2023 CFL draft
Canadian football draft
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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.[1][2] 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.[3][4][5]
| 2023 CFL draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Canadian football |
| Date | May 2, 2023 |
| Time | 8:00 pm EDT |
| Location | Toronto |
| Network | TSN |
| Overview | |
| 72 total selections in 8 rounds | |
| League | CFL |
| Territorial pick | 2 |
| First selection | Dontae Bull, Ottawa Redblacks |
| Most selections (10) | Ottawa Redblacks |
| Fewest selections (6) | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| U Sports selections | 57 |
| NCAA selections | 14 |
The draft was broadcast live on TSN for the first two rounds with subsequent rounds being streamed online.[2] The TSN production was hosted by Farhan Lalji and featured the CFL on TSN panel, including Duane Forde, Marshall Ferguson, Jim Barker, and Dave Naylor.[2]
Combines
For the first time the CFL held an invitational players combine at the University of Waterloo's Feridun Hamdullahpur Field House on March 3, 2023.[6] The main combine took place March 22-26, 2023, at the Commonwealth Stadium Field House in Edmonton, AB.[7]
Top prospects
- Source: CFL Scouting Bureau rankings.[8]
Draft order
Round one
| Pick # | CFL team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ottawa Redblacks | Dontae Bull | OL | Fresno State |
| 2 | Edmonton Elks | Michael Brodrique | LB | Montreal |
| 3 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | Lake Korte-Moore | DL | British Columbia |
| 4 | Calgary Stampeders (via Hamilton[trade 1]) | Cole Tucker | WR | Northern Illinois |
| 5 | Montreal Alouettes | Jonathan Sutherland | LB | Penn State |
| 6 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (via Calgary[trade 1]) | Dayton Black | OL | Saskatchewan |
| 7 | Montreal Alouettes (via BC[trade 2]) | Lwal Uguak | DL | Texas Christian |
| 8 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | Anthony Bennett | DL | Regina |
| 9 | BC Lions (via Toronto[trade 3]) | Francis Bemiy | DL | Southern Utah |
Round two
| Pick # | CFL team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Ottawa Redblacks | Lucas Cormier | DB | Mount Allison |
| – | Edmonton Elks | Selection forfeited[11] | ||
| 11 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | Jaxon Ford | DB | Regina |
| 12 | Ottawa Redblacks (via Edmonton[trade 4] via Hamilton[trade 5]) | James Peter | LB | Ottawa |
| 13 | Montreal Alouettes | David Dallaire | FB | Laval |
| – | Calgary Stampeders | Selection forfeited[11] | ||
| 14 | BC Lions | Siriman Bagayogo | DB | Guelph |
| 15 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | Jake Kelly | DB | Bishop's |
| 16 | Toronto Argonauts | Jared Wayne | WR | Pittsburgh |
| 17T | Ottawa Redblacks | Daniel Oladejo | WR | Ottawa |
| 18T | Edmonton Elks | Jacob Taylor | LB | Alberta |
Round three
| Pick # | CFL team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Ottawa Redblacks | Aidan John | DL | St. Mary's |
| 20 | Edmonton Elks | Phillip Grohovac | OL | Western Ontario |
| 21 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | Matt Dean | LB | York |
| 22 | Calgary Stampeders (via Hamilton[trade 1]) | Kwadwo Boahen | DL | Alberta |
| 23 | Edmonton Elks (via Montreal[trade 6]) | Luke Burton-Krahn | DB | British Columbia |
| 24 | Calgary Stampeders | Clark Barnes | WR | Guelph |
| 25 | Ottawa Redblacks (via BC[trade 7]) | Josh White | LB | Regina |
| 26 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | Jeremy Murphy | WR | Concordia (QC) |
| 27 | Toronto Argonauts | Adam Guillemette | LS | Holy Cross |
Round four
| Pick # | CFL team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | Edmonton Elks (via Ottawa[trade 8]) | Noah Curtis | DL | Keiser |
