[IMPORTANT: Make this 4 times longer with much more detail]
Don Landry CFL.ca My advice for the Calgary Stampeders: Go get a Canadian crusher. The CFL draft is almost here, and the Stamps get the opportunity of turning last season’s disappointments into riches with the first overall selection on April 29. What should they do with that pick? 2025 CFL Draft » Mock Draft 1.0: Who will Calgary take first overall? » Best fits for Canadian QBs in the 2025 CFL Draft » View the entire 2025 CFL Draft order here » Where 9 of the CFL’s top Canadians were drafted » Subscribe to the CFL’s official YouTube channel » Subscribe to the CFL’s newsletter for exclusive offers and league updates There’s always the chance they could deal it for somebody else’s already established young vet. They could parlay that pick into a couple more, even. They could say to the Montreal Alouettes, for example: “You want the first pick? Alrighty, give us your fifth and your fourteenth.” But since they already have the eighth overall pick in their pocket as well, I’d think the Calgary Stampeders would be very content to talk over all the possible candidates they could take with that first pick, and then not have to worry about whether the guy they want might fall to that lower rung. I have no inside info as to what the Calgary Stampeders will do with that No. 1 pick. Opinion pieces are all around, and for example, CFL.ca’s Marshall Ferguson has projected University of Montana receiver Keelan White to go first on the 29th, in his first mock draft. I have my opinion on the matter and, again, my advice for the Stampeders: Nab a defensive disruptor. By that I mean take a hotshot defensive lineman with the first overall pick. Mathieu Betts and Christian Covington. Robbie Smith. Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund. Cleyon Laing. Ask the BC Lions, Toronto Argonauts (soon, the Edmonton Elks), Montreal Alouettes and Ottawa REDBLACKS if it’s any good to have a Canadian crusher on the D-line. There are a few to choose from in this draft, some of them edge rushers, some of them interior muckrakers. All talented prospects. There’s Jeremiah Ojo, the defensive end out of Montreal ( seventh on the winter top prospects list ), who had a tremendous CFL Combine showing, exhibiting great closing speed for a big man. Ojo’s stock is all “arrows up” as we approach draft day. Could that fabulous performance in front of prying eyes at the combine get him to the top of the list? There’s Darien Newell, an interior nightmare with the Queen’s Gaels. Ferguson wrote that Newell “might be the most pro ready player in this draft” and has him possibly going third in his first mock draft assessment. So it wouldn’t be a stretch for Newell to actually have his name called out before anyone else’s. Not at all. The Stampeders could look at Paris Shand, the LSU Tigers lineman from Toronto, who might be someone they’d have to wait for. If that’s the case, Calgary wouldn’t be so interested in using the first pick on him, as general manager/head coach Dave Dickenson has said he’d prefer to have the No. 1 selection be in camp next month. However, if Shand goes undrafted by any NFL team next week, and finds no suitable free agent agreement in the immediate wake of that, Calgary might get a green light from him prior to April 29. Calgary has a defensive line ready for reforming. They traded for Folarin Orimolade , and signed free agent Myles Brown, yes. But they also released Mike Rose (now in Saskatchewan) and James Vaughters (Winnipeg) as well as losing Julian Howsare (Hamilton) in free agency. Defensive line renewal is in the air. Hall-of-Famer John Bowman is approaching his first season as the Stamps’ DL coach. What better time to land the best defensive lineman in the draft? Go get a Canadian crusher, Calgary. Get all the top stories from across the league delivered to your inbox.
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