2021 CFL Draft

The 2021 CFL Draft is scheduled to take place in the spring of 2021. 54 players will be chosen from among eligible players from Canadian universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA.[1] Unlike previous drafts, where the selection order was determined by the previous year's standings, this year's draft order was determined by a random draw.[2][3]

2021 CFL Draft
General information
SportCanadian football
LocationToronto
Network(s)TSN/RDS
Overview
54 total selections in 6 rounds
LeagueCFL
Most selections (7)Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Toronto Argonauts
Fewest selections (5)Montreal Alouettes
BC Lions

Format changes

Due to the cancellation of the 2020 CFL season as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the 2021 CFL Draft underwent several changes. Since there was no previous season and standings, the draft order was a random draw with all nine teams having the same odds of being drawn.[2][4] Every even-numbered round is in the reverse order of the odd-numbered rounds to balance the randomness of the draft order.[2] The number of rounds in the draft decreased from eight to six due to the large number of rookies that will be present in camps (those from the 2020 CFL Draft class).[2][4] To accommodate that change, and due to U Sports and some NCAA programs not playing in 2020, eligible 2021 draftees were able to defer their draft years to 2022.[2][4][5] Following the November 30, 2020 deadline, 132 U Sports players opted out of the 2021 Draft, which substantially reduced the available players this year.[5][6] This led to speculation that NCAA redshirt juniors could be included in the draft to add more talent available this year which would also balance out the massive influx of players in 2022.[5] This was confirmed when the league released the winter player rankings on January 20, 2021.[6]

Further to those changes, there will be no territorial selections in 2021, after featuring them in the previous two drafts.[2][7]

Unrelated to COVID-19 changes, beginning with this year's draft, any American or Global player that played football for a minimum of three years at a U Sports institution and graduated with a degree at that institution would qualify as a National player and be eligible for this year's draft.[8]

Top prospects
Source: CFL Scouting Bureau rankings.[6]
Spring
Ranking		 Winter
Ranking[6]		 Fall
Ranking[9]		 Player Position University Hometown
– 1 1 Alaric Jackson Offensive lineman Iowa Windsor, ON
– 2 4 Josh Palmer Receiver Tennessee Brampton, ON
– 3 – Chuba Hubbard Running back Oklahoma State Sherwood Park, AB
– 4 2 Amen Ogbongbemiga Linebacker Oklahoma State Calgary, AB
– 5 – Jevon Holland Defensive back Oregon Ducks Coquitlam, BC
– 6 3 Terrell Jana Receiver Virginia Vancouver, BC
– 7 5 Liam Dobson Offensive lineman Maine Ottawa, ON
– 8 6 Sage Doxtater Offensive lineman New Mexico State Welland, ON
– 9 7 Daniel Joseph Defensive lineman North Carolina State Toronto, ON
– 10 11 Pier-Olivier Lestage Offensive lineman Montreal Saint-Eustache, QC
– 11 – Benjamin St-Juste Defensive back Minnesota Montreal, QC
– 12 10 Alonzo Addae Defensive back West Virginia Pickering, ON
– 13 8 Patrice Rene Defensive back North Carolina Ottawa, ON
– 14 9 Deshawn Stevens Linebacker Maine Toronto, ON
– 15 – Mohamed Diallo Defensive lineman Central Michigan Toronto, ON
– 16 12 Logan Bandy Offensive lineman Calgary Calgary, AB
– 17 13 Deane Leonard Defensive back Mississippi Calgary, AB
– 18 15 Luiji Vilain Defensive lineman Michigan Ottawa, ON
– 19 14 Nelson Lokombo Defensive back Saskatchewan Abbotsford, BC
– 20 – Bryce Bell Offensive lineman Wilfrid Laurier Waterloo, ON
– – 16 Ben Hladik Linebacker British Columbia Vernon, BC
– – 17 Bruno Labelle Tight end Cincinnati Montreal, QC
– – 18 Tyris Lebeau Linebacker Massachusetts Montreal, QC
– – 19 Grant McDonald Linebacker Calgary Tsawwassen, BC
– – 20 Nick Cross Linebacker British Columbia Regina, SK

Trades

In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft.

