Toronto Argonauts: Richards and O’Connor highlight intriguing CFL draft

The Toronto Argonauts made a big statement taking Shane Richards while making some history with Michael O’Connor during the CFL draft.

The last time the Toronto Argonauts drafted a player first overall in the CFL draft was back in 1997 when they took centre Chad Folk and they went a similar route this time around.

Going into the 2019 draft, there wasn’t a consensus of who the Argos were going to pick until earlier that day word got out that the team would be taking Shane Richards. The six-foot-eight, 334-pound offensive lineman from Oklahoma State was one of the top prospects heading into the draft and was easily going to be taken in the top five.

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A big bonus for the Argos was getting Richards to sign a contract at the draft party, a two-year deal with a third-year option as well. Toronto could have easily looked at Mathieu Betts who went third overall to the Edmonton Eskimos but also signed an undrafted NFL priority contract with the Chicago Bears.

Now Richards isn’t expected to play right away and that’s not a problem for the Argos who have a strong Canadian presence on their offensive line and veterans like Chris Van Zeyl and Sean McEwen who will be strong mentors for the Calgary native.

In the second round, Toronto took defensive lineman Robbie Smith from Wilfrid Laurier University, a Brampton native who received a minicamp invitation from the New York Giants. He impressed a lot at the CFL combine with 23 reps on the bench press and ran a 4.78.

They also went with defensive back Matthew Boateng from Fresno State to round out the second round. A smaller player who ran a 4.38 forty-yard dash according to 3downnation. 

With their third-round pick, the Argos did something few teams have done in the CFL, draft a quarterback within the first three rounds of the draft. He became the highest drafted QB since Jesse Palmer was taken 15th overall by the Montreal Alouettes in 2001.

There was a lot of intrigue with Michael O’Connor heading into the 2018 season and the Argos got a look at that when he was a part of the team’s training camp last year. He had 2,701 yards, 14 touchdowns and four interceptions for the UBC Thunderbirds and was the MVP of the Vanier Cup in 2015.

With Brandon Bridge and Noah Picton on the roster, the Argos could potentially benefit from any future where a Canadian QB is a part of the ratio. This is a player who has spent time at both Canadian and U.S. colleges and it will be interesting to see how he fits into the Argos future.

Toronto also selected Kurleigh Gittens Jr., Maurice Simba, Jamie Harry, Joe Spaziani, Phil Iloki, Eric Starczala to round out their 10 draft picks.