| 29 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (via Edmonton[trade 5] ) | Patrick Burke Jr. | DB | Wilfrid Laurier |
| 30 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | Thomas Bertrand-Hudon | RB | Delaware State |
| 31 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | Reece Martin | DL | Mount Allison |
| 32 | Montreal Alouettes | Theo Grant | OL | Queen's |
| 33 | Calgary Stampeders | Alexandre Marcoux | OL | McGill |
| 34 | BC Lions | Markcus Jean-Loescher | DL | St. Mary's |
| 35 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | Tanner Schmekel | DL | Regina |
| 36 | Toronto Argonauts | Spencer Nichols | RB | Western Ontario |
Round five
| Pick # | CFL team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | Ottawa Redblacks | Daniel Perry | WR | Saskatchewan |
| 38 | Edmonton Elks | Bertrand Beaulieu | RB | Montreal |
| 39 | Montreal Alouettes (via Saskatchewan[trade 9]) | Jacob Mason | FB | McMaster |
| 40 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | Robert Panabaker | DB | Western Ontario |
| 41 | Montreal Alouettes | Shedler Fervius | WR | St. Mary's |
| 42 | Calgary Stampeders | Ryan Leder | DL | McMaster |
| 43 | BC Lions | Charlie Ringland | DB | Saskatchewan |
| 44 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | Collin Kornelson | DL | Manitoba |
| 45 | Toronto Argonauts | Edouard Paradis | OL | Houston Christian |
Round six
| Pick # | CFL team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | Ottawa Redblacks | Quintin Seguin | DL | Charleston Southern |
| 47 | Toronto Argonauts (via Edmonton[trade 10]) | Richard Burton | WR | Queen's |
| 48 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | Sidy Sow | OL | Eastern Michigan |
| 49 | Calgary Stampeders (via Hamilton[trade 1]) | Sebastian Howard | TE | St. Mary's |
| 50 | Edmonton Elks (via Montreal[trade 11]) | Spencer Masterson | OL | Guelph |
| 51 | Calgary Stampeders | Campbell Fair | K | Ottawa |
| 52 | BC Lions | Jassin States-McClean | DB | St. Mary's |
| 53 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | Breton MacDougall | DB | Windsor |
| 54 | Toronto Argonauts | Ife Onyemenam | LB | Wilfrid Laurier |
Round seven
| Pick # | CFL team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | Ottawa Redblacks | Alexander Fedchun | DL | St. Francis Xavier |
| 56 | Edmonton Elks | Bruno Legace | DE | Montreal |
| 57 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | Evan Floren | OL | Queen's |
| 58 | Ottawa Redblacks (via Edmonton[trade 12] via Hamilton[trade 13]) | Amlicar Polk | RB | Ottawa |
| 59 | Montreal Alouettes | Chase Brown | RB | Illinois |
| 60 | Saskatchewan Roughriders (via Calgary[trade 14]) | Nick Thomas | LB | Manitoba |
| 61 | BC Lions | Jack Hinsperger | LB | Waterloo |
| 62 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | Jonathan Rosery | RB | Alberta |
| 63 | Toronto Argonauts | Brendan Murphy | DB | Western Ontario |
Round eight
| Pick # | CFL team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats (via Edmonton[trade 15] via Ottawa[trade 12]) | Josh Hyer | DL | Calgary |
| 65 | Edmonton Elks | Derek Best | RB | Western Ontario |
| 66 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | Tavius Robinson | DL | Mississippi |
| 67 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | Caleb Morin | WR | Saskatchewan |
| 68 | Montreal Alouettes | Maxym Lavallee | DB | Laval |
| 69 | Calgary Stampeders | Lucas Robertson | FB | British Columbia |
| 70 | BC Lions | Troy Kowal | OL | Minot State |
| 71 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | Max Charbonneau | LB | Ottawa |
| 72 | Toronto Argonauts | Anthony Vandal | OL | Sherbrooke |
Trades
In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft.
