2025 CFL draft

2025 CFL draft
General information
SportCanadian football
Date(s)April 29, 2025
Time6:00 pm EDT
LocationToronto, Ontario
Network(s)
Overview
72 total selections in 8 rounds
LeagueCanadian Football League
First selectionDamien Alford, Calgary Stampeders
Most selections (10)
Fewest selections (7)
U Sports selections49
NCAA selections23

The 2025 CFL national draft was a selection of national players by Canadian Football League teams that took place on April 29, 2025 at 6:00 pm ET.[1] Seventy-two players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA.[2][3]

Format

As per the 2022 collective bargaining agreement, the two teams that had National players featured in the highest percentage of snaps played in the 2024 CFL season were each awarded an additional second-round pick.[3] The Winnipeg Blue Bombers and BC Lions were awarded these selections for the second consecutive year.[4]

Top prospects

Final
ranking[5] 		January
ranking[6] 		August
ranking[7] 		Player Position University Hometown
1 3 - Elic Ayomanor Wide receiver Stanford Medicine Hat, AB
2 1 1 Kurtis Rourke Quarterback Indiana Oakville, ON
3 2 3 Paris Shand Defensive lineman LSU Toronto, ON
4 - - Connor Shay Linebacker Wyoming Danville, CA
5 5 10 Keelan White Wide receiver Montana North Vancouver, BC
6 - - Tiger Shanks Offensive lineman UNLV Lake Oswego, OR
7 - 2 Damien Alford Wide receiver Utah Montreal, QC
8 13 19 Darien Newell Defensive lineman Queen's Brampton, ON
9 9 - Hayden Harris Defensive lineman Montana Mill Creek, WA
10 11 - Christopher Fortin Offensive lineman Connecticut Saint-René, QC
11 12 - Ali Saad Defensive lineman Bowling Green Windsor, ON
12 4 8 Isaiah Bagnah Defensive lineman BYU Lethbridge, AB
13 8 5 Jackson Findlay Defensive back Western North Vancouver, BC
14 20 - Taylor Elgersma Quarterback Wilfrid Laurier London, ON
15 6 20 Jaylen Smith Defensive back North Texas Hamilton, ON
16 7 14 Jeremiah Ojo Defensive lineman Montreal Montreal, QC
17 17 - Samuel Carson Offensive lineman Louisiana-Monroe Calgary, AB
18 10 17 Erik Andersen Offensive lineman Western London, ON
19 15 15 Devin Veresuk Linebacker Windsor Windsor, ON
20 19 - Nate Beauchemin Defensive back Calgary Kelowna, BC
- 14 16 Nate Martey Defensive lineman Arkansas State Ottawa, ON
- 16 - Ethan Jordan Wide receiver Wilfrid Laurier Chatham, ON
- 18 - Isaiah Knight Running back British Columbia Ottawa, ON
- - 4 Eric Schon [a] Offensive lineman Duke Barrie, ON
- - 6 Nolan Ulm [b] Wide receiver Eastern Washington Kelowna, BC
- - 7 Akheem Mesidor [b] Defensive lineman Miami (FL) Ottawa, ON
- - 9 Wesley Bailey [b] Defensive lineman Rutgers Ottawa, ON
- - 11 Jett Elad [b] Defensive back UNLV Mississauga, ON
- - 12 Rene Konga [b] Defensive lineman Louisville Ottawa, ON
- - 13 Devynn Cromwell Defensive back Texas Tech Toronto, ON
- - 18 Harold Miessan Linebacker Montreal Montreal, QC
  1. ^ Schon retired after the 2024 college football season.[6]
  2. ^ a b c d e Ulm, Mesidor, Bailey, Elad, and Konga all reclassified to 2026.[6]

Draft order

Round one

Pick # CFL Team Player Position University
1 Calgary Stampeders Damien Alford WR Utah
2 Hamilton Tiger-Cats Devin Veresuk LB Windsor
— Edmonton Elks Selection forfeited[9]
— BC Lions Selection forfeited[4]
3 Ottawa Redblacks Keelan White WR Montana
4 Saskatchewan Roughriders Ali Saad DL Bowling Green
5 Montreal Alouettes Tiger Shanks OL UNLV
6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Connor Shay LB Wyoming
7 Toronto Argonauts Jeremiah Ojo DL Montreal
8 Calgary Stampeders (via BC forfeiture)[4] Christopher Fortin OL Connecticut

Round two

Pick # CFL Team Player Position University
— BC Lions (via Calgary)[trade 1] Selection forfeited[4]
9 Hamilton Tiger-Cats Isaiah Bagnah DL BYU
10 Edmonton Elks Darien Newell DL Queen's
11 BC Lions Hayden Harris DL Montana
12 Ottawa Redblacks Samuel Carson OL Louisiana–Monroe
13 Saskatchewan Roughriders Erik Anderson OL Western
14 Montreal Alouettes Nate Beauchemin DB Calgary
15 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Jaylen Smith DB North Texas
16 BC Lions (via Toronto)[trade 2] Jackson Findlay DB Western
17 Calgary Stampeders (via BC forfeiture)[4] Quincy Vaughn TE North Dakota
18N Winnipeg Blue Bombers Taylor Elgersma QB Wilfrid Laurier
19N Toronto Argonauts (via BC)[trade 2] Paris Shand DL LSU

