There is less than a week until the 2025 CFL Draft, with hundreds of players waiting to see their pro football dreams realized on Tuesday, April 29 at 6 p.m. ET.
As always, 3DownNation will be your go-to source for extensive coverage of all eight rounds. Analysts J.C. Abbott and Ben Grant will be live on YouTube and Facebook for the entirety of the selection process, breaking down every pick as it happens.
In the lead-up to the festivities, our team has collaborated on prospect rankings at every position, culminating with the unveiling of our annual Top 25. We have already announced the quarterbacks, running backs, and fullbacks. Today, we continue with a receiver class that has some high end talent at the top but limited depth and some serious question marks throughout. Make sure to come back tomorrow for our offensive line rankings.
Receiver
1) Elic Ayomanor, Stanford University (Medicine Hat, Alta.)
There wasn’t any need to mess around with the top spot, as Ayomanor may not even hear his name called by the three-down league due to his high degree of NFL interest. Critics will fixate on some of his flaws as a route runner but no one disputes that the former Jon Cornish Trophy winner is a physical specimen with high developmental upside and a nasty demeanour as a blocker. The six-foot-two, 206-pounder will challenge you vertically and shows flashes of dominance at the catch point, memorably roasting Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter for 294 yards and three touchdowns in 2023.
2) Keelan White, University of Montana (North Vancouver, B.C.)
The Canadian Spider isn’t going to wow you with his six-foot, 190-pound frame or his athletic measurables but much like his childhood friends the Philpots, that isn’t his game. White is a beautifully smooth mover who can lull you to sleep before separating with tremendous short area quickness and will thrive in the CFL slot. The former walk-on has a history of delivering clutch plays in key moments for the Griz, including multiple overtime winners in the FCS playoffs, and proved he had the best pure hands in the class by going without a single drop in 2024.
3) Damien Alford, University of Utah (Montreal, Que.)
Every evaluation of Alford requires the use of a bib because it’s hard not to drool over the possibility of a six-foot-five, 224-pound target on the outside with legit 4.46 speed. He was a true deep threat during his time at Syracuse, averaging a whopping 19.3 yards per reception, but his limited route tree masked some difficulty getting in and out of his breaks. He hardly touched the field after transferring to Utah last year and CFL teams will have to decide whether that was a product of his limitations or an example of a coaching staff failing to maximize the unique skillset of a late addition.
4) Ethan Jordan, Wilfrid Laurier University (Chatham, Ont.)
Jordan is just the 18th receiver in U Sports history to record 1,000 yards in the regular season but faces a classic question mark at the CFL level, with his five-foot-10, 177-pound frame offering negligible special teams value. Despite the “starter or bust” label, his 4.44 speed suggests he can be the former and his tape backs it up. The three-time All-Canadian track the ball as good as anyone down the field and makes separating look easy with sudden breaks, elite pacing, and excellent afterburners.
5) Joey Corcoran, University of New Hampshire (Montreal, Que.)
At six-foot-one and 208 pounds, Corcoran has a solid frame, a history of reliable production at the FCS level, and reportedly impressed with his Combine interviews. The concern comes from his limited athleticism and lack of burst, which does show up on tape as an inability to pull away from defenders. He’s a better football player than tester and never looks laboured when moving, but his ceiling is low even with the potential benefit of the waggle.
6) Hakeem Harris, Davenport University (Markham, Ont.)
Harris is a divisive evaluation and his final ranking could swing dramatically from team to team as a result. On one hand, the six-foot-two, 210-pound wide-out is a freakish athlete with some of the best pure measurables in the class and shows flashes of it translating. On the other, he was a virtual non-factor against weak competition despite all those traits, recording just 18 career catches at the Division II level. In a weak receiver group that drops off sharply outside the top four, I’m willing to bet on the positives but others won’t be so keen.
7) Vyshonne Janusas, University of Guelph (Windsor, Ont.)
The Gryphons have become something of a receiver factory in recent years, with stars like Kian Schaffer-Baker, Kiondre Smith, and Clark Barnes coming through the school. Janusas may be next but he’s a player in a different mould entirely, without the same athletic twitch. He’s a one-speed possession target who takes a while to get going and won’t threaten you deep, but will run through an opponent’s face as a blocker. His unusual strength for the position and broad-shouldered five-foot-11, 221-pound frame bodes well for sticking on special teams and I wouldn’t be surprised if he was asked to take on more of an H-back role at some point down the line.
