Later this month the CFL will gather in Edmonton for the CFL Combine presented by Anytime Fitness Canada.
The young men will go through three days of testing, drills and interviews to showcase their abilities in front of the nine teams’ general managers, scouts, and coaches to hopefully land a job.
But as much as the combine is about proving to teams that you’ve got what it takes, it’s also a time for teams to look across the board and see which players can improve their depth at some key positions for the immediate and long-term future of their organization.
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BC LIONS | RECEIVER
I’m looking at the BC Lions and the future of the receivers around Canadian quarterback Nathan Rourke is starting to concern me a bit.
Yes, they have three capable Canadian receivers in Jevon Cottoy, Justin McInnis and Hergy Mayala, but they are already 30, or turning 30 this season, and have some wear and tear. After that, only Kieran Poissant is left. That’s not great depth at that position.
The Lions would do their best work looking closely at the 12 receivers attending the combine to make sure they have the weapons to surround Nathan Rourke with well into the future.
CALGARY STAMPEDERS | LINEBACKER
The Stampeders come into this combine with a few positions they could do themselves good filling out their depth chart, but I’ve landed on linebacker for the sole reason to help out their special teams off the jump with some athletic players to get downfield and make tackles.
With only three linebackers on the roster, the Stampeders have a dozen linebackers to really get a good grasp on, including two University of Calgary players, if they want to keep it local.
While they may not be first-round options, many teams have found some diamonds in the rough in later rounds at linebacker.
EDMONTON ELKS | OFFENSIVE LINE
The Elks are going to have to load up their ratio this season along the offensive line and they need this group to improve to help Cody Fajardo stay upright.
While they have okay depth, I look at the Elks offensive linemen and they need to get better and they do that at this CFL Draft. They can start by hanging around Darius Bell, who sits 12th on the CFL’s winter edition of the Scouting Bureau Rankings from January.
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS | DEFENSIVE LINE
Last year the Roughriders went with Ali Saad early in the draft, and you know Jeremy O’Day and Corey Mace are building this roster from the trenches out. While they’re going with a lot of Americans on both lines, they do need to potentially mix in Canadians on the defensive line this season to make their ratio work with the loss of A.J. Allen as a starting Canadian linebacker.
Defensive line is where they need to load the depth a little better after seeing Charbel Dabire leave this off-season. Lake Korte-Moore was hampered by an injury last year, but the former first round pick also hasn’t been able to grab a regular rotation position. With plenty of top-end options at the position not attending the combine, there are lots of middle-round potential picks that will be there to help out the Riders depth, including Aamarii Notice out of Coastal Carolina, who jumped up to 16th in the winter rankings.
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS | OFFENSIVE LINE
What position group will Kyle Walters and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers be eying at the 2026 CFL Combine in Edmonton? (Thomas Skrlj/CFL.ca)
The Blue Bombers are another team that has an aging core of Canadians that need to be bolstered with some youth movement or Kyle Walters is going to be in some difficulty if injuries pile up.
The Bombers have two of the best tackles in the game with American Jarell Broxton coming on board, but Stanley Bryant isn’t going to be there forever and neither will Patrick Neufeld in the interior.
The Bombers need a refresh in the interior after losing centre Chris Kolankowski this off-season in free agency.
The Bombers haven’t committed to drafting offensive linemen early in the draft over the last five years, but Walters needs to commit to restocking a vital position at either the fourth or 13th selection.
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS | LINEBACKER
I’m going to be honest, the Tiger-Cats are in a very good spot across the board when it comes to having depth for their Canadians.
They aren’t sweating having to draft for need, but instead they can draft for the best available player. That being said, they only have one Canadian linebacker on the roster and, like I said earlier with the Stampeders, some of the best Canadian special teamers are young budding linebackers looking to make an impression.
You can find some quality athletes later on in the draft who could become some high quality rotational defensive players in the future.
OTTAWA REDBLACKS | OFFENSIVE LINE
Another team who needs to improve the offensive line play if they want to really make a push up the standings is the Ottawa REDBLACKS. Dru Brown’s injury bug isn’t a fluke. He gets hit a lot.
The REDBLACKS have some decent offensive linemen, but they need bullies to be the hammer and not the nail. Only competition makes a position improve and while I’m not advocating making an offensive lineman the first overall selection for the REDBLACKS in this year’s CFL Draft, making hay in the second and third rounds wouldn’t hurt to improve the group.
TORONTO ARGONAUTS | RECEIVER
Will receiver be the position group that new head coach Mike Miller and the Argonauts key in on at the CFL Combine? (Thomas Skrlj/CFL.ca)
When you look at the defensive line and defensive back depth for Canadians, it is shallow for the Argonauts. If they feel they can get a day one starter at those positions, that player may not be at the combine with the amount of top-ranked players using pro days to highlight their stuff.
The Argonauts’ Canadian receiver depth took a hit this off-season with the departure of Dejon Brissett in free agency, who was the No. 1 pass-catcher in Toronto last season. The Argonauts have seen some dynamic Canadian pass-catchers come and go lately and need to restock the shelves for ratio-breaking Canadians.
MONTREAL ALOUETTES | DEFENSIVE BACK
Marc-Antoine Dequoy’s retirement makes this an easy selection.
The Alouettes now have only three Canadian defensive backs.
Arthur Hamlin and Nate Beauchemin were both drafted in the early rounds of 2024 and 2025, respectively, with an eye on the future for the Alouettes, but are either of them going to match Dequoy’s ability? The Als also signed Jonathan Sutherland to a three-year deal in January.
That’s a major question for the Alouettes at a crucial position for their defence.
The more talent competing the better for the Alouettes.
