{"id":632187,"date":"2026-04-27T16:00:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T16:00:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/632187\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T16:00:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T16:00:11","slug":"how-many-members-of-the-2025-cfl-draft-class-started-games-as-rookies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/632187\/","title":{"rendered":"How many members of the 2025 CFL Draft class started games as rookies?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto courtesy: Arthur Ward\/CFL.<\/p>\n

With the 2026 CFL Draft set for Tuesday, it\u2019s time to take a look back at last year\u2019s crop to provide context on what this year\u2019s draftees might accomplish in the CFL.<\/p>\n

72 players were selected in the 2025 CFL Draft, 12 of whom started a combined 71 regular-season games, according to\u00a03DownNation\u2019s records.<\/p>\n

Christopher Fortin, the eighth overall pick out of the University of Connecticut, started 16 regular-season games at centre for the Calgary Stampeders. The native of Saint-Ren\u00e9, Que. earned the league\u2019s third-best run-blocking grade among centres (min. 300 snaps) as per Pro Football Focus, helping Dedrick Mills win the league\u2019s rushing title.<\/p>\n

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats started Devin Veresuk at middle linebacker for 15 regular-season games and he quickly became a fan favourite in Steeltown. The native of Windsor, Ont. recorded 66 defensive tackles, three special teams tackles, two sacks, two touchdowns, one forced fumble, and one interception, catching the attention of the Indianapolis Colts<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Keelan White, the third overall pick out of the University of Montana, started 10 games for the Ottawa Redblacks. The 24-year-old native of North Vancouver, B.C. caught 46 passes for 482 yards and two touchdowns as a rookie, recording at least one catch in each of Ottawa\u2019s regular-season games.<\/p>\n

Damien Alford and Tiger Shanks both started six regular-season games after being taken in the first round of the 2025 CFL Draft. Alford, the first overall pick by Calgary, caught 20 passes for 407 yards and five touchdowns to earn an NFL shot with the New Orleans Saints<\/a>. Shanks, the fifth overall pick by the Montreal Alouettes, earned\u00a0PFF\u2019s fifth-best pass-blocking grade among CFL offensive tackles (min. 100 snaps).<\/p>\n

The B.C. Lions drafted defensive back Jackson Findlay in the second round and he started four regular-season games at safety following Cristophe Beaulieu\u2019s season-ending ACL tear. The Western University product made an interception in each of these four starts, finishing the season with 26 defensive tackles, 12 special teams tackles, and four picks.<\/p>\n

Samuel Carson and Muftah Ageli, Ottawa\u2019s second and fourth-round picks, both started four regular-season games. Carson filled in for the Redblacks at left guard, while Ageli recorded 15 tackles and two sacks at defensive tackle.<\/p>\n

Other players who started one or two regular-season games for their respectively teams include defensive lineman Isaiah Bagnah (first round, Hamilton), receiver Vyshonne Janusas (fifth round, Calgary), receiver Joey Corcoran (fifth round, Winnipeg Blue Bombers), and defensive back King Ambers (eighth round, Ottawa).<\/p>\n

These 12 rookies also started a combined eight playoff games, one of which came in the Grey Cup when Shanks started for the Alouettes at right tackle.<\/p>\n

There was also one undrafted player who started a game in 2025: defensive back Dolani Robinson. The six-foot-two, 190-pound defender, who was born in Jamaica and raised in Toronto, played boundary cornerback for the Stampeders in Week 21 in a 20-10 win over Edmonton. He dressed for eight regular-season games, making eight defensive tackles and one special teams tackle.<\/p>\n

Though this article is focused on starters, there were other draft selections who were noticeable in depth roles. Ali Saad, Saskatchewan\u2019s first-round pick out of Bowling Green State, made 19 defensive tackles and one sack. Jaylen Smith, one of Winnipeg\u2019s two second-round picks, finished tied for fourth league-wide with 22 special teams tackles.<\/p>\n

This list should grow in the coming years as more members of the 2025 CFL Draft class see the field for the first time.<\/p>\n

Defensive lineman Darien Newell, who was selected tenth overall by the Edmonton Elks, didn\u2019t sign with the team after being assessed a one-year suspension for violating the CFL and CFLPA\u2019s joint drug policy<\/a>. The Queen\u2019s University product from Brampton, Ont. is expected to join the team in 2026 and make an immediate impact.<\/p>\n

Taylor Elgersma and Kurtis Rourke, the quarterbacks who were taken in the second and third rounds by Winnipeg and Saskatchewan, respectively, were both focused on the NFL as rookies. Elgersma has since signed with the Blue Bombers after a stint with the UFL\u2019s Birmingham Stallions, while Rourke is still with the San Francisco 49ers.<\/p>\n

The Toronto Argonauts were recently able to sign defensive lineman Paris Shand, who was selected in the second round. The Louisiana State product was under contract with the Buffalo Bills on draft day, otherwise he would likely have been a top-five pick. Hayden Harris, a second-round pick by the Lions, also initially had a stint with Buffalo but signed with B.C. near the end of the regular-season.<\/p>\n

Defensive back Anton Haie, a third-round pick of the Stampeders, missed his entire rookie year due to injury, while Edmonton selected fullback Skyler Griffith in the third round knowing he would miss the entire season due to injury. Both players should be ready for 2026.<\/p>\n

Offensive lineman Erik Andersen and linebacker Seth Hundeby, Saskatchewan\u2019s second and fourth-round picks, both returned to school for their final season of U Sports eligibility. Both have since signed with the Roughriders.<\/p>\n

We won\u2019t know what the 2026 CFL Draft class will accomplish as rookies until after this year\u2019s Grey Cup in Calgary. However, if last year\u2019s class is any indication, it will elicit several rookie starters and impact-makers.<\/p>\n

For 3DownNation\u2019s top 25 prospects in the 2026 CFL Draft, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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John Hodge is a longtime Canadian football reporter, insider, and podcaster for 3DownNation. Based in Winnipeg, Hodge is also a freelance television and radio broadcaster and curling reporter for Rock Channel.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo courtesy: Arthur Ward\/CFL. With the 2026 CFL Draft set for Tuesday, it\u2019s time to take a look…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":632188,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[236590,166835,166836,11137,49,2798,48,7028,521,522,520,236591,16336,171706,1625,13264,527,3801,236592,211147,941,236593,14967,236594,4400,82,55630,166838,157140,236595,206588,167300,15656],"class_list":["post-632187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-2025-cfl-draft","tag-3down","tag-3downnation","tag-b-c-lions","tag-ca","tag-calgary","tag-canada","tag-canadian","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-chris-fortin","tag-damien-alford","tag-devin-veresuk","tag-draft","tag-edmonton-elks","tag-football","tag-hamilton","tag-jackson-findlay","tag-keelan-white","tag-montreal-alouettes","tag-muftah-ageli","tag-ottawa-redblacks","tag-samuel-carson","tag-saskatchewan-roughriders","tag-sports","tag-stampeders","tag-stamps","tag-starter","tag-starters","tag-tiger-shanks","tag-tiger-cats","tag-toronto-argonauts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=632187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/632187\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/632188"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=632187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=632187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=632187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}