The Winnipeg Blue Bombers current regime has scored dynamic, franchise-changing touchdowns on draft day. And, on rare occasions, they’ve stumbled and fumbled into their own end zone, too.
That’s no different for any team in any professional league, but especially so in the most unique and difficult talent selection on the planet to predict — the Canadian Football League’s Canadian draft.
The Blue Bombers are into the stretch run of final preparations for next Tuesday’s CFL Canadian Draft — the two-round Global Draft goes a day later — with this being the 13th homegrown talent grab led by GM Kyle Walters, head coach Mike O’Shea and also including input from Senior Director of Player Personnel Eric Deslauriers and Director of Football Operations Matt Gulakow.
The biggest star they’ve landed over the previous 12 incarnations of the CFL Canadian Draft is Brady Oliveira, the league’s Most Outstanding Player in 2024 who was also twice named the Most Outstanding Canadian and is in the express lane to the hall of fame.
Over the years they’ve also selected CFL All-Stars like Tyrell Ford, Matthias Goossen and Taylor Loffler, offensive line starters like Sukh Chungh, Gabe Wallace, Liam Dobson, Michael Couture, Geoff Gray and Drew Desjarlais along with important pieces like Redha Kramdi and Kevens Clercius and valuable foot soldiers like Jesse Briggs, Shayne Gauthier, Nick Hallett and Tanner Cadwallader.
Winnipeg will pick fourth overall on Tuesday — its highest spot since taking Dobson third overall in 2021 — and has all of its selections in the eight-round draft, nine in total, including four picks in the top 24.
Last year’s class landed six players who suited up for the club in 2025 in linebackers Connor Shay, Jaylen Smith and Lane Novak, defensive back Ethan Ball, receiver Joey Corcoran and offensive lineman Ethan Vibert while two others — quarterback Taylor Elgersma and O-lineman Iwinosa Uwubanmwen — will be on the field in just over two weeks when training camp opens.
In this week’s edition of 1st & 10 we revisit the past drafts for Walters & Co with Part 2 — to be posted Monday — offering a more specific preview to the 2026 CFL Canadian Draft.
THE BLUE BOMBERS AT THE DRAFT
A look at the 12 previous draft classes of the current Bombers management regime:
2014
Matthias Goossen (61)
Round
Number
Player
Position
School
1
2
Matthias Goossen
OL
Simon Fraser
2
17
Jesse Briggs
LB
McGill
3
29
Derek Jones
DB
Simon Fraser
4
47
Quinn Everett
DE
Mount Allison
5
56
Eisho Aram
LB
McMaster
Notes:
Traded second-round selection (11th overall) and DE Alex Hall to Saskatchewan for OL Pat Neufeld and a fourth-round pick in 2015.
Acquired Saskatchewan’s second-round pick (17th overall) for the 20th and 26th overall selections.
Acquired Toronto’s third-round selection (24th overall) and OL Marc Parenteau for RB Anthony Woodson and a fifth-round pick in 2014 (38th overall).
Traded third-round selection (24th overall) to Calgary for CB Chris Randle and the Stampeders third-round selection (26th overall).
2015
Sukh Chungh
Round
Number
Player
Position
School
1
2
Sukh Chungh
OL
Calgary
2
11
Addison Richards
WR
Regina
2
15
Brendan Morgan
DB
Queen’s
4
33
Christophe Normand
FB
Laval
5
38
Ettore Lattanzio
DL
Ottawa
6
46
Justin Warden
LB
Bishop’s
Notes:
Acquired Saskatchewan’s second-round selection (15th overall) and WR Kris Bastien for WR Cory Watson and a third-round selection (26th overall) in this draft.
Traded third-round selection (20th overall) to Hamilton for DB Abraham Kromah.
Acquired fourth-round pick (33rd overall) along with OL Patrick Neufeld in an October 2013 trade with Saskatchewan for DE Alex Hall and a second-round pick in 2014 (11th overall).
Traded conditional pick (own fourth-round selection; 29th overall) to Hamilton for QB Brian Brohm in March of 2014.
Traded a conditional pick (which became the 7th-round selection in this draft; 55th overall) for QB Josh Portis.
