Last month, the CFL held its annual Draft in two parts on April 30, 2024. First, they had their fourth annual Global Draft where teams draft international players that are not American or Canadian, followed by the CFL Draft later in the night.
However, during the draft, there were a few players drafted who were either planning to finish their collegiate careers, were drafted by NFL teams, or already had professional playing experience from other leagues like the USFL and the European League of Football.
Every year, players who enter the draft have dreamed of hearing their names get called. It is wonderful to see them get to live their dreams of playing in a professional league like the CFL. Unfortunately, not all of them get to hear their names called because of the following reasons. The league needs to take steps to fix the draft process and here is how they can do that.
Eliminate the Global Draft:
The CFL created the Global Draft four years ago after the CFL-LFA Draft in 2019 for teams to draft international players not from America and Canada. In this draft, which is two rounds, some of the players played at American or Canadian colleges but were not born in either country or they played professionally in leagues like the European League of Football and the GFL.
These players should be included in the actual draft. The Global Draft has outstayed its welcome and needs to go away. I would like to see the CFL include the two rounds in the actual draft to make it ten rounds instead of eight.
If A Collegiate Player elects to finish College, they cannot enter the CFL Draft:
Over the years, CFL teams have drafted players who have intentions of finishing up their collegiate careers at their respective universities. The decision to go pro or not is a difficult one for some. But if players have intentions of finishing their collegiate careers, they cannot enter the CFL Draft. It is not fair to those who are entering the draft wanting to play in the CFL only to not get called because a team drafts a player who plans to return to their university next season.
The CFL needs to have a deadline for all players to declare for the draft. Let the players look at all their options and if they decide to head back to their respective universities, they must choose prior to the deadline otherwise they are entering the draft. If they withdraw prior to the deadline, they can enter into the draft next season.
Players who have been drafted to NFL teams should be ineligible:
The CFL Draft takes place a week after the NFL Draft. By then, teams already know who has been drafted into the NFL. Take punter Tory Taylor, who was drafted by the B.C. Lions in the second round (15th pick) of the 2024 Global Draft and was drafted by the Chicago Bears a week earlier in the fourth round (122nd pick) in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Right there, Taylor should not have been included in the CFL Global Draft. There is a chance he may never play a game for the Lions. Another example of this is Christian Covington, who was drafted by the B.C. Lions in the fifth round (43rd pick) in the 2015 NFL Draft and was drafted by the Houston Texans in the sixth round (216th pick) in the 2015 NFL Draft.
Covington played nine seasons in the NFL before finally signing with the Lions on May 1, 2024. The CFL should not be drafting players for their rights. They are wasting picks on guys who potentially will never play in the CFL. Draft the players who want to play in the league.
If a player has professional playing experience, they too are ineligible:
The Edmonton Elks drafted linebacker Joel Dublanko with the number one overall pick in the 2024 CFL Draft. The last time Dublanko played college football was in 2021. He tried out for the New Orleans Saints and the Seattle Seahawks.
In 2023, Dublanko played for the Philadelphia Stars (USFL) making 27 tackles (17 solo, 10 assists), half a sack, one pass breakup, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery in seven games.
Dublanko was not the only player with professional playing experience who was drafted. In the Global Draft, defensive back Lucky Ogbevoen (Tirol Raiders) and linebacker Fabian Weitz (Cologne Centurions) were also drafted with previous professional playing experience.
Dublanko and the other players with professional experience already have the upper hand versus a new player coming out of college. I think those who have already played professionally are under more pressure than those straight out of college. Players who have already played professionally should be excluded from entering the CFL Draft and considered free agents.
The CFL needs to adjust the draft process going forward so teams are no longer wasting draft picks on those who plan to head to the NFL, and players potentially lose out on hearing their name get called on draft day.
Making these small changes I think will help the CFL create a better draft experience for everyone involved and the fans can see all the players drafted playing in the CFL and not in another league.
