The Saskatchewan Roughriders are prepared to move fourth with the CFL Draft.
Saskatchewan owns the No. 4 selection in Tuesday’s eight-round event (4 p.m., TSN).
“We know the route we want to go and we know the players that we like,” Vice-President of Football Operations and General Manager Jeremy O’Day said during Monday’s pre-Draft session with reporters.
“During the Draft, it’s one of those situations where there are a lot of players who you really like. When you get to pick the ones that you want, you’re excited about that, but you’ll also see other teams taking good players as well.”
Three of those clubs — the Calgary Stampeders, Hamilton Tiger-Cats and Ottawa REDBLACKS — will choose before Saskatchewan’s turn arrives in the first round.
“With the teams in front of you, you’re trying to figure out who they’re going to take and why they would take them,” O’Day said. “You do that a little bit, just to help you predict who you’re going to have the ability to draft at that spot.
“We’ll come down to three or four names that we have (atop the Draft board) and we’ll have them in order of priority. We’ll say, ‘If these guys are available, these are the guys that we’ll pick.’
“If you have a player who you’re dead-set on and you feel like he can come in and be a starter for 10 years, should you move up to try to get him? You can ask that, too.
“It is important for us to be able to try to predict who the teams in front of us are going to pick, or at least have an idea of the position that they’ll probably take.
“I don’t know if we get it right every year, but we’re pretty close.”
Under ordinary circumstances, the Roughriders — who posted a 9-8-1 record, earned a home playoff game and advanced to the Western Final in 2024 — would pick sixth overall.
However, Saskatchewan ascended two spots due to forfeitures.
The B.C. Lions relinquished their first-rounder for violating the CFL’s salary cap. The Edmonton Elks sacrificed their first pick by taking receiver Zach Mathis in Round 1 of the 2024 Supplemental Draft.
“I’m not upset about it,” O’Day said with a slight smile. “Anytime you can move up in the Draft and still finish with a decent year, that’s a bonus.
“We certainly moved up a couple of spots, which is great. It gets you a little bit closer to hopefully getting the guy that you really like.”
There’s a lot to like about the prospects pool in general.
“I think it’s a solid Draft,” O’Day said. “Definitely, the first three rounds are going to be really good. After those first three rounds, teams will have varying opinions on different players, but overall I think it’s a good Draft.
“Last year, we had a whole bunch of Canadian players who were drafted in the NFL. This year, there were only two, and two that signed undrafted (free-agent) contracts, and a bunch of guys who are in (NFL) mini-camps.
“A mini-camp is a tough way to go to try and earn a contract, but you don’t fault the players for going and trying to get in front of the NFL teams to see if there’s an opportunity for them.
“Last year’s class was maybe a little more top-end heavy as far as really, really good players. This year, we’re probably going to see more of the guys sooner than we would from the last Draft.”
Draft Day 2025 will begin at 9 a.m., when Global players are to be selected over two rounds.
