2025 CFL draft

Last updated
2025 CFL draft
General information
Sport Canadian football
LocationToronto
Overview
72 total selections in 8 rounds
League CFL
Most selections (9) Montreal Alouettes
Fewest selections (7) Ottawa Redblacks
Edmonton Elks
BC Lions
  2024
2026 

The 2025 CFL national draft is a selection of national players by Canadian Football League teams that is scheduled to take place in the spring of 2025. Seventy-two players are scheduled to be chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. [1] [2] That number is subject to change if there are any more forfeited selections.

Contents

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 will each be awarded an additional second-round pick. [2]

Top prospects

Source: CFL Scouting Bureau rankings.
Final
ranking
January
ranking
August
ranking [3]
PlayerPositionUniversityHometown
1 Kurtis Rourke Quarterback Indiana Oakville, ON
2 Damien Alford Wide receiver Utah Montreal, QC
3 Paris Shand Defensive lineman Louisiana State Toronto, ON
4 Eric Schon Offensive lineman Duke Barrie, ON
5 Jackson Findlay Defensive back Western North Vancouver, BC
6 Nolan Ulm Wide receiver Eastern Washington Kelowna, BC
7 Akheem Mesidor Defensive lineman Miami (FL) Ottawa, ON
8 Isaiah Bagnah Defensive lineman BYU Lethbridge, AB
9 Wesley Bailey Defensive lineman Rutgers Ottawa, ON
10 Keelan White Wide receiver Montana North Vancouver, BC
11 Jett Elad Defensive back UNLV Mississauga, ON
12 Rene Konga Defensive lineman Louisville Ottawa, ON
13 Devynn Cromwell Defensive back Texas Tech Toronto, ON
14 Jeremiah Ojo Defensive lineman Montreal Montreal, QC
15 Devin Veresuk Linebacker Windsor Windsor, ON
16 Nate Martey Defensive lineman Arkansas State Ottawa, ON
17 Erik Andersen Offensive linemanWestern London, ON
18 Harold Miessan LinebackerMontrealMontreal, QC
19 Darien Newell Defensive lineman Queen's Brampton, ON
20 Jaylen Smith Defensive back North Texas Hamilton, ON

    Draft order

    Round one

    Pick #CFL TeamPlayerPositionUniversity
    1 Calgary Stampeders
    2 Hamilton Tiger-Cats
    Edmonton Elks Selection forfeited [4]
    3 BC Lions
    4 Ottawa Redblacks
    5 Saskatchewan Roughriders
    6 Montreal Alouettes
    7 Winnipeg Blue Bombers
    8 Toronto Argonauts

    Round two

    Pick #CFL TeamPlayerPositionUniversity
    9Calgary Stampeders
    10Hamilton Tiger-Cats
    11Edmonton Elks
    12BC Lions
    13Ottawa Redblacks
    14Saskatchewan Roughriders
    15Montreal Alouettes
    16Winnipeg Blue Bombers
    17Toronto Argonauts
    18N
    19N

    Round three

    Pick #CFL TeamPlayerPositionUniversity
    20Calgary Stampeders
    21Hamilton Tiger-Cats
    22Edmonton Elks
    23Montreal Alouettes (via BC) [trade 1]
    24Edmonton Elks (via Ottawa) [trade 2]
    25Saskatchewan Roughriders
    26Montreal Alouettes
    27Winnipeg Blue Bombers
    28Toronto Argonauts

    Round four

    Pick #CFL TeamPlayerPositionUniversity
    29Calgary Stampeders
    30Hamilton Tiger-Cats
    31Edmonton Elks
    32BC Lions
    33Ottawa Redblacks
    34Saskatchewan Roughriders
    35Montreal Alouettes
    36Winnipeg Blue Bombers
    37Toronto Argonauts

    Round five

    Pick #CFL TeamPlayerPositionUniversity
    38Calgary Stampeders
    39Hamilton Tiger-Cats
    40Edmonton Elks
    41BC Lions
    42Ottawa Redblacks
    43Saskatchewan Roughriders
    44Montreal Alouettes
    45Winnipeg Blue Bombers
    46Toronto Argonauts

    Round six

    Pick #CFL TeamPlayerPositionUniversity
    47Calgary Stampeders
    48Hamilton Tiger-Cats
    49Edmonton Elks
    50BC Lions
    51Ottawa Redblacks
    52Saskatchewan Roughriders
    53Montreal Alouettes
    54Winnipeg Blue Bombers
    55Toronto Argonauts

    Round seven

    Pick #CFL TeamPlayerPositionUniversity
    56Calgary Stampeders
    57Hamilton Tiger-Cats
    58Edmonton Elks
    59BC Lions
    60Ottawa Redblacks
    61Saskatchewan Roughriders
    62Montreal Alouettes
    63Winnipeg Blue Bombers
    64Toronto Argonauts

    Round eight

    Pick #CFL TeamPlayerPositionUniversity
    65Calgary Stampeders
    66Hamilton Tiger-Cats
    Edmonton ElksSelection forfeited [5]
    67BC Lions
    68Ottawa Redblacks
    69Saskatchewan Roughriders
    70Montreal Alouettes
    71Winnipeg Blue Bombers
    72Toronto Argonauts

    Trades

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

    Round three

    Conditional trades

    Forfeitures

    Related Research Articles

    The 2003 CFL Draft took place on Wednesday, April 30, 2003. 53 players were chosen for Canadian Football League teams from among the eligible CIS football players from Canadian universities, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. Of the 53 draft selections, 32 players were drafted from Canadian Interuniversity Sport institutions.

