2023 CFL draft
The 2023 CFL national draft was a selection of national players by Canadian Football League teams that took place on May 2, 2023, at 8:00 pm ET. 72 players were chosen from among eligible players from Canadian Universities across the country, as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA and NAIA.
The draft was broadcast live on TSN for the first two rounds with subsequent rounds being streamed online. The TSN production was hosted by Farhan Lalji and featured the CFL on TSN panel, including Duane Forde, Marshall Ferguson, Jim Barker, and Dave Naylor.
Combines
For the first time the CFL held an invitational players combine at the University of Waterloo's Feridun Hamdullahpur Field House on March 3, 2023. The main combine took place March 22-26, 2023, at the Commonwealth Stadium Field House in Edmonton, AB.Top prospects
| Final ranking | January ranking | September ranking | Player | Position | University | Hometown |
| 1 | 5 | – | Matthew Bergeron | Offensive Lineman | Syracuse | Victoriaville, QC |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | Chase Brown | Running back | Illinois | London, ON |
| 3 | 2 | 3 | Sydney Brown | Defensive back | Illinois | London, ON |
| 4 | 3 | 9 | Tavius Robinson | Defensive lineman | Mississippi | Guelph, ON |
| 5 | 4 | 7 | Sidy Sow | Offensive lineman | Eastern Michigan | Bromont, QC |
| 6 | 6 | 4 | Jared Wayne | Wide receiver | Pittsburgh | Peterborough, ON |
| 7 | 7 | 2 | Dontae Bull | Offensive lineman | Fresno State | Victoria, BC |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | Jonathan Sutherland | Linebacker | Penn State | Ottawa, ON |
| 9 | 8 | 6 | Lwal Uguak | Defensive lineman | Texas Christian | Edmonton, AB |
| 10 | 12 | 11 | Francis Bemiy | Defensive lineman | Southern Utah | Montreal, QC |
| 11 | 15 | – | Micheal Brodrique | Linebacker | Montreal | Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac, QC |
| 12 | – | – | Cole Tucker | Wide receiver | Northern Illinois | DeKalb, IL |
| 13 | 10 | 20 | Lake Korte-Moore | Defensive lineman | British Columbia | Ottawa, ON |
| 14 | 14 | 13 | Clark Barnes | Wide receiver | Guelph | Brampton, ON |
| 15 | 11 | 16 | Siriman Bagayogo | Defensive back | Guelph | Bois-des-Filion, QC |
| 16 | 13 | – | Anthony Bennett | Defensive lineman | Regina | Weston, FL |
| 17 | 20 | – | Phillip Grohovac | Offensive lineman | Western | Victoria, BC |
| 18 | 18 | 18 | Jacob Taylor | Linebacker | Alberta | Beaumont, AB |
| 19 | 16 | – | James Peter | Linebacker | Ottawa | Ottawa, ON |
| 20 | – | – | Dayton Black | Offensive lineman | Saskatchewan | Brandon, MB |
| – | 17 | 19 | Reece Martin | Defensive lineman | Mount Allison | Moncton, NB |
| – | 19 | – | Quintin Seguin | Defensive lineman | Charleston Southern | Windsor, ON |
| – | – | 5 | Nick Mardner | Wide receiver | Cincinnati | Mississauga, ON |
| – | – | 8 | Theo Benedet | Offensive lineman | British Columbia | North Vancouver, BC |
| – | – | 12 | Gabe Wallace | Offensive lineman | Buffalo | Salmon Arm, BC |
| – | – | 14 | Daniel Johnson | Offensive lineman | Purdue | London, ON |
| – | – | 15 | Giovanni Manu | Offensive lineman | British Columbia | Pitt Meadows, BC |
| – | – | 17 | Justin Sambu | Defensive lineman | Maine | Calgary, AB |
Draft order
Round one
Round two
Round three
Round four
Round five
Round six
Round seven
Round eight
Trades
In the explanations below, ' denotes trades that took place during the draft, while ' indicates trades completed pre-draft.Round one
- Hamilton ←→ Calgary. Hamilton traded this selection, a third-round pick in this draft, a sixth-round pick in this draft, and a second-round pick in the 2024 CFL draft to Calgary in exchange for Bo Levi Mitchell, a first-round pick in this draft, and a third-round pick in the 2024 CFL draft.
