. For those "haters" out there who say that he didn't drop back in coverage all the time, just check the ESF vs Montreal when Hickman took Baggs' place. Hickman was invisible and TSN isolated him a couple times showing him drop back in coverage.
But it also wasn't just about dropping back in coverage. I think the figure was something like 20% he did. But with that other 80%, he also had responsibilities with running and full backs. You can't go for the QB when the responsibility is the RB who just ran by you on a quick screen and is gone for 30 yards. Baggs was ill used and will come back to haunt us.