CFL draft primer: What you need to know about the Stampeders
Posted May 4, 2021 1:24 pm.
Last Updated May 4, 2021 1:39 pm.
CALGARY (660 NEWS) — The Calgary Stampeders will soon be on the clock.
The 2021 CFL draft goes Tuesday with the first overall selection, belonging to Hamilton, set to go just after 5 p.m.
How many picks do the Stampeders have?
Where we'll be picking tonight ????#CFLDraft
— Calgary Stampeders (@calstampeders) May 4, 2021
1st round: 8th overall
2nd round: 11th overall
3rd round: 26th overall
4th round: 29th overall
5th round: 43rd overall (via Toronto)
5th round: 44th overall
The order is reversed in alternating rounds, meaning a snake format: Calgary’s opening pick is eighth in the first, third and fifth rounds and the second spot of even number rounds.
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What should Stampeders fans expect?
“I think Calgary will take an offensive lineman early with Shane Bergman and Brad Erdos both retiring,” Matty Rose of Sportsnet 960 The Fan said. “There was a lack of depth on the O-line, and I could see Calgary going there early on.”
Could the Stampeders select a player recently picked in the NFL draft?
“The interesting thing about the CFL draft is the best available rarely gets picked,” Rose offered. “Think of Chuba Hubbard, the running back from Sherwood Park, who was just drafted by the Carolina Panthers in the NFL’s fourth round. He’s eligible for the CFL draft, but teams might be hesitant to use draft capital to take him because of the likeliness he plays in the NFL instead.
“Hubbard is one of the best players available, but he could fall out of the first few rounds until a team feels comfortable taking a gamble.”
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What’s different about this year’s draft?
There will be fewer selections with the number of rounds down to six from eight.
“That’s because there will be two crops of rookies at training camp,” Rose explained. “There will be the 2020 draftees and the 2021 draftees.”
The order selection of the 2021 draft was determined by a random draw last November rather than the usual process of looking at the previous season’s standings and playoff results.
Clubs are going into the draft with uncertainty when it comes to player evaluation over the last year. Canadian schools haven’t played because of the COVID-19 pandemic, which means there’s no recent game film.
Rewind: What happened in the 2020 draft?
our last 4 first rounders #CFLDraft pic.twitter.com/QAHdOcq8to
— Calgary Stampeders (@calstampeders) May 4, 2021
On April 30, 2020, the Stampeders had the first overall pick but traded down two spots to select defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of Southeastern Louisiana University.
