The 2021 CFL National Draft was a

selection Selection may refer to: Science * Selection (biology), also called natural selection, selection in evolution ** Sex selection, in genetics ** Mate selection, in mating ** Sexual selection in humans, in human sexuality ** Human mating strategie ...

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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

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across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the

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. 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 draft was broadcast live on TSN for the first two rounds. Due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, some commentators broadcast from remote locations as opposed to in-studio. The TSN production was hosted by Rod Smith and featured the

CFL on TSN The ''CFL on TSN'' is TSN's presentation of the Canadian Football League. The Sports Network (TSN) has broadcast CFL games since the 1987 season and has been the exclusive broadcaster of all CFL games (including the playoffs and Grey Cup) sin ...

panel which included

Farhan Lalji Farhan Lalji is a Vancouver-based sports reporter and the Vancouver Bureau Reporter for TSN's SportsCentre. He previously anchored ''SportsDesk'' between 1997 and 2000. Career Lalji joined TSN in 1997 as an anchor of TSN's flagship sports ...

Duane Forde Duane Forde (born May 8, 1969) is a Canadian television broadcaster for TSN and a former player in the CFL. Career College football Born in Toronto, Forde attended the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario where he obtained his Bache ...

, and

Davis Sanchez Davis Sanchez (born August 7, 1974) is a former football player who played cornerback in both the Canadian Football League and National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that c ...

Randy Ambrosie Randy Ambrosie (born March 16, 1963) is the 14th and current commissioner of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Ambrosie played Canadian football professionally as an offensive guard for the CFL's Calgary Stampeders, Toronto Argonauts, and Edmo ...

, the CFL commissioner, was in the TSN studios in Toronto to announce the picks for the first two rounds.

Format changes

Due to the cancellation of the

2020 CFL season The 2020 CFL season would have been the 67th season of modern-day Canadian football. Officially, it would have been the 63rd season of the Canadian Football League. It was originally scheduled to begin on June 11; on April 7, the start of the s ...

as a result of the

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, the 2021 CFL Draft underwent several changes. Since there was no previous season and standings, the draft order was a random draw with all nine teams having the same odds of being drawn. Every even-numbered round is in the reverse order of the odd-numbered rounds to balance the randomness of the draft order. The number of rounds in the draft decreased from eight to six due to the large number of rookies that will be present in camps (those from the 2020 CFL Draft class). To accommodate that change, and due to

U Sports U Sports (stylized as U SPORTS) is the national sport governing body of university sport in Canada, comprising the majority of degree-granting universities in the country. Its equivalent body for organized sports at colleges in Canada is the Ca ...

and some

programs not playing in 2020, eligible 2021 draftees were able to defer their draft years to 2022. Following the November 30, 2020 deadline, 132 U Sports players opted out of the 2021 Draft, which substantially reduced the available players this year. This led to speculation that NCAA

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juniors could be included in the draft to add more talent available this year which would also balance out the massive influx of players in 2022. This was confirmed when the league released the winter player rankings on January 20, 2021. Further to those changes, there will be no territorial selections in 2021, after featuring them in the previous two drafts. Unrelated to COVID-19 changes, beginning with this year's draft, any American or Global player that played football for a minimum of three years at a

institution and graduated with a degree at that institution would qualify as a National player and be eligible for this year's draft.

Top prospects

:Source: CFL Scouting Bureau rankings.

Draft order

Round one

Round two

Round three

Round four

Round five

Round six

Trades

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

Round one

* Montreal → Hamilton (PD). Montreal traded this selection,

Jamaal Westerman Jamaal Akeem Westerman (born February 21, 1985) is a former American football defensive lineman who is currently a college football coach for Rutgers. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college footba ...

, Chris Williams, and a first-round pick in the 2020 CFL Draft to Hamilton in exchange for

Johnny Manziel Johnathan Paul Manziel ( ; born December 6, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the FCF Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF). He played two seasons with the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL) and was also a mem ...

, Tony Washington, and

Landon Rice Landon Rice (born February 28, 1988) is a professional Canadian football offensive lineman for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played CIS football at the University of Manitoba and attended Crocus Plains Regional ...

Round four

* BC → Toronto (PD). BC traded this selection and

Davon Coleman Davon Coleman (born January 11, 1991) is an American gridiron football defensive tackle who is a free agent. He most recently played for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). In college, he first enrolled at Fort Scott Com ...

to Toronto in exchange for Shawn Lemon.

Round five

* Toronto → Calgary (PD). Toronto traded this selection and a third-round pick in the 2021 CFL Global Draft to Calgary in exchange for a sixth-round pick in this year's draft, a fourth-round pick in the 2021 CFL Global Draft, and the rights to Eric Rogers,

Cordarro Law Cordarro Law (born October 15, 1988) is a Canadian football defensive lineman for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for Southern Mississippi. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undraf ...

, and Robertson Daniel.

Round six

* Winnipeg ←→ Toronto (PD). Winnipeg traded the 52nd overall selection and the playing rights to

Cody Speller Cody Speller (born May 10, 1994) is a professional Canadian football offensive lineman for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played CIS football for the McMaster Marauders football, McMaster Marauders from 2012 to 201 ...

to Toronto in exchange for the 48th overall selection. * Calgary → Toronto (PD). Calgary traded this selection, a fourth-round pick in the 2021 CFL Global Draft, and the rights to Eric Rogers,

, and Robertson Daniel to Toronto in exchange for a fifth-round pick in this year's draft and a third-round pick in the 2021 CFL Global Draft.

References

Trade references General references {{2021 CFL season by team Canadian College Draft 2021 in Canadian football