There are just days remaining 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, fullbacks, receivers, offensive linemen, defensive linemen, and linebackers. Today, we continue with a defensive back class for the ages. Make sure to come back tomorrow when we wrap it all up with the specialists.
Defensive back
1) Jackson Findlay, Western University (North Vancouver, B.C.)
There was no need to overthink this spot because Jackson Findlay was created in a lab to play safety in the CFL. The fourth-generation prospect has been moulded his entire life to follow his great-grandfather, grandfather, father, and uncle’s path to the league, with prototypical size, range, and physicality for the position. The six-foot-three, 207-pounder has exceptional movement skills for a larger DB and unrivalled maturity for a 21-year-old, ensuring you’ll get an even better player off the field than on it. Despite a bright future as a pediatric oncologist, he’s committed to a long football career and could be a plug-and-play rookie.
2) Nate Beauchemin, University of Calgary (Kelowna, B.C.)
The man who beat out Findlay for the Presidents’ Trophy in 2024 isn’t as far behind him as a prospect as the initial narratives suggested. Beauchemin may be a step slower athletically but he plays with a mental headstart that makes you wonder if he’s been reading the opponent’s playbook and drives on passes with the intent to take them for points himself. The six-foot-one, 204-pound safety won’t have the likes of Anton Amundrud to exploit for turnovers at the next level but his intelligence and instincts will translate.
3) Mack Bannatyne, University of Alberta (Calgary, Alta.)
At five-foot-11 and 195 pounds, Bannatyne lacks the elite frame of the top two DBs in this class but is in the same tier talent-wise. He’s a cross-field tracker at halfback with elite closing speed and exceptional tackling ability in space. He also flashes some impressive fluidity and awareness in coverage, though not all his best plays end in interceptions. In any other class, you’d have a compelling argument to make him DB1.
4) King Ambers, East Texas A&M University (Pickering, Ont.)
Six-foot-two, 191-pound cornerbacks with Division 1 starting experience are rarely available in the CFL Draft, let alone ones with 4.5 speed and absurd 34-inch arms. That unique skillset will make Ambers valuable in a league where several teams are poised to play Canadians on the outside, even though there will be a learning curve. He played a lot of press-man in Commerce and will have to prove he can adjust to more zone-heavy CFL defences, along with gaining more consistency as a tackler.
5) Anton Haie, Université Laval (Levis, Que.)
You can file Haie under the category of players who will be better pros than university athletes. The five-foot-11, 199-pounder wasn’t a full-time player at halfback for the Rouge et Or but was an elite gunner on special teams and has blocked the most kicks in school history with five. That makes him an extremely stable CFL projection with further untapped potential on defence thanks to his camera-shutter quick hips.
6) Dolani Robinson, University of Regina (Toronto, Ont.)
A long, rangy cornerback who was a key contributor on arguably the best defence in the country last year, Robinson is still relatively raw after converting from receiver just three years ago while with the Westshore Rebels. The six-foot-two, 190-pound cover man will run you off the field in press and easily stays in phase, but struggles to locate the football and has not yet developed his instincts in off-coverage. The physical potential is there but some teams may see a project without a clear CFL fit and a lack of bulk for the rigours of special teams.
7) Maliek Cote-Azore, Wilfrid Laurier University (Ajax, Ont.)
An undersized cornerback who elevated himself from the Invitational Combine with some all-time great testing, Cote-Azore has freaky fluid hips and is exceptionally explosive when driving out of his pedal. The five-foot-11, 182-pounder is plenty physical for his size and racked up a lot of tackles with the Golden Hawks, though some argue that is because opponents targeted him. There is a grain of truth to that, as you’d expect a player with his traits to have far more ball production, but I’d still take a swing on the upside.
8) Ashton Miller-Melancon, Queen’s University (Montreal, Que.)
Nobody in this class got their hands on the football more in university than Miller-Melancon, amassing an incredible 27 pass breakups and 16 interceptions. While much of that production came earlier in his career, the six-foot-two, 204-pounder still plays with excellent recognition and has a second gear when driving to make plays on the ball. Unfortunately, he’s an average athlete overall and can be left vulnerable by his lack of range. That makes him a safety-only prospect and might prevent him from becoming a starter at the next level, though he has enough size and physicality to contribute on special teams.
9) Eric Cumberbatch, University of Ottawa (Alexandria, Ont.)
Cumberbatch is undisputed in his status as a physical freak after jumping out of the gym at the Combine but he is still a divisive prospect for some scouts. The six-foot-two, 202-pound cornerback’s broad shoulders and skinny lower half send conflicting messages about how he’ll stand up on special teams and his defensive ability isn’t any cleaner to project. He has the athleticism to make every play but none of the ball sense needed to finish them, and I question if he’s truly physical enough to convert to safety. Someone will bet on the traits early in the draft, but others will prefer to stay away entirely.
