TORONTO — The Saskatchewan Roughriders held true to their word, taking offensive lineman Ben Heenan with the first overall pick of the 2012 CFL Canadian college draft on Thursday.
There was no intrigue or mystery to the pick as Riders president Jim Hopson announced earlier in the day that the six-foot-four, 310-pound Heenan would be selected. Heenan spent the last four years at the University of Saskatchewan and was the top-ranked prospect for the draft before finishing No. 2 in the final listing.
The selection was a safe one for Saskatchewan but critics will suggest Heenan isn’t an impact player and doesn’t address the club’s needs on the defensive line, secondary and receiving corps. The Grand Coulee, Sask., native became just the second Huskies player to go first overall and first since the Hamilton Tiger-Cats selected safety Dylan Barker to open the 2008 draft.
The Riders selected Heenan despite the offensive line not being a priority for the club after adding free agents Dom Picard and Brendon LaBatte this off-season before re-signing veteran Chris Best to a contract extension. But in Heenan, the Riders get a top prospect and a player who will report to the CFL club immediately.
Heenan and Laval linebacker Frederic Plesius are the only ones among the six top-ranked draft-eligible players who weren’t either NFL draftees or invited to attend NFL mini-camps.
The Grey Cup-champion B.C. Lions moved into the No. 2 position by making a deal for the pick with the Edmonton Eskimos — who acquired the selection in the off-season deal that sent quarterback Ricky Ray to the Toronto Argonauts — and used it to take Jabar Westerman.
The six-foot-two, 285-pound defensive lineman from Brampton, Ont., played at Eastern Michigan and is the younger brother of Miami Dolphins linebacker Jamaal Westerman. The Lions were in the market for a defensive lineman with the off-season retirement of veteran end Brent Johnson.
B.C. beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to the punch as the Bombers had acquired the No. 3 selection from Hamilton in a pre-draft move to have a shot at Westerman. With Westerman off the board, the Bombers took Tyson Pencer, a six-foot-six, 330-pound offensive lineman from Washington State to help protect quarterback Buck Pierce.
The Eskimos acquired the Lions’ fourth overall pick and took Austin Pasztor, a towering six-foot-seven, 306-pound offensive lineman at Virginia. But Edmonton will have to wait for the native of Langton, Ont., who has signed a free-agent deal with the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings.
The Calgary Stampeders, who had looked to move up to No. 2 or No. 3 for a shot at Westerman, took the second defensive lineman in the first round in Ameet Pall, a six-foot, 245-pound pass-rushing specialist from Montreal who played college football at Wofford.
The Eskimos arguably made another future pick at No. 6 by taking Laurier receiver Shamawd Chambers, who will attend the Philadelphia Eagles’ mini-camp.
However, the six-foot-three, 219-pound native of Markham, Ont., has breakaway speed and was the fastest player at this year’s CFL evaluation camp. He’s still expected to back in Canada sometime this season.
B.C. completed the opening round by shoring up its offensive line, adding Kirby Fabien, a six-foot-six, 295-pound Calgary native who played for the Calgary Dinos.
There were only seven first-round selections after Winnipeg forfeited its original opening-round pick (seventh overall) by taking receiver Central Michigan receiver Kito Poblah in last year’s supplemental draft.