2026 CFL draft
| 2026 CFL draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Canadian football |
| Date | April 28, 2026 |
| Time | 7:00 pm EDT |
| Location | Toronto, Ontario |
| Overview | |
| 74 total selections in 8 rounds | |
| League | CFL |
| Most selections (11) | Toronto Argonauts |
| Fewest selections (7) | BC Lions Calgary Stampeders Ottawa Redblacks |
The 2026 CFL national draft is a selection of national players by Canadian Football League teams that is scheduled to take place on April 28, 2026.[1] Seventy-four 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.[2][3] That number is subject to change if there are any forfeited selections.
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 2025 CFL season (the Edmonton Elks and Winnipeg Blue Bombers were each awarded an additional second-round pick.[3][4]
Top prospects
- Source: CFL Scouting Bureau rankings.
| Final ranking |
January ranking[1] |
August ranking[5] |
Player | Position | University | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Akheem Mesidor | Defensive lineman | Miami | Ottawa, ON | |
| 2 | 2 | Logan Taylor | Offensive lineman | Boston College | Lunenburg, NS | |
| 3 | 5 | Albert Reese IV | Offensive lineman | Mississippi State | Edmonton, AB | |
| 4 | 7 | Rene Konga | Defensive lineman | Louisville | Ottawa, ON | |
| 5 | 3 | Wesley Bailey | Defensive lineman | Louisville | Ottawa, ON | |
| 6 | 6 | Jett Elad | Defensive back | Rutgers | Mississauga, ON | |
| 7 | 10 | Dariel Djabome | Linebacker | Rutgers | Longueuil, QC | |
| 8 | – | Nuer Gatkuoth | Defensive lineman | Wake Forest | Edmonton, AB | |
| 9 | 12 | Malcolm Bell | Defensive back | Michigan State | Montreal, QC | |
| 10 | 16 | Rohan Jones | Tight end | Arkansas | Montreal, QC | |
| 11 | 4 | Nick Cenacle | Wide receiver | Hawaii | Montreal, QC | |
| 12 | 13 | Darius Bell | Offensive lineman | East Carolina | Hamilton, ON | |
| 13 | 18 | Darius McKenzie | Linebacker | South Alabama | Ottawa, ON | |
| 14 | 8 | Devynn Cromwell | Defensive back | Michigan State | Toronto, ON | |
| 15 | – | Jonathan Denis | Offensive lineman | Louisiana Tech | Homestead, FL | |
| 16 | 19 | Aamarii Notice | Defensive lineman | Coastal Carolina | Toronto, ON | |
| 17 | 9 | Nolan Ulm | Wide receiver | Eastern Washington | Kelowna, BC | |
| 18 | – | Nate DeMontagnac | Wide receiver | North Dakota | Mississauga, ON | |
| 19 | 11 | Giordano Vaccaro | Offensive lineman | Purdue | Winnipeg, MB | |
| 20 | – | Émeric Boutin | Fullback | Laval | L'Assomption, QC | |
| – | 14 | Jez Janvier | Offensive lineman | Southern Mississippi | Montreal, QC | |
| – | 15 | Josh Baka | Defensive back | Alabama-Birmingham | Ottawa, ON | |
| – | 17 | Tyrell Lawrence | Offensive lineman | Alabama A&M | Milton, ON | |
| – | 20 | Trae Tomlinson | Defensive back | Louisiana | Winnipeg, MB |
Draft order
- Note: If there are any further trades or forfeited draft picks, that will also change the draft order.[6]
Round one
| Pick # | CFL team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ottawa Redblacks | |||
| 2 | Toronto Argonauts | |||
| 3 | Edmonton Elks | |||
| 4 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | |||
| 5 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |||
| 6 | Calgary Stampeders | |||
| 7 | BC Lions | |||
| 8 | Montreal Alouettes | |||
| 9 | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
Round two
| Pick # | CFL team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Ottawa Redblacks | |||
| 11 | Toronto Argonauts | |||
| 12 | Edmonton Elks | |||
| 13 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | |||
| 14 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |||
| 15 | BC Lions (via Calgary)[trade 1] | |||
| 16 | Toronto Argonauts (via BC)[trade 2] | |||
| 17 | Montreal Alouettes | |||
| 18 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | |||
| 19N | Edmonton Elks | |||
| 20N | Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
Round three
| Pick # | CFL team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | Edmonton Elks (via Ottawa)[trade 3] | |||
| 22 | Toronto Argonauts | |||
| 23 | Ottawa Redblacks (via Edmonton)[trade 3] | |||
| 24 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | |||
| 25 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |||
| 26 | Calgary Stampeders | |||
| 27 | Calgary Stampeders (via BC)[trade 1] | |||
| 28 | Montreal Alouettes | |||
| 29 | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
Round four
| Pick # | CFL team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Toronto Argonauts (via Ottawa)[trade 4] | |||
| 31 | Toronto Argonauts | |||
| 32 | Edmonton Elks | |||
| 33 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | |||
| 34 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |||
| 35 | Edmonton Elks (via Ottawa via Calgary)[trade 3][trade 5] | |||
| 36 | BC Lions | |||
| 37 | Montreal Alouettes | |||
| 38 | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
Round five
| Pick # | CFL team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | Ottawa Redblacks | |||
| 40 | Toronto Argonauts | |||
| 41 | Ottawa Redblacks (via Edmonton)[trade 3] | |||
| 42 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | |||
| 43 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |||
| 44 | Calgary Stampeders | |||
| 45 | BC Lions | |||
| 46 | Montreal Alouettes | |||
| 47 | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
Round six
| Pick # | CFL team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 48 | Ottawa Redblacks | |||