2016
Shayne Gauthier
Round
Number
Player
Position
School
2
9
Trent Corney
DE
Virginia
2
10
Michael Couture
OL
Simon Fraser
3
19
Taylor Loffler
DB
UBC
4
28
Shayne Gauthier
LB
Laval
5
37
Zach Intzandt
OL
McMaster
6
46
Rupert Butcher
DL
Western
7
55
Alex Vitt
WR
Manitoba
8
63
Frank Renaud
LB
Windsor
Notes:
Forfeited first-round pick following selection of Garrett Waggoner, DB, Dartmouth, in 2015 CFL Supplemental Draft.
Acquired Edmonton’s second-round selection (9th overall) and DB Selvish Capers in a trade for OL Chris Greaves.
2017
Geoff Gray (68)
Round
Number
Player
Position
School
1
1
Faith Ekakitie
DT
Iowa
1
8
Geoff Gray
OL
Manitoba
2
15
Qadr Spooner
OL
McGill
3
23
Abubakar Conteh
DB
Grambling State
4
34
Felix Menard-Briere
K
Montreal
6
50
Ian Marouf
DL
Guelph
7
59
Brendan Thera-Plamondon
WR
Calgary
8
68
Tylor Henry
WR
Alberta
Notes:
Acquired Toronto’s first-round selection (1st overall), along with the Argos’ third-round selection in the 2018 draft (26th overall; used to select Daniel Petermann) and DB T.J. Heath in September of 2016 trade for QB Drew Willy.
Traded sixth overall pick to Calgary for the eighth overall selection (Gray) and the 34th overall selection (Menard-Briere).
Traded fourth-round selection (32nd overall) to Montreal in September of 2016 for QB Kevin Glenn.
Traded a conditional seventh-round selection to Edmonton in September of 2015 as part of the trade for QB Matt Nichols. The pick became a fifth rounder when Nichols became the Bombers starting QB.
2018
Daniel Petermann
Round
Number
Player
Position
School
2
12
Rashaun Simonise
WR
Calgary
3
26
Daniel Petermann
WR
McMaster
4
33
Arnaud Gendron-Dumouchel
OL
Montreal
5
41
Tyrone Pierre
WR
Laval
6
49
Matthew Ouellet De Carlo
OL
Bishop’s
7
58
Jake Firlotte
DB
Queen’s
8
67
Ben Koczwara
OL
Waterloo
Notes:
Traded the seventh and 16th overall selections in the 2018 draft to B.C. for the 12th overall selection and the Lions’ original first-round pick in 2019.
Forfeited third-round selection following selection of Drew Wolitarsky, WR, Minnesota, in the 2017 CFL Supplemental Draft.
Acquired Toronto’s third-round selection in the 2018 draft, used to select Daniel Petermann, as part of the 2016 Drew Willy trade, along with DB T.J. Heath, the Argonauts’ first-round pick in 2017 (Faith Ekakitie).
2019
Brady Oliveira
Round
Number
Player
Position
School
1
4
Drew Desjarlais
OL
Windsor
1
5
Jonathan Kongbo
DE
Tennessee
2
14
Brady Oliveira
RB
North Dakota
3
25
Connor Griffiths
DL
UBC
4
34
Tui Eli
OL
Hawaii
5
43
Malik Richards
WR
Mount Allison
6
52
Tariq LaChance
DL
Manitoba
7
61
Nick Hallett
DB
Toronto
8
70
Kerfalla Exumé
DB
Montreal
Notes:
Acquired B.C.’s first-round selection in this draft (4th overall) and a second-round pick in 2018 (12th overall) for the 7th and 16th overall selections in 2018.
2020
Tanner Cadwallader
Round
Number
Player
Position
School
2
18
Noah Hallett
DB
McMaster
4
37
Brendan O’Leary-Orange
WR
Nevada
5
39
Marc Liegghio
K
Western
5
46
Nicholas Dheilly
DL
Saskatchewan
6
55
Kyle Rodger
LB
Ottawa
7
64
Tanner Cadwallader
LB
Wilfrid Laurier
8
73
Bleska Kambamba
DB
Western
Notes:
Traded first-round pick (9th overall) and third-round selection (28th overall) to Toronto for QB Zach Collaros and a fifth-round pick (39th overall).