8) Rhett Vavra, University of Saskatchewan (Swift Current, Sask.)
After battling injuries in 2024 and missing the Combine with a broken hand, Vavra is the true sleeper of this year’s class. His slim six-foot, 185-pound build is a concern and he didn’t test off-the-charts at the East-West Bowl, but he has been nearly unstoppable at his peak – especially during the 2022 Vanier Cup run and last year’s Canada West semi-final. A sleek and effortless route runner who tracks the ball extremely well and has shown impressive concentration when making tough catches, it won’t surprise me either way if he gets picked closer to the top tier or falls due to his lack of pro size.
9) Kolby Hurford, University of Alberta (Redwater, Alta.)
Hurford broke on to the scene as an explosive straight-line burner with the Golden Bears in 2022 but hasn’t maintained the same heights since, partially due to the situation around him. His 4.51 speed can still take the top off a defence but I’d like to see a little bit more refinement as a route runner to separate out of his breaks. He’s willing to engage physically despite a five-foot-11, 193-pound frame, though it may not be enough to prove special teams value.
10) Daniel Wiebe, University of Saskatchewan (Rosetown, Sask.)
Wiebe would likely be higher on this list if he wasn’t five-foot-nine and 185 pounds, though his muscular lower half makes him harder to bring down than receivers twice his size. The pint-sized speedster more than made up for Vavra’s absences last year and his 4.52 forty translates into him blowing past defender. His elite change of direction numbers prove he isn’t a one-trick pony either, but length and size limitations are impossible to ignore when making a special teams projection.
11) Raiden Thorne, Wilfrid Laurier University (Kitchener, Ont.)
A skinny option on the outside at six-foot-two and 188 pounds, Thorne is a fluid strider that eats up cushion quickly despite his lack of traditional long speed and stacks with ease. He’s not snappy with his breaks but knows how to throttle down and settle when needed to give his QB a target. His length and ball skills show the potential to be a developmental project at Z, though I’d like to see him add a little bulk to stick.
12) Nicholas Adair, McMaster University (Kingston, Ont.)
Adair has all the makings of a prototypical CFL slotback at six-foot-two and 200 pounds, but surprisingly didn’t get past the Invitational Combine despite checking all the measurable boxes. He flew under the radar after missing the entire 2023 season with injury and doesn’t blow you away on film, but offers a reliable target with soft hands, the athletic juice to threaten deep, and some ability as a stalk blocker. In a class where almost every other player is either missing ideal size or ran slow, having a true 4.6 stamped on his brand of footbal could drive him higher than expected.
13) Samuel Davenport, University of British Columbia (Abbotsford, B.C.)
A high volume contributor dating back to his time at Simon Fraser, Davenport is a dependable possession target with great hands and a natural feel for finding the open space. He handles contact reasonably well despite being a soft-bodied six-foot-one and 195 pounds but is limited by his middling athletic ability, looking slower than his testing in some cases. After playing primarily on the line, he may need the waggle to survive at the next level.
14) Avontae McKoy, York University (Etobicoke, Ont.)
McKoy’s production has understandably been limited by his presence on one of the worst teams in the history of university football but he flashed when given the opportunity and backed it it up with some explosive testing results. The five-foot-11, 194-pounder began his career at running back before moving to receiver and has also seen some spot duty at defensive back, even registering an interception. On his best reps, he shows absurd body control and may be the likeliest player to make a circus catch in this class.
15) Kaseem Ferdinand, Carleton University (Ottawa, Ont.)
Several players left off this list have much larger, pro-ready frames and may end up getting selected higher as a result, but Ferdinand is the best remaining true receiver. The five-foot-nine, 180-pound slot may not have put forth the elite testing numbers you hope to see from a size deficient player but he plays faster and shows soft hands to make catches outside his frame. He does a good job attacking defenders’ leverage in order to separate cleanly, which allows he to exceed his average measurables.
Other notable names: Isaac Gaillardetz, Laval | Brayden Misseri, Western | Hassane Dosso, Montreal | C.J. Vincent, York | Jackson Tachinski, Manitoba | Tristan Michaud, South Dakota | Michael Monios, Maine | Tristan Ready, Carleton | Seth Robertson, Western
