KRYK: O Canada! 5 Canadians invited to NFL Scouting Combine

With every year, it seems, Canadian players are making a greater impact in the NFL.

It looks like the trend will continue in 2023. On Wednesday, five Canadians were among 319 draft-eligible players invited to the annual NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Feb. 28 to March 6.

All five players comprise the Top 5 of the CFL Scouting Bureau’s updated winter prospect rankings, released two weeks ago.

Namely:

Both Brown brothers, as well as Bergeron, could be taken before the end of Day 2, meaning by the end of Round 3.

There appears a good chance all five might wind up being drafted, and that would break the record for the number of Canadians selected in a single year.

Bear in mind that not all players who attend the NFL combine get drafted, as the number of players annually selected typically ranges from 253 to 262. This year that would mean some 55-70 combine participants will not be drafted.

The 2023 NFL Draft goes April 27-29, while the CFL Draft is slated for May 2.

MICHAEL IRVIN OUT

After conducting nearly all of NFL Network’s podium-by-podium 1-on-1 interviews with players and coaches from both sides at Monday’s media night, Michael Irvin has been benched.

The network told the Dallas Morning News that the Hall of Fame wide receiver with the Dallas Cowboys in the 1990s “will not be a part of NFL Network’s Super Bowl LVII week coverage” any longer, after a woman in Arizona complained about Irvin’s conduct late Sunday night.

It was unclear precisely what behaviour by Irvin prompted the woman’s complaint.

Irvin told the newspaper he disputes the woman’s allegations and is “a bit baffled with it all. This happened in a 45-second conversation in (a hotel) lobby. When I got back after going out (drinking) … I came into the lobby, and I talked to (a woman). I don’t know her … We shook hands. Then I left … It was just a friendly conversation … I am totally perplexed.”

ESPN reported that Glendale, Ariz., police have no knowledge of any incident involving alleged misconduct on Irvin’s behalf.

BLANDINO ON MIXED CREWS

On Tuesday I had a good phone interview with Dean Blandino, the NFL’s VP of officiating from 2013-16, and since then an in-game rules analyst for FOX Sports on both NFL and college telecasts.

The main reason I reached out to Blandino was to address various criticisms and accusations of bias against league officials, particularly in the conference championship games. For instance, the Kansas City Chiefs have had it good in the post-season, because for the 10^th time in 11 home playoff games in the Patrick Mahomes era, the Chiefs were penalized fewer ties than their opponent.

Blandino shed helpful light on other topics too, which I couldn’t wedge into the above piece.

One was on mixed officiating crews. First, as background, how the NFL goes about choosing officials to work the four playoff rounds is complicated, and not entirely reliant on officials’ final regular-season grades.

But one thing I did not know, and I’m betting few in the public are aware, is that it was the officials’ union — the NFL Referees Association (NFLRA) — that insisted on the introduction of mixed crews for postseason games, starting in 2012 with the in-season ratification of a new seven-year collective bargaining agreement with the league.

That amendment remains in the current seven-year CBA, signed in 2020. So unless the refs’ union is on board, there’s no point arguing the NFL should do away with all-star playoff crews.

There have been widespread complaints about the lack of cohesion in these playoffs among mixed crews. To be sure, the final quarter of the Chiefs-Bengals game was a mess. When I asked Blandino whether the league should consider dropping, or amending, the concept of all-star crews, he politely informed me that it’s not the NFL’s decision alone to make, and he furthermore said his preference would be a hybrid:

“Certainly the league will look at that every year, at the post-season crews. But there’s another layer there, and that subject is part of the collective bargaining agreement with the officials union. They bargain for that (mixed playoff crews) as part of their negotiation. They wanted the mixed-crew concept in the playoffs.

“I’ve always looked at it that the cohesion is really important. The cohesion from working together for the entire regular season. You can’t discount that. That’s a positive. But I think there’s the ability to take some of your better officials and put them into the playoffs with some of these crews that work well together through the year, by sprinkling in those highly graded individuals, to put together the best possible crew.”

THE ‘OTHER’ TIGHT END

Look, Philadelphia’s Dallas Goedert has been one of the NFL’s most dangerous, productive tight ends of the past five years. He’s a huge part of Philly’s pass offence this season.

But with Travis Kelce — a sure-fire future Hall-of-Famer — on the opposing team, Goedert understands the spotlight won’t often find him in the days leading up to Super Bowl LVII on Sunday.

“I don’t care if it’s locking or catching the football — or whatever,” he said. “My job is to do my job, and to do it well. I’m excited about that.

“I know that Travis Kelce is the guy who is the all-pro. He’s the best tight end in the game. I know I’m right up there, so it’s going to be fun to show everybody what I can do.”

John Kryk writes a weekly newsletter on NFL matters. That’s where you can first see his straight-up picks each week. You can have the newsletter automatically dropped into your email inbox on Wednesdays simply by signing up — for free — at https://torontosun.com/newsletters/

JoKryk@postmedia.com

@JohnKryk