Round one
- Hamilton ←→ Calgary (PD). Hamilton traded this selection, a third-round pick in this draft, a sixth-round pick in this draft, and a second-round pick in the 2024 CFL draft to Calgary in exchange for Bo Levi Mitchell, a first-round pick in this draft, and a third-round pick in the 2024 CFL draft.[trade 1]
- BC → Montreal (PD). BC traded this selection to Montreal in exchange for Vernon Adams.[trade 2]
- Toronto → BC (PD). Toronto traded this selection to BC in exchange for Jordan Williams.[trade 3]
Round two
- Hamilton → Edmonton (PD). Hamilton traded this selection and Jesse Gibbon to Edmonton in exchange for David Beard and a conditional fourth-round pick in this year's draft.[trade 5]
- Edmonton → Ottawa (PD). Edmonton traded the 12th overall selection to Ottawa in exchange for the rights to Woodly Appolon.[trade 4]
Round three
- Montreal → Edmonton (PD). Montreal traded this selection and Avery Ellis to Edmonton in exchange for Nafees Lyon and Thomas Costigan.[trade 6]
- BC → Ottawa (PD). BC traded this selection and a conditional fourth-round selection in the 2024 CFL draft to Ottawa in exchange for Terry Williams.[trade 7]
- Hamilton → Calgary (PD). Hamilton traded this selection, a first-round pick in this draft, a sixth-round pick in this draft, and a second-round pick in the 2024 CFL draft to Calgary in exchange for Bo Levi Mitchell, a first-round pick in this draft, and a third-round pick in the 2024 CFL draft.[trade 1]
Round four
- Ottawa → Edmonton (PD). Ottawa traded this selection to Edmonton in exchange for Nick Arbuckle.[trade 8]
- Edmonton → Hamilton (PD). Edmonton traded a conditional fourth-round selection and David Beard to Hamilton in exchange for Jesse Gibbon and a second-round pick in this year's draft.[trade 5] The condition was confirmed to be fulfilled upon the release of the draft order by the league.[5]
Round five
- Saskatchewan → Montreal (PD). Saskatchewan traded this selection to Montreal in exchange for Mario Alford.[trade 9] This selection was originally a sixth-round pick, but was upgraded after Alford played in at least nine games for the Roughriders.[5][trade 16]
Round six
- Edmonton → Toronto (PD). Edmonton traded this selection to Toronto in exchange for Jalen Collins and Martez Ivey.[trade 10]
- Montreal → Edmonton (PD). Montreal traded this selection to Edmonton in exchange for Walter Fletcher.[trade 11]
- Hamilton → Calgary (PD). Hamilton traded this selection, a first-round pick in this draft, a third-round pick in this draft, and a second-round pick in the 2024 CFL draft to Calgary in exchange for Bo Levi Mitchell, a first-round pick in this draft, and a third-round pick in the 2024 CFL draft.[trade 1]
Round seven
- Calgary → Saskatchewan (PD). Calgary traded this selection and a third-round selection in the 2023 CFL global draft to Saskatchewan in exchange for James Smith.[trade 14] This selection can be upgraded to a fifth-round selection depending on the number of games played by Smith for the Stampeders.[12]
- Hamilton → Edmonton (PD). Hamilton traded this selection to Edmonton in exchange for Colin Kelly.[trade 13]
- Edmonton → Ottawa (PD). Edmonton traded this selection to Ottawa in exchange for Llevi Noel and an eighth-round pick in this year's draft.[trade 12]
Round eight
- Ottawa → Edmonton (PD). Ottawa traded this selection and Llevi Noel to Edmonton in exchange for a seventh-round pick in this year's draft.[trade 12]
- Edmonton → Hamilton (PD). Edmonton traded this selection to Hamilton in exchange for Jon Ryan.[trade 15]
Conditional trades
- Montreal → Calgary (PD). Montreal traded a conditional second-round selection to Calgary in exchange for the playing rights to Laurent Duvernay-Tardif.[trade 17] The condition would've been fulfilled if Duvernay-Tardif signed with the Alouettes before the draft, but he did not.
Forfeitures
- Edmonton forfeited their second round pick after selecting J-Min Pelley in the 2022 Supplemental Draft.[11]
- Calgary forfeited their second round pick after selecting T. J. Rayam in the 2022 Supplemental Draft.[11]