The

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

CFL Draft The CFL Draft (also known as the CFL Canadian Draft, CFL College Draft or the Canadian College Draft) is an annual sports draft in which the teams of the Canadian Football League (CFL) select eligible Canadian/non-import players, typically from ...

took place on Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 3:00 PM ET on TSN. 45 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 ...

. The

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium and are the third-old ...

had the most selections with eight, while

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

had seven picks. The

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

and

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

each had six and the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

and

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

had five picks. The defending

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

champion

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

and the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 1 ...

had the fewest selections with just four. A total of three trades involving 11 draft picks in this draft were made on the draft day itself. Of the 45 draft selections, 24 players were drafted from

Canadian Interuniversity Sport 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 Can ...

institutions, which is the lowest percentage of CIS players taken since

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

(26 of 50, 52%, were selected then). It is also the lowest number of CIS players taken since the

2000 CFL Draft The 2000 CFL Draft took place on Tuesday, April 18, 2000. 46 players were chosen for Canadian Football League teams from among the 504 eligible CIAU football players from Canadian universities, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. Of t ...

when just 22 out of 46 players were chosen. The first two rounds were broadcast live on TSN with CFL Commissioner

Mark Cohon Mark Steven Cohon, (born March 16, 1966) is the chairman of the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (CARAS). He was also the 12th commissioner of the Canadian Football League. The son of McDonald's Canada founder George Cohon, he was a ...

announcing each selection. The production was hosted by

Rod Black Rod Black (born September 28, 1962) is a Canadian sports announcer best known for his work with CTV Sports and TSN from 1990 to 2021. He is now a host and brand ambassador for NorthStar Bets, a brand of NorthStar Gaming. Education Black was bor ...

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

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 ...

Chris Schultz Christopher Schultz (February 16, 1960 – March 4, 2021) was a Canadian professional football player who was an offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He primarily played with the CFL Toronto A ...

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 ...

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 ...

Blake Nill Blake Nill (born February 16, 1962) is a former Canadian football defensive lineman and the current head coach for the University of British Columbia's football team, the UBC Thunderbirds. Previously, Nill had served as head coach for the Sain ...

Jeff Cummins Jeff Cummins (born May 25, 1969) is a former Canadian football defensive lineman and is the head coach for Acadia University's football team, the Acadia Axemen. Cummins became Acadia's head coach in 2003 and has led the team to first-place fini ...

, and Stefan Ptaszek who analyzed the teams' needs and picks.

Top prospects

60 of the top Canadian athletes attended the 2012

CFL Evaluation Camp The CFL Combine (formerly known as the Evaluation Camp or E-Camp) is a three-day program in which athletes from Canadian universities and Canadians in the NCAA are scouted by general managers, coaches and scouts of the Canadian Football League (C ...

which took place March 2–4 in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. Below is a table with the CFL Scouting Bureau rankings of the top CFL Draft prospects..

Trades

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

Round one

* Montreal → BC (PD). Montreal traded this selection to BC for Sean Whyte. * Toronto → Edmonton (PD). Toronto traded this selection,

Steven Jyles Steven Jyles (born September 25, 1982) is a former professional Canadian football quarterback. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League in 2006. He played college football for Louisiana–M ...

and

Grant Shaw Grant Shaw (born August 3, 1984) is a professional Canadian football placekicker and punter who is currently a free agent. He was drafted eleventh overall by the Toronto Argonauts in the 2010 CFL Draft and signed with the team on May 22, 2010. H ...

to Edmonton for

Ricky Ray Ricky Ray (born October 22, 1979) is an American former professional Canadian football quarterback. Ray spent the majority of his professional career with the Edmonton Eskimos and Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He also ...

. * Edmonton → BC (D). Edmonton traded this selection and the 20th overall pick in this year's draft to BC for the fourth overall pick, the 14th overall pick, and the 38th overall pick in this year's draft. * BC → Edmonton (D). BC traded this selection, the 14th overall pick, and the 38th overall pick in this year's draft to Edmonton for the second overall pick and the 20th overall pick in this year's draft. * Hamilton → Winnipeg (D). Hamilton traded this selection to Winnipeg for the eighth overall pick in the 2012 CFL Draft and the 13th overall pick in the 2012 CFL Draft.

Round two

* Saskatchewan → Winnipeg (PD). Saskatchewan traded this selection, a fourth round pick in the 2012 CFL Draft, and a conditional draft pick in the

2013 CFL Draft The 2013 CFL season, 2013 CFL Draft took place on Monday, May 6, 2013 at 12:00 PM ET on The Sports Network, TSN. 60 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Interuniversity Sport, Canadian Universities across the country, as w ...

to Winnipeg for Odell Willis and a conditional fifth round draft pick in the

. * BC → Edmonton (D). BC traded this selection, the fourth overall pick, and the 38th overall pick in this year's draft to Edmonton for the second overall pick and the 20th overall pick in this year's draft. * Winnipeg → Hamilton (D). Winnipeg traded this selection and the 13th overall pick in this year's draft to Hamilton for the third overall pick in this year's draft. * Winnipeg → Hamilton (D). Winnipeg traded this selection and the eighth overall pick in this year's draft to Hamilton for the third overall pick in this year's draft. * Calgary → Saskatchewan (D). Calgary traded this selection and the 35th overall pick in this year's draft to Saskatchewan for the 15th overall pick in this year's draft and a second round pick in the

Round three

* BC → Hamilton (PD). BC traded this selection and a conditional pick in the

to Hamilton for

Arland Bruce III Arland Richard Bruce III (born November 23, 1977) is a former Canadian football wide receiver. He is a two-time Grey Cup champion, having won in 2004 with the Toronto Argonauts and in 2011 with the Lions. He has played 10 seasons in the CFL wi ...