    The 2000 CFL Draft took place on Tuesday, April 18, 2000. 46 players were chosen for Canadian Football League teams from among the 504 eligible CIAU football players from Canadian universities, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. Of the 46 draft selections, 22 players were drafted from Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union institutions.

    The 1999 CFL Draft took place on Tuesday, April 13, 1999. 46 Canadian football players were chosen from eligible players from Canadian universities as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. Of the 46 draft selections, 28 players were drafted from Canadian Interuniversity Athletics Union institutions.

    The 2011 CFL Draft took place on Sunday, May 8, 2011 at 12:30 PM ET on TSN. 47 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The Toronto Argonauts, Montreal Alouettes and Hamilton Tiger-Cats had the most draft selections with a total of seven apiece. Next came the Calgary Stampeders and Winnipeg Blue Bombers who each had six selections. The BC Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders both picked five times. The Edmonton Eskimos had the fewest picks, with only four. A total of five trades involving 14 draft picks were made on the draft day itself. Of the 47 draft selections, 34 players were drafted from Canadian Interuniversity Sport institutions.

    The 2012 CFL Draft took place on Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET on TSN. 45 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The Calgary Stampeders had the most selections with eight, while Hamilton had seven picks. The Toronto Argonauts and Montreal Alouettes each had six and the Edmonton Eskimos and Winnipeg Blue Bombers had five picks. The defending Grey Cup champion BC Lions and the Saskatchewan Roughriders had the fewest selections with just four. A total of three trades involving 11 draft picks in this draft were made on the draft day itself. Of the 45 draft selections, 24 players were drafted from Canadian Interuniversity Sport institutions, which is the lowest percentage of CIS players taken since 2006. It is also the lowest number of CIS players taken since the 2000 CFL Draft when just 22 out of 46 players were chosen.

    The 2013 CFL Draft took place on Monday, May 6, 2013, at 12:00 PM ET on TSN. 60 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The Montreal Alouettes had the most selections with nine, followed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats with eight. Each of the West Division teams had seven picks while Winnipeg had six. The defending Grey Cup champion Toronto Argonauts had five picks and Ottawa chose four players from NCAA schools that would play another year. A total of 16 trades were made involving draft picks from this year, including two made on draft day itself, with 12 being made by the Edmonton Eskimos. Of the 60 draft selections, 44 players were drafted from Canadian Interuniversity Sport institutions, which is the highest number of CIS players taken since the 1987 CFL Draft when 50 of 72 were taken. It is also the highest percentage (73.3%) of CIS players taken since 2009.

    The 2014 CFL Draft took place on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 at 7:00 PM ET on TSN. 65 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. A total of 19 trades were made involving draft picks from this year, including six made on draft day itself, with five involving picks from the first round.

    The 2015 CFL Draft took place on Tuesday, May 12, 2015, at 8:00 PM ET on TSN2 and RDS2. 62 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 CFL draft</span>

    The 2016 CFL Draft took place on Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at 7:00 PM ET on TSN2 and RDS2. 70 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. The draft was expanded to eight rounds, which is the most since there were eight rounds in the 1992 CFL Draft. This draft also featured the most draft selections since 1987 when 72 players were drafted.

    The 2017 CFL Draft took place on Sunday May 7, 2017 at 7:00 PM ET on TSN and RDS. 71 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian universities, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA.

    The 2018 CFL Draft took place on May 3, 2018, at 8:00 pm ET and was broadcast on TSN and RDS. Sixty-nine players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Francis (Canadian football)</span> Canadian gridiron football player (born 1993)

    Kevin Francis is a Canadian professional football linebacker who is a free agent. He played as a tight end during his college football career with the North Carolina A&T Aggies. Francis has been a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Ottawa Redblacks, BC Lions, and Edmonton Elks.

    The 2019 CFL Draft took place on May 2, 2019 at 8:00 pm ET and was broadcast on TSN and RDS. 73 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian universities, as well as Canadian players playing in the United States on NCAA or NAIA teams.

    The 2020 CFL Draft took place on April 30, 2020, at 8:00 pm ET and was broadcast on TSN and RDS. 73 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. This was the second year in a row that featured territorial picks after they were re-introduced in the 2019 CFL Draft.

    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. 54 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. 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.

    The 2022 CFL national draft was a selection of national players by Canadian Football League (CFL) teams that took place on May 3, 2022, at 8:00 pm ET and was broadcast on TSN and RDS. 74 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA.

    The 2023 CFL national draft was a selection of national players by Canadian Football League teams that took place on May 2, 2023, at 8:00 pm ET. 72 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA and NAIA.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Edmonton Elks season</span> CFL team season

    The 2023 Edmonton Elks season was the 65th season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 74th overall. After an 0–9 start to the season, the Elks were mathematically eliminated from playoff contention following their week 18 loss to the Toronto Argonauts.

    The 2024 CFL national draft was a selection of national players by Canadian Football League teams that took place on April 30, 2024 at 8:00 pm ET. 74 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA and NAIA.

    <span class="mw-page-title-main">2025 Edmonton Elks season</span> CFL team season

    The 2025 Edmonton Elks season is scheduled to be the 66th season for the team in the Canadian Football League and their 75th overall. The Elks will attempt to improve upon their 7–11 record from 2024, qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2019, and win their 15th Grey Cup championship.

    References

    Trade references

    1. 1 2 "Lions acquire RB Jeshrun Antwi in trade with Als". Canadian Football League. October 2, 2024.
    2. 1 2 "Redblacks acquire LS Peter Adjey in trade with Elks". Canadian Football League. May 1, 2024.
    3. 1 2 "Ticats acquire national LB Jordan Williams in trade with Argos". Canadian Football League. January 29, 2024.

    General references