It appears the Calgary Stampeders aren’t planning to roll the dice in the 2025 CFL Draft as they look to kickstart their way back to the playoffs.
“When you do have a rough year, you do want the players you pick to be in your camp,” head coach and general manager Dave Dickenson told the media late last week. “It’s early. We don’t know who’s going to get drafted in the NFL or get to UDFA.”
Every year, there are “futures” selections in the CFL draft — players who won’t be available to CFL teams right away, if ever. In most cases, these are players who have signed NFL contracts either as draft picks or undrafted free agents.
This year, Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke and Stanford receiver Elic Ayomanor are expected to be taken in the 2025 NFL Draft, while several other prospects, including Wilfrid Laurier quarterback Taylor Elgersma, Utah receiver Damien Alford, UNLV offensive lineman Tiger Shanks, LSU defensive lineman Paris Shand, and Wyoming linebacker Connor Shay, will likely receive consideration for UDFA contracts.
With the Stampeders coming off their first playoff-less season since 2004, it appears they’ll focus on drafting players ready to come to the CFL right away. To use the league’s informal vernacular, Calgary is looking for “now guys,” not “futures guys.”
It appears Dickenson plans to keep the first overall pick unless he’s offered something substantial in a trade. The Stampeders haven’t chosen first overall since 2014 when they acquired the top pick from the Ottawa Redblacks in exchange for Canadian offensive lineman Jon Gott, a trade that was executed the day of the draft.
“We’re not gonna limit ourselves, but it’s kind of early right now,” said Dickenson. “I’ve never been in this position. I do feel almost that another team has to decide that they want to come up (to first overall) and what are they willing to pay. Then, obviously, we would have the right of refusal.”
Calgary might get a second first-round pick for free if the B.C. Lions are found to have violated the salary cap by over $100,000. Dickenson said the CFL’s salary cap auditing process has reached the appeal stage, though he’s not privy to where other teams stand.
According to the league’s constitution, the commissioner must distribute an official salary cap audit to all nine teams by the end of March. After that, clubs have one week to file any disputes before violations are publicly announced. Last year, violations were announced during the third week of April.
The Stampeders did well near the top of last year’s draft as McGill defensive back Benjamin Labrosse and Washington State offensive lineman Christy Nkanu developed into starters. Montreal defensive back Kaylyn St-Cyr, the team’s eighth-round pick, was also productive, making nine special teams tackles in seven games.
“We feel like Dwayne Cameron, our head of Canadian scouting, I think he does an excellent job,” said Dickenson. “We’ve consistently done well in the draft finding guys, not only in the first round — we’ve had many seventh, eighth-rounders make big impacts for us.”
As for which positions he’s looking to prioritize in this year’s draft, Dickenson didn’t rule any of them out — even quarterback.
“I do believe you should look everywhere. Everyone’s team is built a little bit differently, but we should be flexible enough to — if we’ve got good players — definitely find ways to mess with our ratio and get the best players on the field.”