. * Toronto → Winnipeg (PD). Toronto traded this selection and a first round pick in the 2011 CFL Draft to Winnipeg for

. This selection, originally a fourth round pick, could be upgraded to as high as a second round pick, contingent upon the number of games that Jyles plays for Toronto. Jyles played in eight games and this pick became a third round selection. * Edmonton → BC (D). Edmonton traded this selection and the second overall pick in this year's draft to BC for the fourth overall pick, the 14th overall pick, and the 38th overall pick in this year's draft. * Saskatchewan → Calgary (D). Saskatchewan traded this selection and a second round pick in the

to Calgary for the 12th overall pick in this year's draft and the 35th overall pick in this year's draft.

Round four

* BC → Calgary (PD). BC traded this selection and a second round pick in the 2011 CFL Draft to Calgary for

Jesse Newman Jesse Newman (born September 23, 1982) is a former Canadian football guard for the Calgary Stampeders and BC Lions of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted in the first round with the 3rd overall pick in the 2008 CFL Draft by the Calg ...

. * Edmonton → Toronto (PD). Edmonton traded this selection to Toronto for Delroy Clarke. * Saskatchewan → Winnipeg (PD). Saskatchewan traded this selection, a second round pick in the 2012 CFL Draft, and a conditional draft pick in the

to Winnipeg for Odell Willis and a conditional fifth round draft pick in the

Round five

* Saskatchewan → Winnipeg (PD). Saskatchewan traded this selection, a sixth round pick in the

2010 CFL Draft The 2010 CFL Draft took place on Sunday, May 2, 2010 at 12:00 PM ET on TSN. 47 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. After a number of tra ...

, Adarius Bowman,

Jean-François Morin-Roberge Jean-François Morin-Roberge (born January 9, 1984) is a former offensive lineman who played in the Canadian Football League. He was drafted by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the fourth round of the 2008 CFL Draft. He played CIS Football at Montre ...

Brady Browne Brady Browne (born April 24, 1983) is a former professional Canadian football defensive back. He last played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He was drafted by the BC Lions in the fifth round of the 2008 CFL Draft. He ...

, and a player from the Roughriders negotiation list to Winnipeg for a fifth round pick in the 2009 CFL Draft, a fifth round pick in the

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

or 2012 CFL Draft, the option to swap first round picks in the

Dan Goodspeed Dan Goodspeed (born May 20, 1977) is a former American football offensive tackle whose longest stint was with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He also played in the National Football League (NFL) and the XFL (20 ...

, and the rights to

Tyler Roehl Tyler Roehl (born January 29, 1986) is an American football coach and former running back. He was signed by the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football for North Dakota State University. In June 2009, he w ...

. * Winnipeg → Calgary (PD). Winnipeg traded this selection conditionally to Calgary for Pat MacDonald.Winnipeg Acquires Pat MacDonald in Trade with Calgary
/ref> * Winnipeg → BC (PD). Winnipeg traded this selection conditionally to BC for Kelly Bates. * BC → Edmonton (D). BC traded this selection, the fourth overall pick, and the 14th overall pick in this year's draft to Edmonton for the second overall pick and the 20th overall pick in this year's draft. * Calgary → Saskatchewan (D). Calgary traded this selection and the 12th overall pick in this year's draft to Saskatchewan for the 15th overall pick in this year's draft and a second round pick in the

Round six

* Hamilton → Toronto (PD). Hamilton traded this selection conditionally to Toronto for Steve Schmidt. * Edmonton → Montreal (PD). Edmonton traded this selection and a sixth-round pick in the

to Montreal for

Dylan Steenbergen Dylan Steenbergen (born July 24, 1987) is a former professional Canadian football offensive lineman who played for the Montreal Alouettes and Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was drafted by the Montreal Alouettes in th ...

. * Winnipeg → Calgary (PD). Winnipeg traded this selection to Calgary for Neil Ternovatsky.Bombers get Walls, Ternovatsky from Stamps
/ref>

Forfeitures

* Winnipeg forfeits their first round selection after selecting Kito Poblah in the 2011 Supplemental Draft. * Edmonton forfeits their second round selection after selecting Ted Laurent in the 2011 Supplemental Draft. * BC forfeits their sixth round selection after selecting Alex Ellis in the 2011 Supplemental Draft.

Top prospects

Trades

Round one

Round two

Round three

Round four

Round five

Round six

Forfeitures

Round one

Round two

Round three

Round four

Round five

Round six

References