Nelson Lokombo
Canadian gridiron football player (born 1999)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nelson Lokombo (born March 23, 1999) is a Canadian professional football defensive back for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL).
Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada
Lokombo with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in 2025 | |
| No. 25 – Saskatchewan Roughriders | |
|---|---|
| Position | Defensive back |
| Roster status | Active |
| CFL status | National |
| Personal information | |
| Born | March 23, 1999 Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada |
| Listed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Listed weight | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | W. J. Mouat Secondary |
| University | Saskatchewan Huskies |
| CFL draft | 2021: 1st round, 2nd overall |
| Career history | |
| 2021–present | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| Awards and highlights | |
| |
| Stats at CFL.ca | |
University career
Lokombo played U Sports football for the Saskatchewan Huskies from 2017 to 2019.[1] In 2019, he was named a First-team All-Canadian and was also awarded the Presidents' Trophy as the top defensive player in U Sports football.[1] He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the 2020 U Sports football season.
Professional career
In the CFL Scouting Bureau's Final Rankings, Lokombo was named the 17th best player available in the 2021 CFL draft.[2] However, he exceeded those rankings and was drafted second overall by the Saskatchewan Roughriders and signed with the team on June 4, 2021.[3] Unfortunately, he suffered a torn Achilles tendon in a pre-training camp workout and sat out the entire 2021 season.[4][5]
Following 2022 training camp, Lokombo not only won a roster spot, but was also named an opening day starter at cornerback.[5][6] He made his professional debut on June 11, 2022, against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats where he had one defensive tackle.[7] He started the first three games of the season before being moved to the injured list for the fourth game of the season.[6] Upon his return the active roster, Lokombo moved primarily to a backup role before returning to the injured list for the final five games of the season.[6] He played in 12 regular season games, starting in four, where he had 13 defensive tackles, one special teams tackle, and one forced fumble.[7][6]
In 2023, Lokombo played in the first 10 games of the regular season before sitting out seven of the last eight due to injury.[7][8] He played in 11 games, starting in one, where he had five defensive tackles and four special teams tackles.[7][8]
Personal life
Lokombo is the youngest of five brothers, with Boseko playing linebacker professionally in the CFL and Boloy having played defensive back for Minnesota–Duluth.[9][10]