Jamall Lee broke the CFL Evaluation Camp record for the 40 yard dash today with a time of 4.39. Yesterday, he broke the record for the vertical jump with a height of 44 inches (surpassing the height of 42 inches posted by Samuel Giguere last year).
The Ticats will have a tough call on draft day. Should they draft left offensive tackle Simeon Rottier with the first overall pick and leave Jamall Lee to be drafted by the Argos? Or should they draft Lee first, leave Rottier for the Argos and use the third overall pick to either draft defensive lineman Etienne Legare from Laval or someone else?
By the way, some earlier reports had stated that the CFL Draft would be held on May 9/09 but it is now being reported that the draft will occur on May 2/09.
The Ticats won't select Lee. They are going with imports at RB, and Lee is NFL-bound, anyway.
Hamilton will select Rottier #1 to apprentice under Gauthier. The only way this will not happen is if another team offers us an impact starter, plus their first round pick. Because Rottier is from out west, maybe Winnipeg, Calgary, Edmonton or Saskatchewan will step up to the plate in that regard.
I'm not sure the Ticats will keep the #3 pick, because, while there are a handful of potentially good D-Linemen available, the Ticats already have Kirk, Reid, and probably Mace set to battle for the club's lone non-import D-Line position (Obie has stated publically that this is the configuration the Ticats are planning to use). Consequently, I think the Cats will probably trade this pick for a starter, or use it to draft a player who still has a year of school eligibility remaining.
Well Winnipeg and Edmonton don't have any draft picks till the third round, not sure how they would "step up".
I think the two guys most likely to be picked by Obilovich are Rottier an Legare with Morencie if Legare is picked in the second spot. with the ninth pick I could see Hamilton going with one of the big receivers like Carter or one of the DB/LB like Fraser or Hinds, Bacheyie depending on what is left on the board.
As for Lee the most likely destination is Vancouver that has two first round picks.
News about Jamall Lee's E-Camp stats is travelling fast. An unofficial NFL football draft website named nfldraftscout.com has already posted Lee's numbers from today:
I think Hamilton should definitely take Rottier 1st overall. Although some of his individual numbers were only pretty good, I saw him today and his work in the 1-on-1 was excellent. He looks every bit the player on the field that he was said to be.
I think Legare would be the hands-down guy to take at #3IF he was still around. I think the Argos would be stupid not to take him there - I really doubt they'd use the #2 on Lee after those numbers were posted. I'm not sure they'd alternately draft 2 OL (Morencie) - maybe take a non-import DB.
Interesting that Jamal Lee has been noted in the NFL prospect list. Maybe that increases the likelihood he will try to go there. However, the same listing indicates he is ranked as prospect 999 out of nearly 2600 overall. There are 149 RBs on the list. 120 of them are ranked ahead of Lee. His 40-time is certainly very good, though there are faster ones. Maybe coming from a CIS school reduces his notoriety and his ranking, but 120th out of 149 RB prospects doesn't make his chances in the NFL look very good. Perhaps he is destined for the CFL after all.
Even if Lee gets an invitation to a NFL camp, he'll end up back in Canada this year. On that basis, I'd say he's a safe pick for any CFL team. He'll play in Canada if he plays pro-ball anywhere. However, I think the Cats should go with a lineman--they have no real need for a RB anyway. I don't think you can go wrong by going with a high-pick Canadian lineman. I can see the Argos drafting Lee since their running game is non-existent.
What it comes down to I think is: Can Legare start this year? If the Ticats feel he could start for them this year then you would think with them set for two years at LT with Gauthier then Legare becomes very interesting as their first pick, if however they don't think he can start , they may be better off with Rottier, this way if Gauthier goes down with injury Rottier could come in as a backup.
Legare would have to be outstanding to start as a rookie on the Dline. Much tougher opposition in the CFL then a combine...
Tough choice but it looks like the Ticats can't go wrong with either guys.
If Legare is another Jemaine Reid, (zero sacks, zero impact), I would take a second O-Lineman with our #3 pick. And that may be the case. After all, did Legare really tear up he CIS with sacks? Honestly, I never even heard of him until the E-Camp.
Rottier's numbers and the impressions of those attending the E-camp seem to suggest that's he's the consensus #1 pick. As well, it's never a bad call to pick Canadian linemen.
Both of Calgary's early pick OL guys ended up starting last year, so perhaps Rottier is the best choice.
I however, think the Cats may go in a different direction. From what I've read, Tristan Black looks like a special player. A real hardnosed middle linebacker and a player that could develope into a Mike O'Shea for the next generation.
Considering that we lack any clear cut, outstanding player or prospect at the MLB positon, I think this would be an exceptional choice. There will always be linemen to pick from. Next year, the year after. But the chances of finding a guy who could, conceivably start at MLB for us this year are pretty slim.