The Canadian Football League’s Global program will enter its fifth season in 2024, giving players from outside Canada and the United States a chance to carve out a professional career.
This year’s Global Draft will take place on Tuesday, April 30 at 11 a.m. ET, featuring two rounds of selections. In total, over 72 foreign-born players are eligible to be picked.
Since launching in 2021, All22 – The Global Scouting Network has become a leader in verified data collection and talent evaluation in the international football marketplace. For the past several months, a select group of scouts have been hard at work leveraging all that information to assess the prospects in the 2024 CFL Global Draft class. Kicking guru Finn Rudd has run point on all the specialist evaluations and it is his work you’ll see reflected here.
As always, the CFL selection process will be influenced by the changing NFL landscape. New regulations allow all 32 franchises an additional practice roster spot for an international athlete whom they are able to independently scout and select for the first time, with specialists now being eligible for those spots.
All players in this year’s International Player Pathway program training cohort are available to CFL teams and may be selected even if signed by a team. However, Chicago Bears’ fourth-round draft pick Tory Taylor will not appear on this list due to the magnitude of that team’s investment, though his talent would have placed him atop it.
Today, we feature the top eight specialists available, following up on our position player rankings from yesterday. Those seeking more information on all the notable prospects can find it on All22’s exclusive Substack.
Note: All measurements are listed in scouting format. 6042 can be read as six feet, four inches, and two eighths.
1) P Matthew Hayball, Vanderbilt University (Australia)
HT: 6010 | WT: 185 | YPA: 45.1 | NET: 40.6 | HNG: 3.78
Hayball was highly efficient throughout his college career and finished the 2023 season as Vanderbilt’s all-time punting yards average leader. He possesses the ability to punt with a multitude of different techniques and does not shy away from hitting a traditional spiral under pressure or in adverse weather situations. He’s an elite directional punter with the ability to pin a team between the numbers and the hash on a consistent basis. Hayball signed with the New Orleans Saints as an undrafted free agent but will be in competition with fellow Aussie Lou Hedley, a 2023 Global Draft pick of Hamilton.
Player role: Elite Starter
2) P Lucas Dean, University of Texas-San Antonio (Australia)
HT: 6020 | WT: 215 | YPA: 43.6 | NET: 40.3 | HNG: 3.76
Decently sized for the position, Dean has proven himself a highly efficient punter throughout his college career. He can generate elite hang time as he consistently explodes up and through the ball with great leg strength, maximizing his follow-through on each punt. He possesses a high-level directional punting ability and excels in both short and long-field situations, making him a true threat to any opposing return unit.
Player role: High-level Starter
3) P Joe Couch, Ouachita Baptist University (Australia)
HT: 5110 | WT: 210 | YPA: 44.7 | NET: N/A | HNG: N/A
A former Division II All-American, Couch is an average-sized former Australian-rules football player with a muscular build and elite leg strength. He possesses natural kicking ability with a controlled and repeatable process to match great get-off time. He is also very good at directional punting, which is evident in his ability to set his feet and maintain his line. The Aussie is very comfortable in short-field situations and is more than capable of flipping the field when called upon with decent hang time.
Player role: High-level Starter
4) P Nik Constantinou, Texas A&M University (Australia)
HT: 6030 | WT: 225 | YPA: 42.7 | NET: 40.8 | HNG: 4.14
A large-framed punter hailing from an Australian rules football background, Constantinou is a highly flexible and powerful athlete with great follow-through, making his ability to generate hang time one of his best abilities. He is highly efficient when used in open-field situations and is also a major threat when pinning opposing teams inside their 20-yard line. He does well walking into the snap and handling high-pressure situations, which helped land him an undrafted free agent contract with the Denver Broncos.
Player role: High-level Starter
5) K Charlie Smyth, NFL International Player Pathway (Ireland)
HT: 6040 | WT: 210 | PCT: N/A | LNG: N/A | KO AVG: N/A
Smyth is a big-bodied athlete hailing from a Gaelic football background who went through the NFL’s IPP program in 2024. He possesses natural kicking ability, which he significantly developed in a very short time frame upon joining the 10-week program, earning himself a deal with the New Orleans Saints following the NFL Combine. He consistently generates great height and can effortlessly connect on long attempts, while showing a proven ability to execute under pressure and in adverse weather situations during the program.
Player role: Potential Starter
6) P Ryan Bujcevski, Southern Methodist University (Australia)
HT: 6000 | WT: 177 | YPA: 42.1 | NET: 38.8 | HNG: 3.71
A former Australian-rules football player with natural kicking ability, Bujcevski shows great touch on pooch punts with high-level directional punting ability. He often relies on ‘drop’ or ‘roll-out’ punts over a traditional spiral but possesses very good leg strength. He also does a decent job of generating hang time as he led the league in fair catches this past season and allowed very few return attempts.
Player role: Potential Starter
7) K Carl Heinrich-Meyer, Jacksonville Sharks (South Africa)
HT: 6030 | WT: 235 | PCT: N/A | LNG: N/A | KO AVG: N/A
A solidly built former professional rugby player, Meyer has one year’s worth of Arena football experience under his belt. He has the potential to consistently deliver across all three phases of the kicking game with an accurate and powerful leg, possessing a controlled approach that is replicated in each kick with evident attention to detail. He does a great job of consistently generating height and quick lift on both field goals and kickoffs while still maximizing distance.
Player role: Potential Starter
8) K Alex Hale, Oklahoma State University (Australia)
HT: 6000 | WT: 183 | PCT: 79.6 | LNG: 53 | KO AVG: 61.5
Hale possesses a powerful leg to match his decent accuracy but has a tendency to push his kicks to the right, which was evident at the Nick Novak CFL Showcase in 2024. He did not handle kickoffs during his final college season and would need to improve his versatility to start at the next level. Nevertheless, he showed up in various big moments throughout his time at Oklahoma State.
Player role: Roster Candidate
Write-ups on players ranked nine through 15 can be found on All22’s exclusive Substack, which is available by clicking here. Anyone interested in learning more about the organization is asked to email Patrik Asen at [email protected].
