After a some interesting trades to get the draft going the BC Lions ended with a pretty good pool of talent when the dust settled on the 2010 CFL Draft. The Lions made a pre-draft deal with the Toronto Argonauts that saw them send the 3rd, 18th, 26th, 30th picks to Argos for 4th, 20th, 24th, 25th picks.
Lions head coach and general manager Wally Buono, indicated the draft may have been one of the deepest he has been a part of.
“Overall I’m not sure I have seen a better all-round draft not only for our club but all the teams in our league,” said Buono on BCLions.com. “I think it speaks well of the players being developed in Canada and the future of our game.”
Let’s take a look at how the Lions made out!
1st Round:
(4) Danny Watkins OL – Baylor
With the fourth overall pick, With their first pick in the draft the Lions selected 6’4″ 310 pound offensive lineman Danny Watkins. Baylor is regarded by many as the best player available in the draft, and the Lions will have to wait on his arrival, as he has one year of eligibility remaining at the NCAA level. It’s also believed that Watkins will get a serious look at the NFL before being available to the Lions.
Watkins is a native of Kelowna, BC, and didn’t play football until 2007, playing hockey and rugby as a child.
“We believe Danny is one of the best players in today’s draft and he will be a very important part of our club in years to come,” said Lions GM and head coach Wally Buono on BCLions.com
More on Danny Watkins:
2nd Round:
(10) Shawn Gore WR – Bishops
Regarded as the best receiving prospect in the draft, the Lions were apparently going to take Shawn Gore with their first pick. But they decided to make the deal with Toronto and drop to four and take their chances that Gore would be there when they picked next at ten. The gamble paid off and the Lions got Gore anyway. Now, as with Watkins they will wait and see what NFL opportunities come Gore’s way. He attended a Green Bay Packers mini-camp this weekend and word today was that he had received an offer to attend the Packer main camp.
If he does end up with the Lions, he’ll have plenty of friendly faces to welcome him, as former Bishop’s teammates Jamall Lee, Dan McCullough and James Yurichuk on the Lions roster.
More Shawn Gore:
3rd Round:
(16th) Joash Gesse LB – Montreal
The Lions switched to the defensive side of the ball with their third pick (16th overall) and chose LB Joash Gesse from Montreal. The 6’0″225 pound Montreal linebacker has good speed, running 4.68 40 at the East-West Bowl, then a 4.38 at the Pro Agility. In just 6 games Gesse racked up 22 solo tackles and 18 assisted tackles. Gesse is coming of a knee injury that prevented him from testing in some E-camp events, has reportedly run very well in off-season workouts.
Duane Ford of TSN.ca said of Gesse, “If he were 3″ taller, he’d be a potential #1 overall.”
(20th) Hamid Mahmoudi DB – Montreal
With their 2nd pick of the 3rd roound (20th overall) the Lions selected Hamid Mahmoudi, a defensive back. Mahmoudi also had limited E-camp participation due to an injury that cut his season short in 2009. He was ranked the 2nd best cornerback in Duane Ford’s pre-draft rankings. On BCLions.com coach Buono had this to say about Mahmoudi; “Hamid will come in and compete for a wide side cornerback position with Davis Sanchez. He had 13 interceptions over a little over three years so he definitely has a knack for big plays.”
4th Round:
(24TH) Nate Binder WR – Tusculum College
The Lions selected another receiver in the 4th round, picking Nate Binder out of Tusculum College (NCAA II) . In 2008 Binder was named to the All-South Atlantic Conference Second Team. He tied a school single-season record with nine TD receptions and tied for first in the SAC averaging 78.7 receiving yards per game (37th in NCAA II) Averaged 4.5 points per game (8th in SAC). Tusculum College went 5-1 when Binder found the end zone in 2008.
(25th) Akeem Foster (St. Francis Xavier)
With their second pick in the 4th round, BC took another receiver, this time Akeem Foster out of St. Francis Xavier. The 6’4″ 212 pound Foster has all the tools, but has been hurt by inconsistency according to Duane Ford, who had Foster ranked 7th amongst receivers. In a recent article on BCLions.com, Foster described himself like as “a problem with and without the ball. If I don’t have the ball I’m looking for someone to hit. If I do have the ball I’m looking to make a big play.”
More Akeem Foster:
5th Round:
(34th) Cauchy Muamba DB -St. Francis Xavier
One thing is for sure, if Cauchy Muamba makes the Lions, he’ll have one of the coolest names on the team. The Lions selected the DB with their 5th round pick, who was described by Duane Ford this way, “Muamba is good enough in man-to-man coverage that teams rarely throw his way, but at 6’1″ and close to 200 lbs., he’s a physical defender who will likely shift to safety in the CFL.”
With Barron Miles retiring, the auditions for his safety spot have begun, and the Lions may see grooming Muamba for that role.
6th Round:
(41sT) Adam Baboulas OL – St. Mary’s
The Lions went to the St. Mary’s Huskies with their first pick of the 6th round and 41st pick overall, offensive lineman Adam Baboulas.
(42nd) Matthew Chapdelaine – Simon Fraser
With their final pick in draft the Lions stuck with the family and chose WR Matthew Chapdelaine. Yes he is the son of offensive coordinator Jacques Chapdelaine, but he hasn’t played football since 2007, having to deal with concussion issues. Coach Buono was quick to dismiss the pick was any type of courtesy to his fellow coach. “”He’s worked out for us four or five times,” Buono said of Matt Chapdelaine. “If I got a list of the comparisons, he would probably be ahead of most receivers in the draft. Honestly, I would never pick a player because he’s the coach’s son. I don’t believe in that b.s. He might be better than the guys we’ve taken. But we don’t know that until we get to camp.”