2019 CFL–LFA Draft

General information
Sport| Canadian football
Date(s)| January 14, 2019[1]
Time| 10:00 am CST
Location| Mexico City
Overview
27 total selections in 3 rounds
First selection| Diego Viamontes, WR, Edmonton Eskimos

The 2019 CFL–LFA Draft took place on January 14, 2019.[2][1] 27 players were chosen from an invited pool of 51 Mexican players: 34 from the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA) (a professional American football league) and 17 seniors from Mexican university teams.[3]

## Background[edit]

In October 2018, Canadian Football League commissioner Randy Ambrosie outlined a plan to grow the CFL's presence, which he dubbed CFL 2.0, including growth internationally.[4] In November 2018, the LFA signed a non-binding Letter of Intent with the CFL to share resources and to allow for at least one CFL game to be played in Mexico,[5] as wells as lay the ground work for special Mexican-specific editions of the CFL Combine and CFL Draft.

On January 11, 2019, 51 players from the LFA and Mexican college ranks were announced as participants in a combine to beheld on January 13 and a 27-player draft to be held on January 14, 2019.[1] Each CFL team sent scouts and were reported to likely receive four picks.[1] Consensus after the combine was that 6-18 players were of (or could be made into) CFL camp caliber, but that a majority of players had no professional potential.[6] This led to criticism of commissioner Ambrosie for spending time and resources on this additional draft, when a collective bargaining agreement with the CFLPA still had not been reached.[7] Originally, there were plans for a 4-round 36-player draft but, after the combine and interviews, was scaled back to a 3-round, 27-player draft.[8] BC Lions General Manager Ed Hervey was reported to have, "settled for athletic and the ability to speak English" in player evaluations.[9] It was not reported if drafted players would count towards a team's National or International slots.[10]

On January 12, 2019, the LFA held their own domestic 66-player draft in advance of the CFL's draft.[11]

## Selection order[edit]

Unlike the normal CFL Draft, which sets selection order based on a team's record the previous season (similar to the NFL Draft), the CFL–LFA draft instead used a weighted lottery system where teams receive more balls in a selection bin depending on their record, with more balls increasing the chance at a higher draft priority (similar to the NBA draft).[1] The draft order was set the night before the draft:[12] The Edmonton Eskimos received the first pick, despite Edmonton's general manager and head coach both skipping the combine and draft process, sending a subordinate instead. Edmonton GM Brock Sunderland in particular was largely dismissive of the entire process.[13]

Pick # | CFL Team | Lottery weight
(% chance for 1st pick)

|
|

1 | Edmonton Eskimos | 6/45 (13.3%)
2 | Ottawa Redblacks | 2/45 (4.4%)
3 | Montreal Alouettes | 8/45 (17.8%)
4 | Toronto Argonauts | 9/45 (20%)
5 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 7/45 (15.6%)
6 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 3/45 (6.7%)
7 | BC Lions | 5/45 (11.1%)
8 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 4/45 (8.9%)
9 | Calgary Stampeders | 1/45 (2.2%)

## Selections[edit]

### Round one[edit]

Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | College/LFA team

|
|
|
|

1 | Edmonton Eskimos | Diego Viamontes | WR | Mayas CDMX
2 | Ottawa Redblacks | José Carlos Maltos | K | Fundidores de Monterrey
3 | Montreal Alouettes | Enrique Yenny | K | ITESM Toluca
4 | Toronto Argonauts | Uriel Martínez | DE | UANL
5 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | José Humberto Noriega Montiel | WR | Artilleros de Puebla
6 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | René Brassea | OL | Fundidores de Monterrey
7 | BC Lions | Octavio González | DL | Fundidores de Monterrey
8 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | Sergio Schiaffino | DB | Dinos de Saltillo
9 | Calgary Stampeders | Andrés Salgado | WR | Condors CDMX

### Round two[edit]

Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | College/LFA team

|
|
|
|

10 | Edmonton Eskimos | Daniel Carrete | LB | Dinos de Saltillo
11 | Ottawa Redblacks | Guillermo Villalobos | WR | Mexicas de la Ciudad de México
12 | Montreal Alouettes | Diego Rojas Kuhlmann | OL | ITESM Toluca
13 | Toronto Argonauts | David Casarrubias | DE | UANM
14 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | Omar Cojolum | RB | Mayas CDMX
15 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | Carlos Sebastián Olvera Rivas | WR | UDLAP
16 | BC Lions | Fernando Richarte | WR | Dinos de Saltillo
17 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | Manuel Eduardo Hernández Reyes | S | UDLAP
18 | Calgary Stampeders | Oscar Hugo Silva Reta | K | Dinos de Saltillo

### Round three[edit]

Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | College/LFA team

|
|
|
|

19 | Edmonton Eskimos | Jose Alfonsin Romero | DB | Artilleros de Puebla
20 | Ottawa Redblacks | Maximiliano Soto Esquer | DE | ITESM Monterrey
21 | Montreal Alouettes | Juan Manuel Márquez Tamayo | CB | UDLAP
22 | Toronto Argonauts | Christian Alejandro Hernández Delgado | LB | Fundidores de Monterrey
23 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | Luis Humberto López Tinoco | RB | Condors CDMX
24 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | Francisco Javier García Ramírez | CB | Fundidores de Monterrey
25 | BC Lions | Gerardo Álvarez | WR | Dinos de Saltillo
26 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | Gabriel Amavizca | K | BUAP
27 | Calgary Stampeders | Guillermo Caldéron Leal | DT | UDLAP

## See also[edit]

* 2019 CFL Draft
* 2019 European CFL Draft

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e Dan Barnes (January 11, 2019). "'FUN ELEMENT': CFL set for inaugural draft of Mexican talent".
2. ^ "Mexico's top talent selected at CFL-LFA Draft". cfl.ca. January 14, 2019.
3. ^ "CFL combine, draft in Mexico 'important first step' to expand brand". Toronto Sun. 11 January 2019.
4. ^ "Randy's Word: Talking CFL 2.0". 3 October 2018.
5. ^ "CFL, LFA sign letter of intent to grow football in Canada and Mexico". Retrieved 2018-11-23.
6. ^ Naylor, David William (13 January 2019). "Consensus from talking to CFL coaches and GM's at Mexico City combine: of the 50 players here, roughly a half-dozen would not look out of place in a CFL camp, another dozen could be developed into camp-worthy players and roughly 30 have no CFL pro potential. #CFL".
7. ^ Edwards, Drew. "Mexican combine produces six players who 'would not look out of place in a CFL camp' - 3DownNation".
8. ^ Barnes, Dan (13 January 2019). "The original thought was to have a two-round draft in Mexico, then perhaps a four-round affair to choose top prospects and long-term projects but it was dependent on talent. CFL personnel decided on three rounds. Happy medium".
9. ^ "Mexican combine, CBA talks make for unusual off-season: Lions' Hervey - The Province". 17 January 2019.
10. ^ Hodge, John. "Logistics following LFA draft a problem for CFL - 3DownNation".
11. ^ "Mexico: Liga de Futbol Americano Professional holds 2019 Draft". American Football International. 13 January 2019.
12. ^ Barnes, Dan (13 January 2019). "Full draft order: EDMONTON, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, Sask., BC, Winnipeg, Calgary".
13. ^ Edwards, Drew. "Brock Sunderland finally said what we've all been thinking about the CFL in Mexico - 3DownNation".

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Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional

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