2021
Redha Kramdi
Round
Number
Player
Position
School
1
3
Liam Dobson
OL
Maine
2
16
Redha Kramdi
DB
Montreal
3
21
Patrice Rene
DB
North Carolina
4
34
Robbie Lowes
LB
Regina
5
39
Kyle Borsa
LB
Regina
6
48
Shae Weekes
DB
Manitoba
Notes:
The cancellation of the 2020 CFL season due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to changes for the draft, including the order of selection as there were no standings from ’20. The draft order was set by a random draw, with Winnipeg landing third overall selection. In the even-numbered rounds the reverse order was used for more balance in the selections.
The number of rounds was reduced to six from eight because two draft classes – 2020 and 2021 would be in camp that spring.
Traded the 52nd overall selection and the rights to OL Cody Speller for the 48th overall pick.
2022
Tyrell Ford
Round
Number
Player
Position
School
2
13
Tyrell Ford
DB
Waterloo
4
38
Cole Adamson
DL
Manitoba
5
47
Chris Ciguineau
DB
Ottawa
6
56
Jeremy Kapelanski
DL
Guelph
7
65
Cedrick Lavigne
DB
Carleton
8
74
Konner Burtenshaw
FB
Queen’s
Notes:
Ford played his rookie year with the Blue Bombers in 2022, then signed with the Green Bay Packers. He returned to the club in 2024 and was a CFL All-Star and has since signed with the Edmonton Elks to play with his twin brother, Tre.
Traded the ninth and 18th overall selections to Montreal for defensive tackle Cameron Lawson and the 13th overall selection (Ford) in the draft.
Round three selection was traded as part of the deal with B.C. in 2021 for kicker Sergio Castillo. Pick was a conditional fourth rounder but upgraded to a third afterwards.
2023
Tanner Schmekel
Round
Number
Player
Position
School
1
8
Anthony Bennett
DE
Regina
2
15
Jake Kelly
DB
Bishop’s
3
26
Jeremy Murphy
WR
Concordia
4
35
Tanner Schmekel
DL
Regina
5
44
Collin Kornelson
DL
Manitoba
6
53
Breton MacDougall
DB
Windsor
7
62
Jonathan Rosery
RB
Alberta
8
71
Max Charbonneau
LB
Ottawa
Notes:
Bennett played in all 18 games and the playoffs as a rookie for the Blue Bombers in 2023 but missed the entire 2024 season with an injury. He signed with the Montreal Alouettes this winter.
2024
Kevens Clercius
Round
Number
Player
Position
School
2
13
Kevens Clercius
WR
Connecticut
2
14
Michael Chris-Ike
RB
Delaware State
2
17
Gabe Wallace
OL
Buffalo
2
20
Kyle Samson
DL
UBC
4
37
Ian Leroux
LS
Laval
5
40
Ethan Kalra
OL
Waterloo
5
46
Giovanni Manu
OL
UBC
6
55
AK Gassama
WR
Manitoba
7
64
Michael Vlahogiannis
OL
McGill
8
73
Owen Hubert
DE
McMaster
Notes:
The Blue Bombers traded their first-round pick, 8th overall, and their third-round selection, 28th overall to Calgary for the 13th and 14th picks.
The 20th overall selection at the end of the second round was earned by the Blue Bombers for being one of two teams with the highest number of Canadian player snaps in 2023.
Winnipeg secured an extra fifth-round pick (used to select Ethan Kalra) as part of the deal that sent QB Dru Brown’s negotiation rights to Ottawa prior to him becoming a free agent.
2025
Connor Shay
Round
Number
Player
Position
School
1
6
Connor Shay
LB
Wyoming
2
15
Jaylen Smith
LB
North Texas
2
18
Taylor Elgersma
QB
Wilfrid Laurier
3
27
Ethan Vibert
OL
South Dakota State
5
39
Joey Corcoran
WR
New Hampshire
5
45
Lane Novak
LB
Saskatchewan
6
54
Ethan Ball
DB
Calgary
7
63
Trey Laing
DL
Eastern Michigan
8
71
Iwinosa Uwubanmwen
OL
Alberta
Notes:
The Blue Bombers traded the 8th overall pick in the CFL Global Draft, DT Kyle Samson and the 36th selection in the 2025 CFL Draft to Hamilton for RB Matthew Peterson, second overall selection in the 2025 CFL Global Draft and the 39th pick in the CFL Canadian Draft.
Winnipeg then used their Global pick on DE Kemari Munier-Bailey and the 39th selection on Corcoran.
The Blue Bombers again earned an extra pick at the end of the second round for being one of two teams with the highest number of Canadian player snap counts and used it to select Elgersma.