{"id":674413,"date":"2026-05-16T23:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T23:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/674413\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T23:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T23:44:11","slug":"taits-take-blue-bombers-training-camp-day-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/674413\/","title":{"rendered":"Tait’s Take | Blue Bombers Training Camp Day 7"},"content":{"rendered":"

Training camp provides that proverbial foot-wedged-in-the-door opportunity for some, while serving as a necessary evil for others.<\/p>\n

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are now a week into main training camp \u2014 and one week from their first preseason tune-up next Saturday in Saskatoon against the Saskatchewan Roughriders \u2014 and while the picture is still very fuzzy, some things are starting to emerge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re getting some answers, but it it\u2019s I don\u2019t think you want to be that early to judge,\u201d said Blue Bombers head coach Mike O\u2019Shea. \u201cYou want to let him get the pads on against an opponent that\u2019s really going to bring it and hopefully do that a couple times before you rush ro any judgment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s edition of Tait\u2019s Take looks at some emerging storylines we\u2019ve seen through the first week of training camp, in no particular order\u2026<\/p>\n

THE QBS\u2026 ALWAYS THE QBS<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Taylor Elgersma<\/p>\n

A week of practices \u2014 and the three days of rookie camp before that \u2014 have confirmed what everyone already knew: Zach Collaros is clearly this team\u2019s QB1. It\u2019s what happens behind him, especially in the two preseason games, that will be riveting in the days ahead.<\/p>\n

First week impressions, for what their worth: Canadian rookie Taylor Elgersma has certainly looked the part: big, well-spoken, elite arm strength. We\u2019ll see how all that translates into his first opportunity if it comes this week in Saskatoon \u2014 the QB rotation is still days away from being decided or, at least, announced. After that, Terry Wilson, Bryce Perkins and Payton Thorne have all had their \u2018whoa\u2019 moments \u2014 good and bad and it says here no one has separated themselves from that grouping yet.<\/p>\n

Translation: there\u2019s nothing worse than a premature evaluation and we won\u2019t go there yet on the QBs until we see them against an opponent trying to separate their heads from their shoulders.<\/p>\n

THE DEPTH AT THE LINE OF SCRIMMAGE IS IMPRESSIVE<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tyler Elsbury (centre)<\/p>\n

One of the areas the club addressed significantly in free agency was adding a veteran presence on both the offensive and defensive lines with the signings of Jarell Broxton and Jake Ceresna. They\u2019ve already been every bit as advertised. Yet, it\u2019s the other new faces on the O and D lines who could make the roster cutdown decisions nightmarish for the coaching staff.<\/p>\n

De\u2019Shaan Dixon has had an excellent camp and is getting a lot of looks opposite Willie Jefferson at defensive end, but so, too has Kydran Jenkins and Kemari Munier-Bailey. Tackles Michael Fletcher and Arnold Young have also flashed.<\/p>\n

What happens along the offensive line will just be as riveting a subplot in the days ahead. Lock in Broxton and Stanley Bryant at the tackles, and Pat Neufeld \u2014 who did miss Saturday \u2014 along with centre Tui Eli and guard Gabe Wallace have had most of the reps in front of Collaros. Still, having said that, the import OL talent here is deep, including Kendall Randolph and Micah Vanterpool from last year along with Tyler Elsbury, Micah Mazzccua, Bucky Williams and Hunter Poncius. Just to further complicate this picture, Wallace \u2014 the big guard \u2014 looked very comfortable on Saturday lining up at left tackle.<\/p>\n

ADDING TOMMY AND TIM TO THE RECEIVING CORPS = WISE MOVE<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tim White<\/p>\n

Tommy Nield and Tim White are two other free-agent editions who are who we thought they were \u2014 Nield as a big, reliable target; White as a consistent big-play threat. Couple their arrivals with how new offensive coordinator Tommy Condell might use them in the attack and the Blue Bombers offence might have the explosive parts it missed for much of last year.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Shea when asked about those two on Saturday by Jeff Hamilton of The Canadian Press\/Free Press:<\/p>\n

On Nield: \u201cHe can do a lot of different things. He\u2019s proved that he\u2019s very intelligent and can know all the spots so he\u2019s versatile, he\u2019s a plug-and-play guy. You can put him in a spot, and he\u2019ll understand all the concepts and the entire offence. Willing blocker. Clutch catch guy. He will be in the right place at the right time for the quarterbacks. He\u2019s going to be very trustworthy. And all he\u2019s done is win.\u201d<\/p>\n

On White: \u201cUltra-competitive, unbelievable athlete. He\u2019s done a lot of different things athletically. Serious about his craft \u2014 you look at all the things he\u2019s accomplished in different sports, and you\u2019ve got to take your preparation very seriously to do all that stuff.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to it. It reminds me a little bit of being able to get Mike Miller when we did \u2014 you get a guy who was a prolific tackler and all of a sudden, he\u2019s available. So, we get a guy who is a very accomplished receiver and all of a sudden, he\u2019s available. It\u2019s good for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

THE TOP TWO 2026 CFL CANADIAN DRAFT PICKS ARE WORKS IN PROGRESS<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Dante Daniels (73)<\/p>\n

First-round pick Nuer Gatkuoth arrived just a few days ago, so he\u2019s still getting his bearings. You can see his speed coming off the edge and he will give the club some options at the defensive end spot in certain packages. Yet, he is very much still a blank canvas.<\/p>\n

Dante Daniels, the 6-6\/272-pound tight end, could very well be that \u2018unicorn\u2019 the Blue Bombers were touting when they moved up three spots to get him at the top of the second round. He does have a good set of mitts and is solid in run blocking and his pass protection has shown improvement over 10 days, including rookie camp. He\u2019ll likely get some reps in the tight end\/fullback packages and, like Gatkuoth, is very much a work in progress.<\/p>\n

INCREASED ROLES FOR WOODBEY\/GRIFFIN II<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Michael Griffin II<\/p>\n

Jordan Younger\u2019s defence has always been a fascinating watch, given how much the Blue Bombers defensive coordinator moves his personnel around the field like pieces on a chess board. It\u2019s early \u2014 waaaaay too early \u2014 but both Jaiden Woodbey and Michael Griffin II are getting more work in the club\u2019s defence. Both are intriguing defensive back\/linebacker types big enough to get grimy at the line of scrimmage and quick enough to cover in pass coverage.<\/p>\n

Veteran corner Jonathan Moxey also looks comfortable at corner and with him missing the last couple of days due to a knock, the club is taking a long look at Warren Burrell and Ridge Texada at the two cornerback spots, with both of them scrapping for a starting gig.<\/p>\n

ICYMI: We recorded our latest \u2018Handled Internally\u2019 podcast this week, with Sergio Castillo joining myself and co-hosts Darren Cameron and Zach Collaros. You can check it out here:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

NEXT: Sunday\u2019 training camp practice runs from 8:30-11:35 a.m. and are open to the public.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Training camp provides that proverbial foot-wedged-in-the-door opportunity for some, while serving as a necessary evil for others. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":674414,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194296],"tags":[49,48,22073],"class_list":["post-674413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-winnipeg","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-winnipeg"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=674413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/674413\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/674414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=674413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=674413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=674413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}