Oh, it’s getting real close, football fans.
Rookie camps open next week (stops typing to get up and do a little happy dance), with full camps underway on May 10.
But first, the drafts.
How does it all shake out?
Here are five bold predictions ahead of 2026 selections.
CFL CANADIAN DRAFT
» Biggest needs for all 9 teams ahead of the 2026 CFL Canadian Draft
» Mock Draft 1.0: Who will Ottawa take first overall?
» Who should Ottawa pick first overall in the 2026 CFL Canadian Draft?
» CFL Global Mock Draft: How will things shake out?
» 4 under-the-radar 2026 CFL Canadian Draft prospects
THE REDBLACKS FEEL LIKE TRADIN’
I keep going back to a quote that Ottawa vice-president of football operations, Shawn Burke, gave to Ottawa Citizen writer Don Brennan.
“If we stick to picking at one, we’ll probably have talked to the player and probably gotten all the particulars done that he’s pretty much signed when we select him.”
If we stick to picking at one.
Consensus thinking out there is that Ottawa will keep that pick and go with an offensive lineman. Purdue lineman Giordano Vaccaro is being touted as the likely candidate to go first overall and according to writer Paul Friesen, the Winnipeg native will be at a giant draft party in his hometown, with some 200 guests invited.
Bold prediction: The REDBLACKS do NOT stick to picking at one and make a draft day deal with an antsy, lower-pick GM to move down a few rungs, and still get a quality offensive lineman while adding an extra pick or two, or even an established CFL player.
Bolder still: Kyle Walters is the ‘antsy’ GM in my scenario, and Vaccaro goes to the Bombers.
CLINE CONTINUES TO CLIMB
Where will Kevin Cline get selected in the 2026 CFL Canadian Draft? (Boston College Athletics)
Boston College offensive lineman Kevin Cline jumped from off the charts in the CFL Scouting Bureau top 20 rankings to number seven on the spring list.
That’s because the native of Florida was a late add to the prospects’ list, filing paperwork to get National status just prior to the combine.
He did not appear at the CFL Combine presented by Anytime Fitness but had already posted official testing numbers and those, combined with his career at BC, propelled Cline into the top 10.
Although he’s ranked number seven, this bold prediction has him going top four.
MESIDOR GOES HIGHER THAN YOU THINK
It was absolutely no surprise to anyone who follows football that Canadian defensive lineman Akheem Mesidor was selected in the first round of the NFL draft last week.
Based on the deal he’ll get from the Los Angeles Chargers as the 22nd overall selection, it’s not hard to understand the rationale behind the thinking that the Ottawa native won’t get his name called until sometime in the final round of the CFL Canadian Draft.
But I’m guessing that a team that has had what they see as particularly good fortune in the first five rounds of selections deciding to nab Mesidor’s rights in the sixth, not eighth round.
That could especially be true of a team that actually has seven picks in the first five rounds. Looking at you, Toronto Argonauts.
ONLY ONE PUNTER/KICKER WILL BE CHOSEN IN THE FIRST ROUND OF THE CFL GLOBAL DRAFT
Fine line, there is, between bold and stupid.
Fact is, in the history of the CFL’s Global Draft, dating back to the inaugural event in 2021, no fewer than four punters and/or kickers have ever been taken in the first round.
And five of them were selected in Round 1 in each of the last two years.
This year, CFL.ca’s mock global draft projects that, once more, five hoofers will be chosen with first round picks.
But I see something else as a possibility here.
A whole bunch of offensive and defensive linemen (nine) are ranked as first or second rounders and there’s a tight end and even a quarterback on the list of projected first or second round selections.
So maybe this is the year CFL GMs all roll their eyes at the thought of selecting another kicker with their first round pick.
One of ‘em is all that will go.
Okay, maybe two go. No more than three, tops.
That’s still bold.
EVERYTHING GOES EXACTLY AS PLANNED. FOR EVERYONE
It might seem like some kind of miracle but I swear that if you read an individual draft story about each team in the CFL, you will find that the night couldn’t have gone any better for every one of them.
“Got everyone we targeted,” “it all fell into place just as we’d imagined,” and “we addressed all of our needs” are just a few of the quotes you’ll see repeated, league-wide, on Wednesday morning.
And there will be at least one quote in the vein of “it actually went better than we’d planned. We couldn’t believe (player’s name here) was available at (insert pick number).”
Who’ll win the 2026 CFL Canadian Draft? Your team will. And so will yours. And yours.
As per usual, we won’t really know the answer to that one for at least a year and probably a few more than that.
