1st & 10 | The Power of 4

[ModAdmin]

1st & 10 | The Power of 4

Ed Tait
@EdTaitWFC

Just a few doors down the hallway from our little content creation bunker here at Princess Auto Stadium is the office of Winnipeg Blue Bombers GM Kyle Walters and earlier this week the long-serving boss of the club could be heard in a deep draft-related conversation.

One more door over is where Director of Football Operations Matt Gulakow resides and he, too, was doing his thing to help the club prepare for the Canadian Football League Draft and Global Draft, which go later this month on Tuesday, April 28th and Wednesday, April 29th, respectively.

So, while CFL news might be at a trickle in this period between the draft and the opening of rookie camp on May 6th and main camp on May 10th, right now all across the league teams are scrambling to put together their draft rankings lists — including the Blue Bombers, who will be especially busy with nine selections in total, including the fourth overall pick and four in the top 24.

We'll have a much more comprehensive CFL Draft primer in the weeks ahead, but in the meantime your humble agent tumbled deep down a rabbit hole over the last few days in an examination of this team's history of the fourth overall selection and what that might yield the organization as it looks to augment its Canadian talent — if it hangs on to that spot and doesn't trade out of it.

So, it's with that serving as the backdrop — The Power of 4, if you will — we present the latest edition of 1st & 10...

WITH THE FOURTH PICK...

Since 1956 the Blue Bombers have had the fourth overall selection four times. The yield:

1994 — Ryan Carey, DB, Acadia — Appeared in 29 games for the club in his first two seasons — 1994 and 1995 — before spending the next three seasons with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He played in 64 games in his career with two starts, both with the Riders.

After retirement Carey joined the Canadian Armed Forces and served in Afghanistan from 2006-07 and took part in Operation Medusa, the country's largest combat operation in more than 50 years. This story outlines Carey's military service, including his unit being attacked in the offensive and the death of four soldiers under his command. Carey is now a retired former captain and has worked with Guitars for Vets, Soldier on and has participated in the Invictus Games, including serving as Canada's flag bearer when the event was held in Toronto in 2017.

1996 — Andrew Henry, DB, C.W. Post — Henry suited up for 13 games as a rookie for the Blue Bombers in 1996 and six more in 1997 before moving on to Saskatchewan (1997, 2000), Toronto (1999-2000) and Edmonton (2001). He started six games in his career, all with the Roughriders in 2000 and is now a pastor at Wisdom & Life Apostolic Church in Pointe Claire, Que.

2011 — Jade Etienne, WR, Saskatchewan — The Blue Bombers had two of the top four picks in 2011, selecting St. Francis Xavier Henoc Muamba first overall and then Etienne, a receiver, at fourth overall. Etienne played in 45 games for the club from 2011-13, including 11 starts in his final year. He is now a professional photographer in the Okanagan region of B.C.

2019 — Drew Desjarlais, OL, Windsor — Winnipeg loved the work of the big mauler up front and he started 10 games as a rookie and 24 of his 32 games in Blue Bombers colours — including a pair of Grey Cup wins — before signing a big free agent deal in Ottawa. He's spent the last three years with the Redblacks and has started 72 of his career 81 games while being considered one of the best guards in the league.

More of the article is here...

https://www.bluebombers.com/2026/04/09/1st-10-the-power-of-4/

[Tecno]

Desjar was one of the best drafts in the last decade.  We another score like that, better still with another OL.  Too bad we couldn't keep him.  We probably win that '22 cup (at minimum) if he stayed.

(Why isn't Desjar's '22 season shown in the cfl.ca player page?  Did he try the NFL or have a full-IR season?? Memory is failing me...)

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

Desjar was one of the best drafts in the last decade.  We another score like that, better still with another OL.  Too bad we couldn't keep him.  We probably win that '22 cup (at minimum) if he stayed.

(Why isn't Desjar's '22 season shown in the cfl.ca player page?  Did he try the NFL or have a full-IR season?? Memory is failing me...)

Yes, he went to the NFL and stuck for at least a year.

[blue_gold_84]

Yes, he went to the NFL and stuck for at least a year.

IIRC, he bounced around with the Patriots and the Saints that year.

[Throw Long Bannatyne]

IIRC, he bounced around with the Patriots and the Saints that year.

Can't tell for sure but looks like he spent most of 2022 on the Saints PR, so at least he got paid.