2021 CFL Draft
| 2021 CFL Draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Canadian football |
| Date(s) | May 4, 2021 |
| Time | 7:00 pm EDT |
| Location | Toronto |
| Network(s) | TSN/RDS |
| Overview | |
| 54 total selections in 6 rounds | |
| League | CFL |
| First selection | Jake Burt, TE, Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| Most selections (7) | Hamilton Tiger-Cats Toronto Argonauts |
| Fewest selections (5) | Montreal Alouettes BC Lions |
| U Sports selections | 31 |
| NCAA selections | 23 |
The 2021 CFL National Draft was a selection of National players by Canadian Football League teams that took place at May 4, 2021 at 7:00 pm ET and was broadcast on TSN and RDS.[1] 54 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA.[2] 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.[3][4]
The draft was broadcast live on TSN for the first two rounds. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, some commentators broadcast from remote locations as opposed to in-studio. The TSN production was hosted by Rod Smith and featured the CFL on TSN panel which included Farhan Lalji, Duane Forde, and Davis Sanchez. Randy Ambrosie, the CFL commissioner, was in the TSN studios in Toronto to announce the picks for the first two rounds.
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.[3][5] Every even-numbered round is in the reverse order of the odd-numbered rounds to balance the randomness of the draft order.[3] 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).[3][5] 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.[3][5][6] Following the November 30, 2020 deadline, 132 U Sports players opted out of the 2021 Draft, which substantially reduced the available players this year.[6][7] 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.[6] This was confirmed when the league released the winter player rankings on January 20, 2021.[7]
Further to those changes, there will be no territorial selections in 2021, after featuring them in the previous two drafts.[3][8]
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.[9]
Top prospects[]
- Source: CFL Scouting Bureau rankings.[10]
| Spring Ranking[10] |
Winter Ranking[7] |
Fall Ranking[11] |
Player | Position | University | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 4 | Josh Palmer | Receiver | Tennessee | Brampton, ON |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | Alaric Jackson | Offensive lineman | Iowa | Windsor, ON |
| 3 | 5 | – | Jevon Holland | Defensive back | Oregon Ducks | Coquitlam, BC |
| 4 | 4 | 2 | Amen Ogbongbemiga | Linebacker | Oklahoma State | Calgary, AB |
| 5 | 3 | – | Chuba Hubbard | Running back | Oklahoma State | Sherwood Park, AB |
| 6 | 11 | – | Benjamin St-Juste | Defensive back | Minnesota | Montreal, QC |
| 7 | 10 | 11 | Offensive lineman | Montreal | Saint-Eustache, QC | |
| 8 | 8 | 6 | Offensive lineman | New Mexico State | Welland, ON | |
| 9 | 15 | – | Defensive lineman | Central Michigan | Toronto, ON | |
| 10 | 17 | 13 | Defensive back | Mississippi | Calgary, AB | |
| 11 | 13 | 8 | Defensive back | North Carolina | Ottawa, ON | |
| 12 | 7 | 5 | Offensive lineman | Maine | Ottawa, ON | |
| 13 | 9 | 7 | Defensive lineman | North Carolina State | Toronto, ON | |
| 14 | 12 | 10 | Defensive back | West Virginia | Pickering, ON | |
| 15 | 6 | 3 | Receiver | Virginia | Vancouver, BC | |
| 16 | – | 17 | Tight end | Cincinnati | Montreal, QC | |
| 17 | 19 | 14 | Defensive back | Saskatchewan | Abbotsford, BC | |
| 18 | 16 | 12 | Offensive lineman | Calgary | Calgary, AB | |
| 19 | 20 | – | Offensive lineman | Wilfrid Laurier | Waterloo, ON | |
| 20 | 14 | 9 | Linebacker | Maine | Toronto, ON | |
| – | 18 | 15 | Defensive lineman | Michigan | Ottawa, ON | |
| – | – | 16 | Linebacker | British Columbia | Vernon, BC | |
| – | – | 18 | Linebacker | Massachusetts | Montreal, QC | |
| – | – | 19 | Grant McDonald | Linebacker | Calgary | Tsawwassen, BC |
| – | – | 20 | Nick Cross | Linebacker | British Columbia | Regina, SK |
Draft order[]
Round one[]
| Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | Jake Burt | TE | Boston College |
| 2 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | DB | Saskatchewan | |
| 3 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | OL | Maine | |
| 4 | BC Lions | DL | North Carolina State | |
| 5 | Edmonton Football Team | DL | Alberta | |
| 6 | Ottawa Redblacks | LB | Maine | |
| 7 | Toronto Argonauts | Peter Nicastro | OL | Calgary |
| 8 | Calgary Stampeders | Amen Ogbongbemiga | LB | Oklahoma State |
| 9 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (via Montreal[trade 1]) | Nick Cross | LB | British Columbia |
Round two[]
| Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Montreal Alouettes | OL | Montreal | |
| 11 | Calgary Stampeders | OL | Wilfrid Laurier | |
| 12 | Toronto Argonauts | OL | New Mexico State | |
| 13 | Ottawa Redblacks | DB | West Virginia | |
| 14 | Edmonton Football Team | Grant McDonald | LB | Calgary |
| 15 | BC Lions | Alaric Jackson | OL | Iowa |
| 16 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | Redha Kramdi | DB | Montreal |
| 17 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | WR | Virginia | |
