The 2023 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 ...

National players The National Players is the longest-running classical touring company in the United States. Classical Touring Company After 70 consecutive seasons of touring, this acting company has given approximately 6,600 performances and workshops on plays ...

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

teams that took place on May 2, 2023, at 8:00 pm ET. 72 players were chosen from among eligible players from

Canadian Universities Universities in Canada are established and operate under provincial and territorial government charters, except in one case directed by First Nations bands and in another by federal legislation. Most public universities in the country are memb ...

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

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

and NAIA. The draft was broadcast live on TSN for the first two rounds with subsequent rounds being streamed online. The TSN production was hosted by

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 ...

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) since ...

panel, including

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 ...

, Marshall Ferguson,

Jim Barker James Barker (born August 25, 1956) is a senior advisor for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Barker has been the general manager of the Calgary Stampeders from 2005-07, and the Argonauts from 2011-2016. He was also th ...

, and

Dave Naylor Dave Naylor is a sports journalist and reporter for TSN's SportsCentre, with a focus on the Canadian Football League. He previously worked for CBC Radio and the Globe and Mail. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame's Media W ...

Combines

For the first time the CFL held an invitational players combine at the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a public research university with a main campus in Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality ...

's Feridun Hamdullahpur Field House on March 3, 2023. The main combine took place March 22-26, 2023, at the Commonwealth Stadium Field House in

Edmonton, AB Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Top prospects

:Source: CFL Scouting Bureau rankings.

Draft order

Round one

Round two

Round three

Round four

Round five

Round six

Round seven

Round eight

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 Bo Levi Mitchell (born March 3, 1990)Official Eastern Washingto ...

, a first-round pick in this draft, and a third-round pick in the 2024 CFL Draft. * BC → Montreal (PD). BC traded this selection to Montreal in exchange for

Vernon Adams Vernon Anthony Adams Jr. (born January 3, 1993) is an American professional Canadian football quarterback for the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Eastern Washington Eagles and Oregon Ducks. He h ...

. * Toronto → BC (PD). Toronto traded this selection to BC in exchange for Jordan Williams.

Round two

* Hamilton → Edmonton (PD). Hamilton traded this selection and

Jesse Gibbon Jesse Gibbon (born January 14, 1997) is a professional Canadian football offensive lineman for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL). University career Gibbon played U Sports football for the Waterloo Warriors, where he app ...

to Edmonton in exchange for David Beard and a conditional fourth-round pick in this year's draft. * Edmonton → Ottawa (PD). Edmonton traded the 12th overall selection to Ottawa in exchange for the rights to Woodly Appolon.

Round three

* Montreal → Edmonton (PD). Montreal traded this selection and Avery Ellis to Edmonton in exchange for Nafees Lyon and Thomas Costigan. * 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. * 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 Bo Levi Mitchell (born March 3, 1990)Official Eastern Washingto ...

, a first-round pick in this draft, and a third-round pick in the 2024 CFL Draft.

Round four

* Ottawa → Edmonton (PD). Ottawa traded this selection to Edmonton in exchange for

Nick Arbuckle Nicholas Arbuckle (born October 4, 1993) is a professional Canadian football quarterback for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He has also been a member of the Calgary Stampeders, Ottawa Redblacks, Toronto Argonauts, and ...

. * Edmonton → Hamilton (PD). Edmonton traded a conditional fourth-round selection and David Beard to Hamilton in exchange for

and a second-round pick in this year's draft. The condition was confirmed to be fulfilled upon the release of the draft order by the league.

Round five

* Saskatchewan → Montreal (PD). Saskatchewan traded this selection to Montreal in exchange for

Mario Alford Mario Alford (born February 25, 1992) is an American gridiron football wide receiver for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at West Virginia. Professional career Cincinnati Bengals Al ...

. This selection was originally a sixth-round pick, but was upgraded after Alford played in at least nine games for the Roughriders.

Round six

* Edmonton → Toronto (PD). Edmonton traded this selection to Toronto in exchange for

Jalen Collins Jalen Carnell Collins (born March 20, 1993) is a professional gridiron football defensive back who is a free agent. He played college football at LSU and was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft. High sc ...

and

Martez Ivey Martez Ivey (born July 25, 1995) is a professional gridiron football offensive tackle for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Florida. High school career Ivey attended Apopka High School in ...

. * Montreal → Edmonton (PD). Montreal traded this selection to Edmonton in exchange for Walter Fletcher. * 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 Bo Levi Mitchell (born March 3, 1990)Official Eastern Washingto ...

, a first-round pick in this draft, and a third-round pick in the 2024 CFL Draft.

Round seven

* Calgary → Saskatchewan (PD). Calgary traded this selection and a third-round selection in the

2023 CFL Global Draft The 2023 CFL Global Draft was a selection of non-Canadian and non-American players by Canadian Football League (CFL) teams that took place on May 2, 2023. It was the third CFL Draft that pooled all of the global players together after previously ...

to Saskatchewan in exchange for James Smith. This selection can be upgraded to a fifth-round selection depending on the number of games played by Smith for the Stampeders. * Hamilton → Edmonton (PD). Hamilton traded this selection to Edmonton in exchange for

Colin Kelly Colin Purdie Kelly Jr. ( ; July 11, 1915 – December 10, 1941) was a World War II B-17 Flying Fortress pilot who flew bombing runs against the Japanese navy in the first days after the Pearl Harbor attack. He is remembered as one of the first ...

. * Edmonton → Ottawa (PD). Edmonton traded this selection to Ottawa in exchange for Llevi Noel and an eighth-round pick in this year's draft.

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. * Edmonton → Hamilton (PD). Edmonton traded this selection to Hamilton in exchange for

Jon Ryan Jonathan Robert Ryan (born November 26, 1981) is a retired Canadian professional football punter. He played college football for the University of Regina Rams, and began his professional career with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) after being ...

Conditional trades

* Montreal → Calgary (PD). Montreal traded a conditional second-round selection to Calgary in exchange for the playing rights to Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. 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 J-Min Pelley (born March 23, 1998) is a Canadian football defensive lineman for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played U Sports football for the Calgary Dinos. Early career Pelley received "Athlete of the Year" hon ...

in the 2022 Supplemental Draft. * Calgary forfeited their second round pick after selecting

T. J. Rayam T.J. Rayam (born September 12, 1997) is a Canadian-born American professional football defensive lineman for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at Boston College. Early years Rayam was born in ...

in the 2022 Supplemental Draft.

References

Trade references General references {{2023 CFL season by team Canadian College Draft 2023 in Canadian football