- BC → Montreal. BC traded this selection to Montreal in exchange for Vernon Adams.
- Toronto → BC. Toronto traded this selection to BC in exchange for Jordan Williams.
Round two
- Hamilton → Edmonton. Hamilton traded this selection and Jesse Gibbon to Edmonton in exchange for David Beard and a conditional fourth-round pick in this year's draft.
- Edmonton → Ottawa. Edmonton traded the 12th overall selection to Ottawa in exchange for the rights to Woodly Appolon.
Round three
- Montreal → Edmonton. Montreal traded this selection and Avery Ellis to Edmonton in exchange for Nafees Lyon and Thomas Costigan.
- BC → Ottawa. BC traded this selection and a conditional fourth-round selection in the 2024 CFL draft to Ottawa in exchange for Terry Williams.
- Hamilton → Calgary. Hamilton traded this selection, a first-round pick in this draft, a sixth-round pick in this draft, and a second-round pick in the 2024 CFL draft to Calgary in exchange for Bo Levi Mitchell, a first-round pick in this draft, and a third-round pick in the 2024 CFL draft.
Round four
- Ottawa → Edmonton. Ottawa traded this selection to Edmonton in exchange for Nick Arbuckle.
- Edmonton → Hamilton. Edmonton traded a conditional fourth-round selection and David Beard to Hamilton in exchange for Jesse Gibbon and a second-round pick in this year's draft. The condition was confirmed to be fulfilled upon the release of the draft order by the league.
Round five
- Saskatchewan → Montreal. Saskatchewan traded this selection to Montreal in exchange for Mario Alford. This selection was originally a sixth-round pick, but was upgraded after Alford played in at least nine games for the Roughriders.
Round six
- Edmonton → Toronto. Edmonton traded this selection to Toronto in exchange for Jalen Collins and Martez Ivey.
- Montreal → Edmonton. Montreal traded this selection to Edmonton in exchange for Walter Fletcher.
- Hamilton → Calgary. Hamilton traded this selection, a first-round pick in this draft, a third-round pick in this draft, and a second-round pick in the 2024 CFL draft to Calgary in exchange for Bo Levi Mitchell, a first-round pick in this draft, and a third-round pick in the 2024 CFL draft.
Round seven
- Calgary → Saskatchewan. Calgary traded this selection and a third-round selection in the 2023 CFL global draft to Saskatchewan in exchange for James Smith. This selection can be upgraded to a fifth-round selection depending on the number of games played by Smith for the Stampeders.
- Hamilton → Edmonton. Hamilton traded this selection to Edmonton in exchange for Colin Kelly.
- Edmonton → Ottawa. Edmonton traded this selection to Ottawa in exchange for Llevi Noel and an eighth-round pick in this year's draft.
Round eight
- Ottawa → Edmonton. Ottawa traded this selection and Llevi Noel to Edmonton in exchange for a seventh-round pick in this year's draft.
- Edmonton → Hamilton. Edmonton traded this selection to Hamilton in exchange for Jon Ryan.
Conditional trades
- Montreal → Calgary. Montreal traded a conditional second-round selection to Calgary in exchange for the playing rights to Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. The condition would've been fulfilled if Duvernay-Tardif signed with the Alouettes before the draft, but he did not.
Forfeitures
- Edmonton forfeited their second round pick after selecting J-Min Pelley in the 2022 Supplemental Draft.
- Calgary forfeited their second round pick after selecting T. J. Rayam in the 2022 Supplemental Draft.