Dave Campbell
ESKS.com Staff
Trying to predict what Eskimo General Manager Eric Tillman will do in, well, anything is proving to be a useless exercise. Having the number two pick in the CFL Canadian College Draft, many league pundits felt Tillman really wanted to land University of Saskatchewan offensive lineman Ben Heenan. In fact, Heenan was given the royal tour last week of the facilities at Commonwealth Stadium. Perhaps that was to put some pressure on the Saskatchewan Roughriders to possibly make a trade with the Eskimos for the number one selection. As it turns out, the Riders killed the suspense early by announcing their intentions to draft Heenan first overall, which they did. The Eskimos, with the number two pick, decided to trade the pick to the BC Lions along with the 20th pick in exchange for the 4th, 14th, and 38th selections.
At the time of the trade, you might have heard a collective gasp coming from the Eskimo Empire. The number two pick was part of the Ricky Ray trade back in December. Optically, you would think the Eskimos would need to make that pick count. Tillman, however, isn’t concerned about optics and the Ricky Ray trade proved that.
While all the talk was about Ben Heenan, the Eskimos had their sights set on University of Virginia offensive lineman Austin Pasztor. The only problem? The Winnipeg Blue Bombers held the third pick. The Bombers went off the board and chose offensive lineman Tyson Pencer from Washington State, leaving Pasztor for the Eskimos and they selected the 6’7, 305 pounder. Tillman says Pasztor is the player the team wanted all along.
“Much was made of the Heenan trip (last week) but very quietly, Kavis (Reed) and I went and met with Austin Pasztor in the United States,” Tillman explained. “Paul Jones (Assistant GM and Director of Player Personnel) met us and so we met in Mobile, Alabama a few weeks ago prior to the draft. We kept it very quiet so all along we had him targeted as our guy.”
Tillman says there were discussions with the Riders about the first overall pick. The Esks offered their sixth pick and a later pick but the Riders refused to budge. The Eskimos, with the sixth overall selection, picked perhaps the best pure athlete in the CFL Draft in Wilfred Laurier receiver Shamawd Chambers. At E-camp, Chambers ran the fastest time in the 40-yard dash clocking in at 4.42 seconds. Speed isn’t everything, but it helps. His 6’3 frame, however, is very attractive presenting a matchup problem for opposing secondaries. Coach Reed says he sees no shades of grey with Chambers. He believes it’ll be go big or bust.
“He has all the potential, all the measurables are there,” Reed said. “His attitude seems to be correct; we went as far as to have a psychologist profile him. I think we really turned over every leaf with this kid. Everything came back to say that he’s possibly going to be a Shawn Gore like guy. He can be Paris Jackson. Those kinds of guys that I mentioned that are difference makers.”
Pasztor gives the Eskimos the option in a year or two to have an all-Canadian offensive line. Chambers gives the Eskimos the option of eventually starting two Canadians in the receiving corps. The Eskimo brass does admit, however, that selecting both Pasztor and Chambers is a bit of risky play. Pasztor has signed a contract with the Minnesota Vikings and will attend their training camp. Chambers has a mini-camp tryout later this month with the Philadelphia Eagles. Pasztor’s signing bonus with the Vikings wasn’t very big, meaning they might not be that high on him to begin with. Chambers hasn’t signed yet with the Eagles. Bottom line, these two players probably won’t be seen in Edmonton for perhaps one to two years tops.
The Eskimos have better depth on the offensive line with the likes of Scott Mitchell, Dylan Steenbergen and Dale Stevenson waiting in the wings. At the receiver position they have Nate Coehoorn, Andrew Nowacki, Tyler Scott, Matt Carter and Aaron Hargreaves.
The point is, if the Esks have to wait they’re in a position where they can wait for both Pasztor and Chambers to arrive in Edmonton.
Last year’s draft was about helping to fix their Canadian content. This year’s draft was about adding to what the Eskimos feel is already a deep group of non-import talent.
NOTES: The Eskimos had three picks after the first round. With their 14th pick, the team selected Simon Fraser defensive lineman Justin Capicciotti. Akron defensive end Hasan Hazime was selected 36th overall. Saint Mary’s linebacker and former Edmonton Wildcat Ryan King with their 38th selection.