10) Ethan Ball, University of Calgary (Regina, Sask.)
In a lot of other draft classes, a five-foot-11, 190-pound safety who played meaningful reps in the FCS before transferring home would be a top-three DB prospect. This year, Ball isn’t even close due to the elite nature of his contemporaries. He’s a willing tackler with average athletic ability and a solid special teams projection who may have risen higher if he didn’t get hurt last year. Unfortunately, he’ll have fewer potential landing spots than other players with some teams certain to be wary of bringing the son of a notable media member into their building.
11) DeEmetrius Masuka, McMaster University (Hamilton, Ont.)
On pure talent alone, Masuka should be higher on this list. Based on availability, he might fall even lower. The six-foot-two, 200-pound cornerback is a fluid mover for his size, a playmaker in zone coverage, and has more special teams upside than others ranked ahead of him, but he’s been set back by tearing the same ACL in consecutive seasons. He won’t be ready to go until late summer or early fall, which means he’ll almost certainly be playing in Guelph next year after an offseason transfer.
12) Gideon Agyei, University of Calgary (Toronto, Ont.)
Another tall, long-armed cornerback in a class unusually full of them, Agyei has the greased-up hips and jittery feet of an elite prospect at the position. He’s plenty fast to cover man-to-man and functional in zone, but I question whether he is willing enough as a tackler to carve out a role at the next level. With that said, his 16 bench press rep demonstrated far more raw strength than I expected.
13) Istvan Assibo-Dadzie, University of Windsor (Brampton, Ont.)
An All-Canadian at cornerback, Assibo-Dadzie has flown under the radar after tearing his labrum late last year but is expected to be ready for training camp. At five-foot-11 and 195 pounds, he lacks the elite length or jaw-dropping measurables of some of the others on this list, but has a natural feel for the position and is able to bait plays in off-coverage. He also shows some physicality as a tackler and has special teams experience, which could see him sneak up higher than expected.
14) Arnaud Laporte, Université Laval (Paris, France)
It’s hard not to fall in love with this twitched-up Frenchman, who qualifies for National status as a U Sports graduate. The five-foot-11, 186-pound cornerback has active feet and excellent closing speed to finish on the ball. Despite his size, Laporte throws his body around with reckless abandon and could exceed any physical limitations with unbridled special teams effort.
15) Ronan Horrall, University of British Columbia (Ottawa, Ont.)
Injuries and circumstance prevented Horrall from ever becoming an impact starter at safety for UBC but his movement skills are exceptional for someone who is six-foot-one and 205 pounds. He also has the benefit of having played a ton on special teams and is a reliable wrap-up tackler – two things that matter far more than defensive prowess late in the draft.
16) Romeo Nash, University of Alberta (Calgary, Alta.)
Nash doesn’t necessarily excel in any one area of the game but is above average in a lot of different ones, looking smooth in transition despite average physical measurables. The six-foot, 192-pound corner is able to make plays with his eyes in the backfield and shows some aggressiveness when coming downhill, but the physicality is more flash than function. He’ll need to prove he is physically rugged enough to survive on special teams.
17) Jake Nitychoruk, University of Manitoba (Winnipeg, Man.)
There are far superior coverage players available compared to Nitychoruk but you just can’t teach being six-foot-four and 205 pounds. That outlier size didn’t always help him at cornerback but his movement skills are good enough to develop as a depth safety. He shows flashes of downhill physicality that could translate on special teams, though his lack of strength is a concern.
18) Keegan Vanek, Queen’s University (London, Ont.)
Vanek has a lot of the traits you look for in a CFL defensive back but unfortunately checks in at five-foot-nine and 194 pounds. He punches well above his weight class physically, never shies away from contact, and triggers quickly, but it’s hard to overcome his inherent lack of length.
19) Anesu Latmore, University of Waterloo (Ottawa, Ont.)
Latmore’s testing numbers from the 2024 East-West Bowl were on par with Cumberbatch’s but he underperformed badly at the Invitational, which raises a bit of a red flag. He’s buttery smooth and oozes athletic ability, but you are consistently left wondering why he didn’t impact the game more for a bad Waterloo team. The five-foot-10, 189-pound defender will need to learn how to keep his switch flipped on if he gets a late-round opportunity.
20) Johari Hastings, Wilfrid Laurier University (Toronto, Ont.)
Hastings was the best player on a defence that made the Vanier Cup but it’s difficult to see him overcoming his physical limitations at the next level. The transfer from SFU hits like a Mack truck despite measuring just five-foot-eight and 184 pounds but he also runs a 4.91 forty. That’s just not fast enough to play in space in this league, especially when you’re severely undersized.
Other notable names: Owen O’Neal, Mount Allison | John Stoll, Saskatchewan | Owen Cassie, Toronto | Jason Soriano, British Columbia | Benjamin Chombe, Oklahoma Baptist | Ryan McNally, McGill
