2020 CFL draft explained

2020 CFL Draft
Logosize:	250px
Logoalt:	2020 CFL draft logo
Date:	April 30, 2020
Time:	8:00 pm EDT
League:	CFL
Sport:	Canadian football
Location:	Toronto
Network:	TSN/RDS
Overall:	73
Rounds:	8
Territorial:	2
First:	Jordan Williams, LB, BC Lions
Fewest:	BC Lions Toronto Argonauts
Fewnum:	7
Most:	Montreal Alouettes
Mostnum:	10
U Sports:	57
Ncaa:	16
Prev:	2019
Next:	2021

The 2020 CFL Draft took place on April 30, 2020 at 8:00 pm ET and was broadcast on TSN and RDS.^[1] ^[2] 73 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA.^[3] ^[4] This was the second year in a row that featured territorial picks after they were re-introduced in the 2019 CFL Draft.^[5] ^[4]

The draft was broadcast live on TSN for two hours and then subsequent coverage shifted to digital platforms on CFL.ca. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, every commentator broadcast from remote locations as opposed to in-studio. The TSN production was hosted by Farhan Lalji and featured the CFL on TSN panel which included Dave Naylor, Duane Forde, and Davis Sanchez.^[2] Randy Ambrosie, the CFL commissioner, delivered an opening remark and each selection in the first two rounds was announced by Lalji. Once the TSN production finished, CFL.ca host, Brodie Lawson, and CFL.ca columnist, Marshall Ferguson, covered all remaining rounds via an online broadcast on CFL.ca.^[2]

Top prospects

Source: CFL Scouting Bureau rankings.

Final Ranking^[6]	December Ranking^[7]	September Ranking^[8]	Player	Position	University	Hometown
1	1	1	Neville Gallimore	Defensive lineman	Oklahoma	Ottawa, ON
2	2	2	Chase Claypool	Receiver	Notre Dame	Abbotsford, BC
3	4	11	Carter O'Donnell	Offensive lineman	Alberta	Red Deer, AB
4	5	13	Tomas Jack-Kurdyla	Offensive lineman	Buffalo	Montreal, QC
5	7	6	Dejon Brissett	Receiver	Virginia	Mississauga, ON
6	–	–	Michael Hoecht	Defensive lineman	Brown	Oakville, ON
7	3	3	Nathan Rourke	Quarterback	Ohio	Oakville, ON
8	–	–	Jordan Williams	Linebacker	East Carolina	Louisville, KY
9	9	15	Marc-Antoine Dequoy	Defensive back	Montreal	Île-Bizard, QC
10	8	9	Mason Bennett	Defensive lineman	North Dakota	Winnipeg, MB
11	6	7	Kétel Assé	Offensive lineman	Laval	Saint-Marc, Haiti
12	17	–	Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund	Defensive lineman	Southeastern Louisiana	Dartmouth, NS
13	10	14	Brendan O′Leary-Orange	Receiver	Nevada	Toronto, ON
14	15	–	Cameron Lawson	Defensive lineman	Queen's	Caledon, ON
15	13	8	Adam Auclair	Linebacker	Laval	Quebec City, QC
16	12	16	Dylan Giffen	Offensive lineman	Western	Strathroy, ON
17	16	19	Tyler Ternowski	Receiver	Waterloo	Hamilton, ON
18	11	–	Rysen John	Receiver	Simon Fraser	Vancouver, BC
19	20	–	Jack Cassar	Linebacker	Carleton	Mississauga, ON
20	19	12	J.J. Molson	Kicker	UCLA	Montreal, QC
–	14	18	Adam Sinagra	Quarterback	Calgary	Pointe-Claire, QC
–	18	20	Jesse Lawson	Offensive lineman	Carleton	Vancouver, BC
–	–	4	Sage Doxtater	Offensive lineman	New Mexico State	Welland, ON
–	–	5	Patrice Rene	Defensive back	North Carolina	Ottawa, ON
–	–	10	Daniel Joseph	Defensive lineman	Penn State	Brampton, ON
–	–	17	Dev Lamour	Defensive back	Buffalo	Montreal, QC

Trades

In the explanations below, (D) denotes trades that took place during the draft, while (PD) indicates trades completed pre-draft.