Round one

Round four

Round five
  • Toronto → Calgary (PD). Toronto traded this selection and a third-round pick in the 2021 CFL Global Draft to Calgary in exchange for a sixth-round pick in this year's draft, a fourth-round pick in the 2021 CFL Global Draft, and the rights to Eric Rogers, Cordarro Law, and Robertson Daniel.[trade 3]

Round six
  • Winnipeg ←→ Toronto (PD). Winnipeg traded the 52nd overall selection and the playing rights to Cody Speller to Toronto in exchange for the 48th overall selection.[trade 4]
  • Calgary → Toronto (PD). Calgary traded this selection, a fourth-round pick in the 2021 CFL Global Draft, and the rights to Eric Rogers, Cordarro Law, and Robertson Daniel to Toronto in exchange for a fifth-round pick in this year's draft and a third-round pick in the 2021 CFL Global Draft.[trade 3]

Draft order

Round one
Pick #CFL TeamPlayerPositionUniversity
1Hamilton Tiger-Cats
2Saskatchewan Roughriders
3Winnipeg Blue Bombers
4BC Lions
5Edmonton Football Team
6Ottawa Redblacks
7Toronto Argonauts
8Calgary Stampeders
9Hamilton Tiger-Cats (via Montreal[trade 1])

Round two
Pick #CFL TeamPlayerPositionUniversity
10Montreal Alouettes
11Calgary Stampeders
12Toronto Argonauts
13Ottawa Redblacks
14Edmonton Football Team
15BC Lions
16Winnipeg Blue Bombers
17Saskatchewan Roughriders
18Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Round three
Pick #CFL TeamPlayerPositionUniversity
19Hamilton Tiger-Cats
20Saskatchewan Roughriders
21Winnipeg Blue Bombers
22BC Lions
23Edmonton Football Team
24Ottawa Redblacks
25Toronto Argonauts
26Calgary Stampeders
27Montreal Alouettes

Round four
Pick #CFL TeamPlayerPositionUniversity
28Montreal Alouettes
29Calgary Stampeders
30Toronto Argonauts
31Ottawa Redblacks
32Edmonton Football Team
33Toronto Argonauts (via BC[trade 2])
34Winnipeg Blue Bombers
35Saskatchewan Roughriders
36Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Round five
Pick #CFL TeamPlayerPositionUniversity
37Hamilton Tiger-Cats
38Saskatchewan Roughriders
39Winnipeg Blue Bombers
40BC Lions
41Edmonton Football Team
42Ottawa Redblacks
43Calgary Stampeders (via Toronto[trade 3])
44Calgary Stampeders
45Montreal Alouettes

Round six
Pick #CFL TeamPlayerPositionUniversity
46Montreal Alouettes
47Toronto Argonauts (via Calgary[trade 3])
48Winnipeg Blue Bombers (via Toronto[trade 4])
49Ottawa Redblacks
50Edmonton Football Team
51BC Lions
52Toronto Argonauts (via Winnipeg[trade 4])
53Saskatchewan Roughriders
54Hamilton Tiger-Cats

References

Trade references

  1. "Als acquire Johnny Manziel in blockbuster deal". CFL.ca. July 22, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  2. "Lions acquire Shawn Lemon, Argos land all-star Davon Coleman in trade". CFL.ca. August 12, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  3. "Argos acquire rights to three, including Rogers, in trade with Stamps". Canadian Football League. January 31, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  4. "Argos acquire Speller in trade with Bombers". CFL.ca. January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.

General references

  1. "Canadian Football League expands draft to eight rounds". Canadian Football League. May 4, 2016.
  2. "2021 CFL Draft to feature some significant changes". CFL.ca. November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  3. "Ti-Cats snag first selection as CFL reveals 2021 order". CFL.ca. November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  4. "CFL making changes to draft". TSN. November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  5. Hodge, John (December 8, 2020). "CFL may keep all NCAA players in 2021 CFL draft after 132 U Sports players opt out". 3DownNation.
  6. "Alaric Jackson tops winter Scouting Bureau Rankings". Canadian Football League. January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  7. "CFL Draft to feature territorial picks". CFL.ca. April 17, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  8. Dunk, Justin (January 7, 2020). "The comprehensive CFL collective bargaining agreement". 3DownNation. p. 50 – via Canadian Football League. Collective Bargaining Agreement
  9. "Jackson tops fall edition of Scouting Bureau". Canadian Football League. October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
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