| 18 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | DB | Mississippi |
Round three[]
| Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | DL | Central Michigan | |
| 20 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | TE | Cincinnati | |
| 21 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | DB | North Carolina | |
| 22 | BC Lions | LB | British Columbia | |
| 23 | Edmonton Football Team | RB | Shepherd | |
| 24 | Ottawa Redblacks | OL | Saskatchewan | |
| 25 | Toronto Argonauts | DL | Michigan | |
| 26 | Calgary Stampeders | LB | Calgary | |
| 27 | Montreal Alouettes | OL | Lehigh |
Round four[]
| Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | Montreal Alouettes | OL | Syracuse | |
| 29 | Calgary Stampeders | LB | British Columbia | |
| 30 | Toronto Argonauts | WR | McMaster | |
| 31 | Ottawa Redblacks | K/P | Eastern Michigan | |
| 32 | Edmonton Football Team | WR | Buffalo | |
| 33 | Toronto Argonauts (via BC[trade 2]) | Trevor Hoyte | LB | Carleton |
| 34 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | LB | Regina | |
| 35 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | DL | Guelph | |
| 36 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | LB | Saint Mary's |
Round five[]
| Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | Felix Garand-Gauthier | FB | Laval |
| 38 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | OL | Calgary | |
| 39 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | RB | Regina | |
| 40 | BC Lions | DL | Wilfrid Laurier | |
| 41 | Edmonton Football Team | OL | Saint Mary's | |
| 42 | Ottawa Redblacks | LS | Utah | |
| 43 | Calgary Stampeders (via Toronto[trade 3]) | Chuba Hubbard | RB | Oklahoma State |
| 44 | Calgary Stampeders | Luther Hakunavanhu | WR | York |
| 45 | Montreal Alouettes | David Côté | K | Laval |
Round six[]
| Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | Montreal Alouettes | DB | Montreal | |
| 47 | Toronto Argonauts (via Calgary[trade 3]) | Joshua Hagerty | DB | Saskatchewan |
| 48 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers (via Toronto[trade 4]) | DB | Manitoba | |
| 49 | Ottawa Redblacks | OL | Delaware State | |
| 50 | Edmonton Football Team | DB | Cornell | |
| 51 | BC Lions | OL | Calgary | |
| 52 | Toronto Argonauts (via Winnipeg[trade 4]) | Benjamin St-Juste | DB | Minnesota |
| 53 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | DB | Mount Allison | |
| 54 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | LB | Western |
Trades[]
In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft.
Round one[]
- Montreal → Hamilton (PD). Montreal traded this selection, Jamaal Westerman, Chris Williams, and a first-round pick in the 2020 CFL Draft to Hamilton in exchange for Johnny Manziel, Tony Washington, and Landon Rice.[trade 1]
Round four[]
- BC → Toronto (PD). BC traded this selection and Davon Coleman to Toronto in exchange for Shawn Lemon.[trade 2][4]
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]
References[]
Trade references
- ^ a b "Als acquire Johnny Manziel in blockbuster deal". CFL.ca. July 22, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ a b "Lions acquire Shawn Lemon, Argos land all-star Davon Coleman in trade". CFL.ca. August 12, 2019. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
- ^ a b c d "Argos acquire rights to three, including Rogers, in trade with Stamps". Canadian Football League. January 31, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Argos acquire Speller in trade with Bombers". CFL.ca. January 27, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
General references
- ^ "CFL announces date for 2021 CFL National Draft". cfl.ca. Canadian Football League. March 30, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2021.
- ^ "Canadian Football League expands draft to eight rounds". Canadian Football League. May 4, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f "2021 CFL Draft to feature some significant changes". CFL.ca. November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
- ^ a b "Ti-Cats snag first selection as CFL reveals 2021 order". CFL.ca. November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
- ^ a b c "CFL making changes to draft". TSN. November 5, 2020. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
- ^ a b c Hodge, John (December 8, 2020). "CFL may keep all NCAA players in 2021 CFL draft after 132 U Sports players opt out". 3DownNation.
- ^ a b c "Alaric Jackson tops winter Scouting Bureau Rankings". Canadian Football League. January 20, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
- ^ "CFL Draft to feature territorial picks". CFL.ca. April 17, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
- ^ Dunk, Justin (January 7, 2020). "The comprehensive CFL collective bargaining agreement". 3DownNation. p. 50 – via Canadian Football League.
Collective Bargaining Agreement
- ^ a b "Josh Palmer tops spring CFL Scouting Bureau Rankings". Canadian Football League. April 26, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
- ^ "Jackson tops fall edition of Scouting Bureau". Canadian Football League. October 8, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
- Canadian College Draft
- 2021 in Canadian football