Round three

Pick # CFL Team Player Position University
20 Calgary Stampeders Anton Haie DB Laval
21 Hamilton Tiger-Cats Arvin Hosseini OL British Columbia
22 Edmonton Elks Skyler Griffith TE British Columbia
23 Montreal Alouettes (via BC)[trade 3] Gabriel Lessard LB Montreal
24 Edmonton Elks (via Ottawa)[trade 4] Isaiah Knight RB British Columbia
25 Saskatchewan Roughriders Kurtis Rourke QB Indiana
26 Montreal Alouettes Hakeem Harris WR Davenport
27 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Ethan Vibert OL South Dakota State
28 Hamilton Tiger-Cats (via Toronto)[trade 5] Mack Bannatyne DB Alberta

Round four

Pick # CFL Team Player Position University
29 Toronto Argonauts (via Calgary and BC)[trade 1][trade 2] Gavin Coakes OL British Columbia
30 Toronto Argonauts (via Hamilton)[trade 5] Istvan Assibo-Dadzie DB Windsor
31 Edmonton Elks Silas Hubert DL Queen's
32 Calgary Stampeders (via BC)[trade 1] Nicky Farinaccio LB Montreal
33 Ottawa Redblacks Muftah Ageli DL Northwestern Oklahoma State
34 Saskatchewan Roughriders Seth Hundeby LB Saskatchewan
35 Montreal Alouettes Keanu Yazbeck RB Western
36 Hamilton Tiger-Cats (via Winnipeg)[trade 6] Ty Anderson DL Alberta
37 BC Lions (via Toronto)[trade 2] Connor Klassen OL Regina

Round five

Pick # CFL Team Player Position University
38 Calgary Stampeders Vyshonne Janusas WR Guelph
39 Winnipeg Blue Bombers (via Hamilton)[trade 6] Joey Corcoran WR New Hampshire
40 Edmonton Elks Domenico Piazza OL McGill
41 BC Lions Dre Doiron OL Kansas
42 Ottawa Redblacks Eric Cumberbatch DB Ottawa
43 Saskatchewan Roughriders Liam Hoskins LB Windsor
44 Montreal Alouettes Gabriel Maisonneuve DL Montreal
45 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Lane Novak LB Saskatchewan
46 Toronto Argonauts Jaylen Rayam LB UTEP

Round six

Pick # CFL Team Player Position University
47 Calgary Stampeders Ludovick Choquette RB Long Island
48 Hamilton Tiger-Cats Ronan Horrall DB British Columbia
49 Edmonton Elks Daniel Hocevar OL Guelph
50 BC Lions Chase Tataryn LB Alberta
51 Ottawa Redblacks Ethan Jordan WR Wilfrid Laurier
52 Saskatchewan Roughriders Gideon Agyei DB Calgary
53 Montreal Alouettes Isaac Gaillaretz WR Laval
54 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Ethan Ball DB Calgary
55 Toronto Argonauts Joey Zorn RB Windsor

Round seven

Pick # CFL Team Player Position University
56 Calgary Stampeders Matthew Stokman OL Manitoba
57 Hamilton Tiger-Cats Jake Nitychoruk DB Manitoba
58 Edmonton Elks Kolby Hurford WR Alberta
59 BC Lions Alex Berwick OL Western
60 Ottawa Redblacks Jayden Griffiths LB Wilfrid Laurier
61 Calgary Stampeders (via Saskatchewan)[trade 7] Max von Muehldorfer DL Western
62 Montreal Alouettes Jonathan Sénécal QB Montreal
63 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Trey Laing DL Eastern Michigan
64 Toronto Argonauts Ethan Pyle OL Guelph

Round eight

Pick # CFL Team Player Position University
65 Calgary Stampeders Ashton Miller-Melancon DB Queen's
66 Hamilton Tiger-Cats Nate Martey DL Arkansas State
— Edmonton Elks Selection forfeited[10]
67 BC Lions Luka Stoikos RB Toronto
68 Ottawa Redblacks King Ambers DB East Texas A&M
69 Saskatchewan Roughriders Daniel Wiebe WR Saskatchewan
70 Montreal Alouettes Riley MacLeod LB Western
71 Winnipeg Blue Bombers Iwinosa Uwubanmwen OL Alberta
72 Toronto Argonauts DeEmetrius Masuka DB McMaster

Trades

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

Round two

  • Calgary → BC (PD). Calgary traded the ninth overall pick and the 29th overall pick in this year's draft and a second-round pick in the 2026 CFL draft to BC in exchange for Vernon Adams, the 32nd overall pick in this year's draft, and a third-round pick in the 2026 CFL draft.[trade 1]
  • Toronto ↔ BC (D). Toronto traded the 16th and 37th overall picks to BC in exchange for the 19th and 29th overall picks.[trade 2]

