Lions' offseason depth chart

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B.C.FAN
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It’s been an upside down year. The Lions were supposed to be in rookie camp in Kamloops now, with full training camp originally scheduled to open this Sunday. That would usually be when we would get our first glimpse of the team’s projected depth chart. This year, however, we don’t know when or if there will be a training camp or a season. But that hasn't stopped cfl.ca from posting unofficial depth charts for each team, and in B.C.’s case it’s pretty accurate.

The cfl.ca depth chart doesn’t include 2020 draft picks. First overall draft choice Jordan Williams was expected to compete for a starting linebacker position and Nathan Rourke was expected to push Will Arndt for the backup QB position.

Otherwise, though, the main unanswered question about the starting lineup on offence was whether veteran American Phillip Norman would retain the starting centre position ahead of an apparently healthy Canadian Peter Godber. The cfl.ca depth chart has Norman listed ahead of Godber, which is probably fair until Godber proves otherwise. That gives the Lions only two national starters on the offensive line (guards Sukh Chungh and Hunter Steward) and a total of five national starters on offence (including receivers Lemar Durant, Shaq Johnson and Jevon Cottoy, who shares reps with fullback David Mackie).

On defence, the cfl.ca depth chart lists Jordan Herdman-Reed and Isaiah Guzylak-Messam as two starting national linebackers and free agent Derek Jones as a national safety. Guzylak-Messam spent time at weakside linebacker and safety last year and may ultimately be more suited to the safety position, especially if Williams starts at linebacker. The four starting American DBs are a near lock if healthy: Garry Peters, Aaron Grymes, T.J. Lee and Victor Gamboa.

If there were a training camp next week, I'd be watching those positions, along with the battle among high-profile American free agents for spots on the defensive line. I hope we still get to see all of these battles play out at some point this year.

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cms22
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BC Fan, thanks for starting this thread. very interesting :)

i count one national starter on the oline. and that's sukh chung who had injury issues last year........ i've seldom seen a team go with 2 nationals on oline, let alone 1.

so we go heavy on national wr and lb........ wr is fine. although we need to find a new no-name import WR.... linebacker i'm not sure. and we'll see how deep safety works out (probably low risk)
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B.C.FAN
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cms22 wrote:
Wed May 20, 2020 12:02 pm
BC Fan, thanks for starting this thread. very interesting :)

i count one national starter on the oline. and that's sukh chung who had injury issues last year........ i've seldom seen a team go with 2 nationals on oline, let alone 1.

so we go heavy on national wr and lb........ wr is fine. although we need to find a new no-name import WR.... linebacker i'm not sure. and we'll see how deep safety works out (probably low risk)
The cfl.ca depth chart mistakenly classifies Hunter Steward as an American. There are two national starters at guard (Steward and Chungh), and that is unlikely to change. I hope Peter Godber gets to start at centre. Phillip Norman is talented and versatile enough to earn a paycheque somehow as a reserve American lineman.

The Lions have so many veteran national linebackers on their roster that they have to start at least one. If all goes well, I would expect to see Jordan Williams at middle linebacker with one of the veteran nationals in the WILL spot.
CrazyCanuck89
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Wed May 20, 2020 1:46 pm
cms22 wrote:
Wed May 20, 2020 12:02 pm
BC Fan, thanks for starting this thread. very interesting :)

i count one national starter on the oline. and that's sukh chung who had injury issues last year........ i've seldom seen a team go with 2 nationals on oline, let alone 1.

so we go heavy on national wr and lb........ wr is fine. although we need to find a new no-name import WR.... linebacker i'm not sure. and we'll see how deep safety works out (probably low risk)
The cfl.ca depth chart mistakenly classifies Hunter Steward as an American. There are two national starters at guard (Steward and Chungh), and that is unlikely to change. I hope Peter Godber gets to start at centre. Phillip Norman is talented and versatile enough to earn a paycheque somehow as a reserve American lineman.

The Lions have so many veteran national linebackers on their roster that they have to start at least one. If all goes well, I would expect to see Jordan Williams at middle linebacker with one of the veteran nationals in the WILL spot.
I think Herdman at MLB and Williams at WLB.
cms22
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thx for the correct on the oline re: 2 nat starters.

a bit torn on herdman as a starter at MLB,

1) on one hand, i don't consider MLB a key position in a 3-down passing league

2) our LB's seemed to be a mess last year until we went away from so many canadian starters. i also remember herdman recording a really poor 40 time at the CFL combine.

i don't have confidence in hervey doing anything creative........ we are well positioned to go 3 wr, 2/3 oline, 1 deep safety (not sure about this) on national's. then find 1 more if necessary. and of course williams might be excellent at LB so then we'd be set.

how hard is deep safety to fill with natonal?
Murdoch
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cms22 wrote:
Fri May 22, 2020 12:40 pm
how hard is deep safety to fill with natonal?
Wishing Derek Jones the best but for whatever reason he never met expectations as a starter in Winnipeg. Played field corner a bit a few years back and is good on special teams. Jeff Hecht played ahead of Jones last year. Taylor Loffler would be nice if they could swing a deal to bring him home.

