Toronto Argonauts: Why Dejon Brissett is an intriguing pick
By Alex Taylor
Like they did with most of their selections, the Toronto Argonauts drafted a local boy with the second overall pick in Dejon Brissett.
The Toronto Argonauts held three of the first 11 picks in the 2020 CFL Draft, an opportunity for general manager Pinball Clemons and new head coach Ryan Dinwiddie to truly begin forming their new-look roster.
For one brief night, Canadian sports fans were given a sense of normalcy. The draft went off Thursday night on TSN, hosted virtually just as its southern counterpart did a week before.
Fans of the Canadian game were not disappointed – there was a definitive Canadian taste to Toronto’s picks, keeping with the tradition set the past few drafts. Six of the seven picks played their University ball in Canada, and the sole one who didn’t was Mississauga, Ont., native Dejon Brissett.
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The Argos selected Brissett with the second overall pick in the 2020 draft, snagging the top receiver in this year’s crop according to the CFL’s mock draft.
The mocks had Brissett going to the Tiger-Cats with the fifth pick, and you have to wonder if the selection wasn’t appealing to the Argos brass for two reasons– to bolster the team, and stop your rival from getting a key player.
Many expected the Argonauts to take an offensive lineman in the first round, (something they ended up doing with the ninth pick), but they instead gave Matt Nichols a much-needed boost in the receiving core, in a summer that saw the boatmen lose Armanti Edwards, Derel Walker and S.J. Green this off-season.
Those three were the Argos only 1,000-yard receivers, meaning Dinwiddie and co. have inherited a huge hole in the passing game.
Brissett should help with that.
He spent four years at the University of Richmond, where he produced at a 2.6 completions a game clip, amassing 1,282 yards in his four seasons.
He transferred after an injury-plagued fourth year to the University of Virginia, where he and the Cavaliers won the ACC Coastal division, before losing to Clemson in the ACC Championship game.
While Brissett struggled to fit in at Virginia, the move allowed him to play in one of the best conferences in college football, and his 12 games played this past season prove he can hang with a power-five receiving core – even after missing an entire season due to injury.
His local routes will give him something in common with fellow teammates Natey Adjei and Juwan Brescascin, two other Argonaut receivers who grew up in the GTA. And his Canadian pedigree means there won’t be the customary learning curve that usually accompanies an NCAA alum CFL draft pick, where they need to learn the intricacies of the Canadian game.
All in all, it was a pretty solid pick, something the fanbase deserves after the tumultuous 2018 and 2019 campaigns.
We still don’t know if there will be a CFL season this year, but with their picks on Thursday night, Clemons and Dinwiddie assured that whenever they do return to the field, the Toronto Argonauts will have some much-needed new blood in the offensive game.
Whenever they get back on the field– this group should be fun to watch.
dark. Next. A note on each Argos' pick from the 2020 CFL Draft
What did you think about Brissett being the Argos’ pick at second overall? Are you excited about what he can do this season? Let us know in the comments below.