Round three

  • Ottawa → Edmonton (PD). Ottawa traded a third-round pick in this year's draft to Edmonton in exchange for Peter Adjey.[trade 4]
  • BC → Montreal (PD). BC traded a third-round pick in this year's draft to Montreal in exchange for Jeshrun Antwi.[trade 3]
  • Toronto → Hamilton (PD). Toronto traded a conditional fourth-round pick in this year's draft, Jordan Williams, and the seventh overall selection, a second-round pick, and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 CFL Draft to Hamilton in exchange for a conditional third-round pick in this year's draft, the fifth overall selection and two third-round picks in the 2024 CFL Draft, and the negotiation rights to Deontay Burnett.[trade 5] The condition was not met and Toronto traded a third-round pick instead.[8]

Round four

  • Calgary ↔ BC (PD). Calgary traded the 29th overall pick and the ninth overall pick in this year's draft and a second-round pick in the 2026 CFL draft to BC in exchange for Vernon Adams, the 32nd overall pick in this year's draft, and a third-round pick in the 2026 CFL draft.[trade 1]
  • Hamilton → Toronto (PD). Hamilton traded a conditional third-round pick in this year's draft, the fifth overall selection and two third-round picks in the 2024 CFL Draft, and the negotiation rights to Deontay Burnett to Toronto in exchange for Jordan Williams, the seventh overall selection, a second-round pick, and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 CFL Draft, and a conditional fourth-round pick in this year's draft.[trade 5] The condition was not met and Hamilton traded a fourth-round pick instead.[8]
  • Winnipeg → Hamilton (PD). Winnipeg traded the 36th overall pick in this year's draft, the eighth overall pick in the 2025 CFL global draft, and Kyle Samson to Hamilton in exchange for Matthew Peterson, the 39th overall pick in this year's draft, and the second overall pick in the 2025 CFL global draft.[trade 6]
  • Toronto ↔ BC (D). Toronto traded the 16th and 37th overall picks to BC in exchange for the 19th and 29th overall picks.[trade 2]

Round five

  • Hamilton → Winnipeg (PD). Hamilton traded the 39th overall pick in this year's draft, the second overall pick in the 2025 CFL global draft, and Matthew Peterson to Winnipeg in exchange for Kyle Samson, the 36th overall pick in this year's draft, and the eighth overall pick in the 2025 CFL global draft.[trade 6]

Round seven

  • Saskatchewan → Calgary (PD). Saskatchewan traded an eighth-round pick in this year's draft to Calgary in exchange for Jake Maier.[trade 7] This became a seventh-round pick when Maier re-signed with Saskatchewan on January 9, 2025.[11]

Forfeitures

Supplemental draft

  • Edmonton forfeited their first-round pick after selecting Zach Mathis in the 2024 supplemental draft.[9]
  • Edmonton forfeited their eighth-round pick after selecting Antonio Alfano in the 2024 supplemental draft.[10]

Salary cap

  • BC forfeited the highest of their first-round and second-round picks (third and ninth overall) after exceeding the salary cap by more than $200,000 ($347,889).[4] As the team with the highest priority waiver, Calgary was awarded BC's forfeited selections at the end of the first and second rounds (eighth and 17th overall).[4]

References

Trade references

  1. ^ a b c d e "Big Play: Stamps acquire Vernon Adams Jr. in trade with Lions". Canadian Football League. November 26, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "2025 Draft Tracker". CFL.ca. Canadian Football League. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Lions acquire RB Jeshrun Antwi in trade with Als". Canadian Football League. October 2, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Redblacks acquire LS Peter Adjey in trade with Elks". Canadian Football League. May 1, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d "Ticats acquire national LB Jordan Williams in trade with Argos". Canadian Football League. January 29, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d "Ticats land DL Kyle Samson in Draft day trade with Bombers". Canadian Football League. April 29, 2026.
  7. ^ a b "Roughriders Acquire Jake Maier In Trade With Calgary". Saskatchewan Roughriders. December 23, 2024.

General references

  1. ^ "Key 2025 CFL off-season dates you need to know". Canadian Football League. January 21, 2025.
  2. ^ "Canadian Football League expands draft to eight rounds". Canadian Football League. May 4, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Details of the CFL's new CBA: salary cap increases, ratio changes, and guaranteed contracts". 3DownNation. May 26, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "BC, Toronto, Saskatchewan and Ottawa exceeded 2024 salary expenditure cap". Canadian Football League. March 28, 2025.
  5. ^ "Elic Ayomanor Vaults to Top Spot in Spring Edition of CFL Scouting Bureau". Canadian Football League. April 28, 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "Rourke maintains hold of top spot in winter edition of CFL Scouting Bureau". Canadian Football League. January 22, 2025.
  7. ^ "Kurtis Rourke leads the way in CFL Scouting Bureau Fall Rankings". Canadian Football League. August 22, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c "2025 Draft Tracker". CFL.ca. Canadian Football League. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Edmonton Elks forfeit 2025 first-round pick to select REC Zach Mathis in supplemental draft". 3DownNation. June 29, 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Elks select Antonio Alfano in Supplemental Draft". Canadian Football League. May 21, 2024.
  11. ^ "Trading for Jake Maier was "a big decision" — Jeremy O'Day". Saskatchewan Roughriders. December 23, 2024.
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