Arthur Ward/CFL.ca
TORONTO — The 2025 CFL Draft gets underway later on this month as teams across the league get ready to add the next generation of Canadian talent to their rosters.
Many of the CFL’s biggest stars, that are now household names, got their start through the draft process.
As we await April 29 for this year’s draft, CFL.ca is here to take a look at one key Canadian player from each team and where they were drafted.
Note that this list features just one standout player per team and does not include every impactful Canadian on each roster.
2025 CFL DRAFT
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TRE FORD | 2022 CFL DRAFT | 1st ROUND – 8TH OVERALL
Tre Ford, the Edmonton Elks’ starting quarterback heading into 2025, got his start in the league in 2022. After arriving at that year’s CFL Combine as one of the most highly touted prospects, the six-foot, 192-pounder lived up to the hype at the event in Toronto.
Edmonton wasted no time on selecting Ford in that year’s draft, picking him in the first round, eighth overall.
In 38 career games in the Green and Gold, the 27-year-old has connected on 277 of his 413 pass attempts for 3,667 yards, 24 touchdowns and 16 interceptions. He also has tallied 108 carries for 977 yards and three scores on the ground.
BRADY OLIVEIRA | 2019 CFL DRAFT | 2ND ROUND – 14TH OVERALL
The reigning Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Canadian got his start in the CFL in 2019, getting drafted in the second round, 14th overall.
Round two is nothing to scoff at, but when you think about how excellent Oliveira has become over his career, it’s kind of shocking how many teams passed over the running back before his selection late in the round.
Since getting drafted by his hometown Bombers, the 27-year-old has only known playing in Grey Cups; Winnipeg has been in five-straight championship games starting in Oliveira’s rookie season. He’s suited up in 64 games, rushing for 4,317 yards, including three-straight 1,000-yard campaigns, and 18 touchdowns on 795 carries.
CAMERON JUDGE | 2017 CFL DRAFT | 1ST ROUND – 2ND OVERALL
Cameron Judge played three seasons in Calgary before a trade this off-season sent him back to Toronto (Dave Chidley/CFL.ca)
Cameron Judge returns to the Toronto Argonauts in 2025, the team he played for in 2021 before heading to Calgary for for the 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons.
But it was the Saskatchewan Roughriders who introduced the linebacker to the CFL, selecting Judge second overall in the 2017 CFL Draft. The 30-year-old played three seasons in Saskatchewan.
Over 95 career games, Judge has accumulated 354 defensive tackles, 22 special teams tackles, 15 sacks, nine interceptions, seven forced fumbles, and a touchdown.
SAMUEL EMILUS | 2022 CFL DRAFT | 1ST ROUND – 7TH OVERALL
Samuel Emilus is another first round draft pick on this list, from the same draft as Ford. Emilus didn’t attend the CFL Combine that year, but his college resume still impressed the Roughriders enough to select him seventh overall in the draft.
The 27-year-old has played in 44 career games, all with Saskatchewan, hauling in 167 passes for 2,326 yards and 11 touchdowns while also averaging 13.9 yards per catch.
KIONDRÉ SMITH | 2022 CFL DRAFT | 4TH ROUND – 37TH OVERALL
Kiondré Smith is yet another alum of the 2022 CFL Draft; the receiver was taken by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the fourth round, 37th overall.
Since his selection, Smith has played in 48 games and has caught 147 passes for 1,881 yards and eight touchdowns, averaging 12.8 yards per catch.
ADRIAN GREENE | 2022 CFL DRAFT | 4TH ROUND – 32ND OVERALL
Adrian Greene signed with the Calgary Stampeders as a free agent, playing for a team other than the BC Lions for the first time in his career (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca)
Adrian Greene signed with the Calgary Stampeders earlier this off-season as a free agent and is projected to be their starting safety this year. Greene was selected in the same draft as the Philpot twins, Ford twins, Smith, and Emilus, which we are realizing was a pretty stacked draft. He went a bit lower than those guys, however, with BC taking him in the fourth round (32nd overall).
His best season with the Lions was in 2024, where he played in 16 games and tallied 26 tackles on defence and five on special teams to go along with two interceptions and a forced fumble.
JUSTIN MCINNIS | 2019 CFL DRAFT | 1ST ROUND – 6TH OVERALL
The 2019 draft was just as star-studded as the 2022 draft with Oliveira, Justin McInnis and Mathieu Betts all getting selected that year. Betts was taken third overall while McInnis was sixth.
McInnis led the CFL in receiving yards in 2024 (1,469), his first 1,000-yard season of his career. The 28-year-old also hauled in seven touchdowns and averaged an eye-popping 16.0 yards per catch on 92 receptions.
ISAAC ADEYEMI-BERGLUND | 2020 CFL DRAFT | 1ST ROUND – 3RD OVERALL
Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund was named the East Division’s Most Outstanding Canadian in 2024 (Minas Panagiotakis/CFL.ca)
Picking just one Montreal Alouette to mention in this article was difficult, but we landed on 2024’s East Division Most Outstanding Canadian Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund. Tyson Philpot deserves an honourable mention here, getting selected ninth overall in the 2022 CFL Draft.
Adeyemi-Berglund was drafted third overall by the Calgary Stampeders in the 2020 draft. Since his draft year, the 28-year-old has played for Calgary and Montreal.
Last season, when he earned his award nomination, he started 17 regular season games and recorded 36 defensive tackles and five on special teams. Adeyemi-Berglund also added a team-high seven sacks, forced one fumble and led the CFL with nine tackles for loss.
TUNDE ADELEKE | 2017 CFL DRAFT | 3RD ROUND – 25TH OVERALL
Tunde Adeleke signed with the Ottawa REDBLACKS this off-season after becoming a free agent in February (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca)
Tunde Adeleke was drafted by the Stampeders in the third round (25th overall) in the 2017 CFL Draft. He played two seasons with Calgary, winning his first Grey Cup in the 106th Grey Cup game in 2018.
The versatile defensive back then played four seasons in Hamilton before joining Toronto in 2024, winning his second championship, and has recently signed with the Ottawa REDBLACKS. In 90 career games, the 29-year-old has tallied 247 tackles, five sacks, five interceptions, four forced fumbles, and 35 special teams tackles.
