Ticats snag first selection as CFL reveals 2021 order
TORONTO — The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will own the first overall pick in the 2021 CFL Draft after May’s selection order was revealed Saturday evening.
During TSN’s two-hour TV special Grey Cup Unite, CFL commissioner, Randy Ambrosie unveiled the results from the random draw that was equally weighted across the nine CFL clubs for the 2021 CFL Draft order.
Earlier in November the CFL announced tweaking its plans for its 2021 draft of Canadian players from U SPORTS in Canada, NCAA teams in the United States, and junior football.
General managers from the nine teams proposed the changes which were subsequently approved by the club presidents serving on the CFL’s Management Council.
The entire 2021 CFL Draft order is as follows:
| ROUND 1 | ROUND 2 | ||||
| 1 | [1] | Hamilton | 1 | [10] | Montreal |
| 2 | [2] | Saskatchewan | 2 | [11] | Calgary |
| 3 | [3] | Winnipeg | 3 | [12] | Toronto |
| 4 | [4] | BC | 4 | [13] | Ottawa |
| 5 | [5] | Edmonton | 5 | [14] | Edmonton |
| 6 | [6] | Ottawa | 6 | [15] | BC |
| 7 | [7] | Toronto | 7 | [16] | Winnipeg |
| 8 | [8] | Calgary | 8 | [17] | Saskatchewan |
| 9 | [9] | Hamilton (via Montreal)* | 9 | [18] | Hamilton |
*Note: The ninth overall pick is a result of a July 22, 2018 trade including Johnny Manziel.
| ROUND 3 | ROUND 4 | ||||
| 1 | [19] | Hamilton | 1 | [28] | Montreal |
| 2 | [20] | Saskatchewan | 2 | [29] | Calgary |
| 3 | [21] | Winnipeg | 3 | [30] | Toronto |
| 4 | [22] | BC | 4 | [31] | Ottawa |
| 5 | [23] | Edmonton | 5 | [32] | Edmonton |
| 6 | [24] | Ottawa | 6 | [33] | Toronto (via BC)* |
| 7 | [25] | Toronto | 7 | [34] | Winnipeg |
| 8 | [26] | Calgary | 8 | [35] | Saskatchewan |
| 9 | [27] | Montreal | 9 | [36] | Hamilton |
* Note: The 33rd overall pick is a result of an August 12,2019 trade between Toronto and BC involving Shawn Lemon and Davon Coleman.
| ROUND 5 | ROUND 6 | ||||
| 1 | [37] | Hamilton | 1 | [46] | Montreal |
| 2 | [38] | Saskatchewan | 2 | [47] | Toronto (via trade with CGY Jan 31) |
| 3 | [39] | Winnipeg | 3 | [48] | Winnipeg (via trade with TOR Jan 27) |
| 4 | [40] | BC | 4 | [49] | Ottawa |
| 5 | [41] | Edmonton | 5 | [50] | Edmonton |
| 6 | [42] | Ottawa | 6 | [51] | BC |
| 7 | [43] | Calgary (via trade with TOR Jan 31) | 7 | [52] | Toronto (via trade with Winnipeg Jan 27) |
| 8 | [44] | Calgary | 8 | [53] | Saskatchewan |
| 9 | [45] | Montreal | 9 | [54] | Hamilton |
More on the recent changes to the CFL Draft:
- The draft order will be determined by a random draw that is equally weighted across the nine CFL clubs. Teams traditionally pick eligible players in an order based on their records in the previous season, with the team with the worst record choosing first, barring trades, to encourage parity. The 2020 CFL Draft followed that traditional format. But the CFL is not staging a season in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The 2021 CFL Draft will feature a “snake” format. That means that after teams pick in the first round, with the order determined by random draw, they will then pick in reverse order in the second round, and that pattern will continue. For example, the team that picks ninth in the first round will pick first in the second round.
- The 2021 CFL Draft will be six rounds long instead of the traditional eight rounds. This is in recognition of the fact that 2021 CFL training camps will feature a “double cohort” of Canadian rookies, with a group from each of the 2020 and 2021 CFL Drafts.
- There will be no territorial selections in the 2021 CFL Draft.
