2019 CFL–LFA draft
| 2019 CFL–LFA Draft | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Sport | Canadian football |
| Date(s) | January 14, 2019[1] |
| Time | 10:00 am CST |
| Location | Mexico City |
| Overview | |
| 27 total selections in 3 rounds | |
| First selection | Diego Jair Viamontes Cotera, WR, Edmonton Eskimos |
The 2019 CFL–LFA Draft took place on January 14, 2019.[2][1] 27 players were chosen from an invited pool of 51 Mexican players: 34 from the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA) (a professional American football league) and 17 seniors from Mexican university teams.[3]
Background
In October 2018, Canadian Football League commissioner Randy Ambrosie outlined a plan to grow the CFL's presence, which he dubbed CFL 2.0, including growth internationally.[4] In November 2018, the LFA signed a non-binding Letter of Intent with the CFL to share resources and to allow for at least one CFL game to be played in Mexico,[5] as wells as lay the ground work for special Mexican-specific editions of the CFL Combine and CFL Draft.
On January 11, 2019, 51 players from the LFA and Mexican college ranks were announced as participants in a combine to beheld on January 13 and a 27-player draft to be held on January 14, 2019.[1] Each CFL team sent scouts and were reported to likely receive four picks.[1] Consensus after the combine was that 6-18 players were of (or could be made into) CFL camp caliber, but that a majority of players had no professional potential.[6] This lead to criticism of commissioner Ambrosie for spending time and resources on this additional draft, when a collective bargaining agreement with the CFLPA still had not been reached.[7] Originally, there were plans for a 4-round 36-player draft but, after the combine and interviews, was scaled back to a 3-round, 27-player draft.[8] BC Lions General Manager Ed Hervey was reported to have, "settled for athletic and the ability to speak English" in player evaluations.[9] It was not reported if drafted players would count towards a team's National or International slots.[10]
On January 12, 2019, the LFA held their own domestic 66-player draft in advance of the CFL's draft.[11]
Selection order
Unlike the normal CFL Draft, which sets selection order based on a team's record the previous season (similar to the NFL Draft), the CFL–LFA draft instead used a weighted lottery system where teams receive more balls in a selection bin depending on their record, with more balls increasing the chance at a higher draft priority (similar to the NBA Draft).[1] The draft order was set the night before the draft:[12] Ironically, the Edmonton Eskimos received the first pick, despite Edmonton's General Manager and Head Coach both skipping the combine and draft process, sending a subordinate instead. Edmonton GM Brock Sunderland in particular was largely dismissive of the entire process.[13]
| Pick # | CFL Team | Lottery weight (% chance for 1st pick) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Edmonton Eskimos | 6/45 (13.3%) |
| 2 | Ottawa Redblacks | 2/45 (4.4%) |
| 3 | Montreal Alouettes | 8/45 (17.8%) |
| 4 | Toronto Argonauts | 9/45 (20%) |
| 5 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 7/45 (15.6%) |
| 6 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 3/45 (6.7%) |
| 7 | BC Lions | 5/45 (11.1%) |
| 8 | Winnepeg Blue Bombers | 4/45 (8.9%) |
| 9 | Calgary Stampeders | 1/45 (2.2%) |
Selections
Round one
Round two
Round three
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Dan Barnes (January 11, 2019). "'FUN ELEMENT': CFL set for inaugural draft of Mexican talent".
- ^ "Mexico's top talent selected at CFL-LFA Draft". cfl.ca. January 14, 2019.
- ^ https://torontosun.com/sports/football/cfl/cfl-combine-draft-in-mexico-important-first-step-to-expand-brand
- ^ https://www.cfl.ca/2018/10/03/randys-word-talking-cfl-2-0/
- ^ "CFL, LFA sign letter of intent to grow football in Canada and Mexico". Retrieved 2018-11-23.
- ^ https://twitter.com/TSNDaveNaylor/status/1084563242469474304
- ^ https://3downnation.com/2019/01/13/mexican-combine-produces-six-players-who-would-not-look-out-of-place-in-a-cfl-camp/
- ^ https://twitter.com/sportsdanbarnes/status/1084625051415126016
- ^ https://theprovince.com/sports/football/cfl/bc-lions/mexican-combine-cba-talks-make-for-unusual-off-season-lions-hervey
- ^ https://3downnation.com/2019/01/15/logistics-following-lfa-draft-a-problem-for-cfl/
- ^ http://www.americanfootballinternational.com/mexico-liga-de-futbol-americano-professional-holds-2019-draft/
- ^ https://twitter.com/sportsdanbarnes/status/1084603944536600576
- ^ https://3downnation.com/2019/01/12/brock-sunderland-finally-said-what-weve-all-been-thinking-about-the-cfl-in-mexico/
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