Round one

Montreal → Hamilton (PD). Montreal traded this selection, Jamaal Westerman, Chris Williams, and a first-round pick in the 2021 CFL Draft to Hamilton in exchange for Johnny Manziel, Tony Washington, and Landon Rice.^[9]
Winnipeg → Toronto (PD). Winnipeg traded a conditional first-round pick and a third-round selection in this year's draft to Toronto in exchange for Zach Collaros and a fifth-round pick in this year's draft. The condition was set upon Collaros re-signing with Winnipeg which was fulfilled on January 27, 2020 when he signed a two-year contract with the Blue Bombers.^[10] ^[11]
Ottawa → Calgary (PD). Ottawa traded the first overall selection to Calgary in exchange for the sixth overall selection when Nick Arbuckle signed a contract extension with Ottawa after his playing rights were traded by Calgary.^[12]
Calgary ←→ BC (D). Calgary traded the first overall selection and 15th overall selection to BC in exchange for the third overall selection and 12th overall selection.^[13]

Round two

Saskatchewan → Montreal (PD). Saskatchewan traded this selection and Joshua Stanford to Montreal in exchange for Philip Blake and Patrick Lavoie.^[14]
BC ←→ Calgary (D). BC traded the 12th overall selection and third overall selection to Calgary in exchange for the first overall selection and 15th overall selection.^[13]

Round three

Toronto → Montreal (PD). Toronto traded this selection and T. J. Heath to Montreal in exchange for Ryan Bomben and a fifth-round pick in this year's draft.^[15]
Winnipeg → Toronto (PD). Winnipeg traded this selection and a conditional first-round pick to Toronto in exchange for Zach Collaros and a fifth-round pick in this year's draft.^[10]
Ottawa → Calgary (PD). Ottawa traded this selection and a conditional first-round pick in this year's draft to Calgary in exchange for Nick Arbuckle and a conditional first-round pick in this year's draft.^[16]

Round four

Toronto → Saskatchewan (PD). Toronto traded this selection to Saskatchewan in exchange for Zach Collaros. The pick can be upgraded to as high as a second-round pick in this year's draft if Collaros meets playing time targets and extension clauses.^[17]
BC → Calgary (PD). BC traded a conditional fourth-round selection (which was fulfilled) and a negotiation list player to Calgary in exchange for Justin Renfrow and a fifth-round pick in this year's draft.^[18] ^[4]

Round five

Montreal → Toronto (PD). Montreal traded this selection and Ryan Bomben to Toronto in exchange for T. J. Heath and a third-round pick in this year's draft.^[15]
Calgary → BC (PD). Calgary traded this selection and Justin Renfrow to BC in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in this year's draft and a negotiation list player.^[18]
Toronto → Winnipeg (PD). Toronto traded this selection and Zach Collaros to Winnipeg in exchange for a third-round pick in this year's draft and a conditional draft pick that is contingent on Collaros re-signing with the Blue Bombers.^[10]

Round six

BC → Montreal (PD). BC traded a conditional sixth-round selection (which was fulfilled) in this year's draft and a second-round selection in the 2019 CFL Draft to Montreal in exchange for Tyrell Sutton and a third-round pick in the 2019 CFL Draft.^[19] ^[20] ^[4]

Round seven

Toronto → Edmonton (PD). Toronto traded a conditional sixth-round selection (which became a seventh-round selection) and Martese Jackson to Edmonton in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2019 CFL Draft.^[21] ^[4]

Round eight

Toronto → Montreal (PD). Toronto traded a conditional eighth-round selection to Montreal in exchange for Boseko Lokombo.^[22]

Conditional trades

Montreal → Saskatchewan (PD). Montreal traded a conditional eighth-round selection to Saskatchewan in exchange for Spencer Moore.^[23]
BC → Toronto (PD). BC traded a conditional eighth-round selection and Davon Coleman to Toronto in exchange for Shawn Lemon.^[24]

Forfeitures

Saskatchewan forfeited their third-round pick after selecting Jake Bennett in the 2019 Supplemental Draft.^[25]

Draft order