San Diego State Athletics
As the free agency news cycle heats up and the winter chill is in full effect across much of the country, it is the official time to see the second of three CFL Scouting Bureau rankings.
There’s a number number of directions that a discussion on these top 20 prospects could go, but I am always interested in the players rising through elite company towards the top of the board.
RELATED
» Isaiah Adams headlines CFL Scouting Bureau’s winter rankings
» CFL Combine presented by New Era awarded to Winnipeg in 2024
» Combine Rewind: Catch up on the 2023 CFL Combine and more
Some come from a top five spot to increase their rankings even more, while others confirm their CFL Draft eligibility or make a great push through their college season to leap from out of nowhere towards a numbered ranking.
Regardless of how they get there, all twenty names involved have game changing CFL potential, and nowhere is that more true than these top five fast risers in the Winter Scouting Bureau rankings.
Arizona TE Tanner McLachlan
12 —> 4 (+8)
Photo: Arizona Athletics
After starting his career at Southern Utah, this Lethbridge Collegiate Institute alumni is no stranger to success catching the ball after gaining over 1,000 all-purpose yards in his senior high school season north of the border. He finished his time at Arizona with a school record 76 career catches helping the Wildcats to an electric Alamo Bowl victory this past December.
After accepting a Senior Bowl invitation, you can be assured all eyes will be on the big-bodied pass-catcher for any and all CFL scouts who make the trip to the NCAA’s preeminent off-season showcase game.
Bemidji State REC Dhel Duncan-Busby
13 —> 19 (+6)
Bemidji State Athletics
Just like McLachlan before him, the top two risers in this edition of the Scouting Bureau rankings had successful seasons catching the rock with authority. While McLachlan did it in the Pac-12 as a six-foot-five tight end, Duncan-Busby prospered in Division II as a six-foot-three, 210-pound receiver with a raw skill set ready to make the jump to pro ball and flourish.
In 2023, Dhel finished 49 catches, 11 of which went for touchdowns at a ridiculous touchdown catch percentage of 22.4 per cent.
San Diego State DL Daniel Okpoko
NR —> 15 (+5)
San Diego State Athletics
A six-foot-five, 256-pound native of Saskatoon, Okpoko comes from the land of unranked prospects all the way to 15th on the winter rankings. A longtime veteran of the Aztecs program, Okpoko is a former member of the Football Canada U18 National team after being born in Lagos Nigeria.
This season he started all 12 games marking 23 tackles including 3.5 for a loss and adding two sacks. With the body type scouts look for and reminiscent of Southern Utah 2023 BC Lions first round pick Francis Bemiy, don’t be surprised if Okpoko continues to rise headed toward the CFL Combine.
Illinois OL Isaiah Adams
5 —> 1 (+4)
Photo: Illinois Athletics
Unlike Okpoko, this name has been a known commodity for quite some time, and honestly felt inevitable to rise in the Scouting Bureau rankings after watching him lead fellow Canadian Chase Brown to a record-setting campaign for Illinois in 2022.
An Ajax, Ontario native, Adams was named a team captain in 2023 while starting all 12 games for the Illini in a career that includes two All Big Ten selections. Adams is the real deal in every single way and as usual at the top of the rankings this time of year we would be lucky to see him in CFL colours come June.
Arkansas State LB Melique Straker
14 —> 10 (+4)
Arkansas State Athletics
Just like Adams, Straker jumps four spots from the fall rankings and how could he not after posting career-highs in solo tackles (45) total tackles (85) and interceptions (2)?
From the youth football hotbed of Brampton, Ontario and high school at Saint Francis in Hamburg, New York Straker would be an immediate impact player on special teams with the potential to become much more as a weak side linebacker in the near future.