| 49 | Toronto Argonauts | |||
| 50 | Edmonton Elks | |||
| 51 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | |||
| 52 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |||
| 53 | Calgary Stampeders | |||
| 54 | BC Lions | |||
| 55 | Montreal Alouettes | |||
| 56 | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
Round seven
| Pick # | CFL team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | Toronto Argonauts (via Ottawa)[trade 6] | |||
| 58 | Edmonton Elks (via Toronto)[trade 7] | |||
| 59 | Edmonton Elks | |||
| 60 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | |||
| 61 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |||
| 62 | Calgary Stampeders | |||
| 63 | BC Lions | |||
| 64 | Montreal Alouettes | |||
| 65 | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
Round eight
| Pick # | CFL team | Player | Position | University |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 66 | Ottawa Redblacks | |||
| 67 | Toronto Argonauts | |||
| 68 | Toronto Argonauts (via Edmonton)[trade 7] | |||
| 69 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | |||
| 70 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | |||
| 71 | Calgary Stampeders | |||
| 72 | BC Lions | |||
| 73 | Montreal Alouettes | |||
| 74 | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
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 a second-round pick in this year's draft and the ninth overall pick and the 29th overall pick in the 2025 CFL draft to BC in exchange for Vernon Adams, a third-round pick in this year's draft, and the 32nd overall pick in the 2025 CFL draft.[trade 1]
- BC → Toronto (PD). BC traded a second-round pick in this year's draft and Ryder Varga to Toronto in exchange for Dejon Allen.[trade 2]
Round three
- BC → Calgary (PD). BC traded a third-round pick in this year's draft, Vernon Adams, and the 32nd overall pick in the 2025 CFL draft to Calgary in exchange for a second-round pick in this year's draft and the ninth overall pick and the 29th overall in the 2025 CFL draft.[trade 1]
- Edmonton ←→ Ottawa (PD). Edmonton traded the 23rd overall pick in this year's draft, Nyles Morgan, and a fifth-round pick in this year's draft to Ottawa in exchange for the 21st overall pick and a fourth-round pick in this year's draft.[trade 3]
Round four
- Calgary → Ottawa (PD). Calgary traded a fourth-round pick in this year's draft to Ottawa in exchange for Lorenzo Mauldin.[trade 5]
- Ottawa → Edmonton (PD). Ottawa traded the 35th overall pick in this year's draft and a third-round pick in this year's draft to Edmonton in exchange for a third-round pick, Nyles Morgan, and a fifth-round pick in this year's draft.[trade 3]
- Ottawa → Toronto (PD). Ottawa traded a conditional sixth-round pick in this year's draft and the negotiation rights to Andre Carter to Toronto in exchange for Daniel Adeboboye.[trade 4] This was confirmed to be upgraded to a fourth-round pick upon the release of the draft order.[6]
Round five
- Edmonton → Ottawa (PD). Edmonton traded the 41st overall pick in this year's draft, Nyles Morgan, and a fifth-round pick in this year's draft to Ottawa in exchange for a third-round pick and a fourth-round pick in this year's draft.[trade 3]
Round seven
- Ottawa → Toronto (PD). Ottawa traded a seventh-round pick in this year's draft to Toronto in exchange for Mark Milton.[trade 6]
- Toronto → Edmonton (PD). Toronto traded a conditional eighth-round pick in this year's draft to Edmonton in exchange for the negotiation rights to Spencer Brown.[trade 7] This was confirmed to be upgraded to a seventh-round pick while the Argonauts received the Elks' eighth-round pick upon the release of the draft order.[6]
Round eight
- Edmonton → Toronto (PD). Edmonton traded an eighth-round pick in this year's draft and the negotiation rights to Spencer Brown to Toronto in exchange for a seventh-round pick.[trade 7][6]
References
Trade references
- ^ a b c d "Big Play: Stamps acquire Vernon Adams Jr. in trade with Lions". Canadian Football League. November 26, 2024.
- ^ a b "Lions acquire OL Dejon Allen in trade with Argonauts". Canadian Football League. January 6, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Redblacks acquire Nyles Morgan in trade with Elks". Canadian Football League. December 27, 2025.
- ^ a b "Redblacks acquire National running back Daniel Adeboboye from Toronto". Ottawa Redblacks. January 14, 2025.
- ^ a b "Stamps acquire Lorenzo Mauldin IV in trade with Redblacks". Canadian Football League. September 28, 2025.
- ^ a b "Redblacks acquire DB Mark Milton from Toronto for '26 seventh round pick". Canadian Football League. August 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Transaction: Elks acquire conditional draft pick in trade with the Argonauts". Edmonton Elks. August 5, 2025.
General references
- ^ a b "Mesidor stays No. 1 in Winter edition of CFL Scouting Bureau". Canadian Football League. January 21, 2026.
- ^ "Canadian Football League expands draft to eight rounds". Canadian Football League. May 4, 2016.
- ^ a b "Details of the CFL's new CBA: salary cap increases, ratio changes, and guaranteed contracts". 3DownNation. May 26, 2022.
- ^ "Edmonton Elks, Winnipeg Blue Bombers awarded extra picks in 2026 CFL Draft". 3DownNation. February 25, 2026.
- ^ "Mesidor takes hold of top spot in fall edition of CFL Scouting Bureau". Canadian Football League. August 20, 2025.
- ^ a b c d "Draft". Canadian Football League. Retrieved March 11, 2026.