Brandon Dozier is still young and would be my choice if the possibility existed. Ladler?

Chandler Fenner was a bit of a free agent bust in Wpg mostly because they played him out of position at corner imo. International and coming off a big contract. Still young.

Also hoping for Joey Augustin to get a chance. Caleb Holley might stand in his path though. Burnham and Rhymes are locks.

Still think they paid a lot for Lamar Durant.
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IMO, the two starting LBs will be Williams and Haynes, If they go with 3 CDN receivers and 3 CDNs on the O line, then the Lions can go with Williams as the only starting CDN on D.
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B.C.FAN
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DanoT wrote:
Sat May 23, 2020 9:03 am
IMO, the two starting LBs will be Williams and Haynes, If they go with 3 CDN receivers and 3 CDNs on the O line, then the Lions can go with Williams as the only starting CDN on D.
I’d love to see Williams and Haynes start at linebacker. They are both fast and aggressive. The Lions would need to find at least one more national starter, either Guzylak-Messam at safety or Godber at centre.
cms22
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thanks for the great responses :)

3 and 3 on offense and then a deep safety would be awesome if we can do it.

i'm thinking every team in the league almost every year is 3 oline, 2+ wr........ interior d'line is an area where some teams have started going national. i know of hamilton. think there are others.
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Bear in mind every team had five moves they didn't do because of the shutdown. Once they get a date to start signings will start to happen.

For me with BC, Mike Reilly is the guy who needs to lead an improvement in the win / loss column. That is why he is there. Not saying he is not good. He is paid to be good.
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David
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Riders have been quite active in signing players recently, most notably ex-NFLer (and Eskimo) Deon Lacey so they must know something we all don't. :wink:

I really hope we get some games here in Vancouver. Regina and Winnipeg do not need any more CFL exposure. Vancouver does. I know games will most likely be played without fans, but there will still be more league attention if played here. We always seem to get shafted when it comes to CFL events (other than Grey Cups). No rivalry games, Hall of Fame games, Fan Fest, (last one went to Winnipeg) combines, and drafts.

Stand-out national safeties have been our Achilles heel since Barron Miles retired. J.R. LaRose was the best of the bunch but couldn't catch a cold. There also been Tad Crawford, Keynan Parker, Cauchy Muamba, Anthony Thompson...it's been really hard for us to find top-level National safeties here. I am hoping we have some success converting Guzylak-Messam. Also, forget about Taylor Loffler. I'd love to see him here but we can't afford him.


DH :cool:
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Murdoch
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My guess is they take a look at Kevin Francis as a safety.
OV - 54:40
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7 only NIs need apply for starter jobs will likely be (IMO) - 3 interior O-linemen + 2 receivers; then 2 needed on D - Herdman at MLB with Konar at OLB (with draft pick Williams maybe able to take either job); or maybe one LB with a Canadian at safety (should have drafted a good prospect there to compete IMO)
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OV - 54:40 wrote:
Mon Jun 08, 2020 7:56 pm
7 only NIs need apply for starter jobs will likely be (IMO) - 3 interior O-linemen + 2 receivers; then 2 needed on D - Herdman at MLB with Konar at OLB (with draft pick Williams maybe able to take either job); or maybe one LB with a Canadian at safety (should have drafted a good prospect there to compete IMO)
3rd time lucky for Herdman? He's been given the starting MLB job twice now under 2 different HCs and 2 different DCs and been unable to hang onto it. Maybe Campbell will see something different that Buono, Washington, Claybrooks and Stubler didn't see. MLB will be Williams job to lose in camp.

Konar I don't trust to stay healthy long enough to be considered a reliable starter. I think he's found his niche as a special teams leader who can chip in a few rotational reps on D or fill in for a mid-game injury similar to what Paris Jackson did in his final couple of years for Wally on offense. Last year Konar finally held it together for a full season. I think a big factor in that was the reduced workload with him being relegated primarily to special teams with only occasional defensive reps. I think he will remain backup to Guzylak-Messam, whom you never seem to mention, unless Campbell has other ideas for IGM.
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B.C.FAN
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Herdman and Konar were not starters on a weak linebacking corps last year. They won’t start this year but can be key contributors on special teams. Williams and Guzylak-Messam will be the two national starters on defence. The only question is whether IGM starts at weakside linebacker or safety.
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