Frankensteining reports and commentary on last night's draft results. The Chad Hudson quotes are from this Ottawa Citizen article.
Round 1, pick 2: Nick Mardner, WR
The 6-foot-6, 208-pound playmaker from Oakville was ranked seventh overall, and the top-ranked receiver, by the CFL Scouting Bureau this spring after suiting up for four games with the Auburn Tigers in 2023. Before transferring to Auburn, Mardner had 19 receptions for 218 yards and three touchdowns in 2022 with Cincinnati. He previously suited up for Hawaii from 2018-2021 where he made 62 catches for 1,270 yards and nine touchdowns. In total, Mardner caught 81 passes for 1,488 yards and 11 majors during his collegiate career.
"We are excited to add Nick Mardner to our organization with our first pick in this year’s draft. Nick is an athletic receiver with a big body, who has played at very high level in the NCAA,” said REDBLACKS General Manager Shawn Burke. “His size, speed and tenacity have the potential to be a big addition to our football club.”
Mardner ran a 4.60-second forty-yard dash, 4.62-second short shuttle, and 7.43-second three-cone drill at his pro day in March, while recording 11 225lbs bench press reps, a 35-inch vertical and a 129-inch broad jump.
Ottawa Sun: “There were injury concerns at Auburn and he never hit his stride,” said Burke, who said Mardner was dealing with a foot issue and a new system. “In the NCAA right now, it’s a bit of a different journey because of the transfer portal. When you look at his stops at Cincinnati and Hawaii and the big plays he made, it just made sense for us (to pick him) with how we had him ranked on our (draft) board.“You always balance your board with your needs. When they match up together, it’s a great opportunity. We’re giving some young guys an opportunity at receiver this year; this isn’t a slight to Keaton (Bruggeling), Daniel (Oladejo) or Daniel Perry, but when you can get this type of playmaker with a draft pick, that’s what you ultimately want to do.
“He could be special in this league. It starts with getting him here first, we realize he’s going to (an NFL) mini camp. There’s a risk-reward factor, but we felt it was something we couldn’t pass on.”
Far too often last season the Redblacks had to settle for a field goal when their offence stalled inside the 20-yard-line. Mardner has the potential to help them fix that.
“He’s a big target,” said Burke. “We want to be better in the red zone. It’s tough for guys to guard 6-foot-6 in that small space.
“The CFL is obviously unique. I’m not going to say he was at the top of our board; a couple of the guys at the top of our board went Saturday (in the NFL draft). But the need matched where we had him ranked on our board.”
Redblacks head coach Bob Dyce said “there’s lots of things to like about Nick” beyond his size and the fact he runs and jumps well.
“Probably the biggest thing for me, as a former receiver coach, I always talking about having violent hands,” said Dyce. “When the ball is up there, he’s a huge red zone target, and he goes up and plays with the mentality that the ball is his. He has the opportunity to be a real difference maker in this league … plus he gives you the flexibility that he can play into the boundary and, as he progresses and plays the game more, he’s going to be able to move into the slot. So I think as he continues to grow in our game, when he gets here, he’s got a really, really high ceiling.”
Round 2, pick 11: Daniel Okpoko
Ottawa Sun: The 6-foot-4, 275-pounder was born in Lagos, Nigeria but grew up in Saskatoon. From there, he headed to California, where he played 37 games over five seasons with the San Diego Aztecs.“You guys know I have a pretty serious face most of the time and I’m out here smiling,” Burke said to media members in the hallway at TD Place. “We liked Daniel Okpoko a lot and we did not think we were going to get the opportunity to select him at this spot. We have an excited war room in there.”
The Redblacks expect Okpoko will benefit from the guidance of respected veteran defensive lineman Cleyon Laing.
“Obviously I can’t say enough about Cleyon, and for him to learn under a guy like Cleyon and have that opportunity … (and to) add some depth to our rotation,” said Burke. “We see him as a potential CFL starter one day, not today, but one day. He was very productive last year at San Diego State. Athletic traits, big, physical has played some end as well but we probably see him more as an inside guy. But we’re ust excited to get him in the building.”
Round 3, pick 22: LB Dawson Pierre
Round 4, pick 35: Jahquan Bloomfield
Hudson: “He was brought to our attention by (former Ottawa Gee-Gees coach) Nate Taylor, our running back coach who tried to recruit him. He did great (in the NCAA) on special teams and was a deep threat. It gives us a little more depth at the receiver position. He’s another guy who can play special teams and receiver for us.”
Round 6, pick 49: Yani Gouadfel
Hudson: “He’s a tenacious kid, great on special teams. The kid loves to be in the gym – he’s really fit, he’s an absolute specimen that way. I worked with his dad in Saskatchewan and Montreal and I got to know Zach a bit. He loves football. Some of these kids love to eat, breathe and sleep football and he’s a guy that does that.”
Round 8, pick: Russell Dixon
