Most exclusive club north of the 49th: counting down Canada’s first-round NFL Draft picks

Photo courtesy: Logan Bowles/NFL.

Since its founding as a nation in 1867, Canada has had 24 prime ministers and been presided over by seven different British monarchs. Our country has produced 18 Nobel laureates, 28 Grammy Award-winning musicians, eight Oscar-winning actors, and sent 10 astronauts into outer space.

Those are all exclusive groups, but every one is larger than the current number of first-round NFL Draft picks from our home and native land.

Just six individuals have earned that distinction in history — a pittance compared to the regularity with which Canadians hear their names called in the opening phase of the NHL, NBA, and MLB drafts. With the club expected to grow by one more name on Thursday night in Pittsburgh, here is a look back on all the ones who came before.

1986: OL Mike Schad, Queen’s University — 23rd overall, Los Angeles Rams

In a move that we haven’t seen before or since, the Rams reached into the Canadian university ranks to make Schad the first first-rounder in the nation’s history. The six-foot-five, 290-pound blocker won the J.P. Metras Trophy with the Gaels in 1985 and ran a reported 4.89-second forty-yard dash, which drew considerable attention after he attended the East-West Shrine Bowl. Things never quite panned out on a loaded offensive line in L.A., as he dressed for seven games in three years, but he found his footing as a starting guard with the Philadelphia Eagles, holding down the fort for 55 games. The Belleville, Ont., finished his career with a cup of coffee with the Cleveland Browns in 1994, before playing a single season in the CFL with the Ottawa Rough Riders.

1989: OL Tony Mandarich, Michigan State University — 2nd overall, Green Bay Packers

The 1989 NFL Draft is arguably the greatest of all time, and the top five picks featured four Hall of Famers: Troy Aikman, Barry Sanders, Derrick Thomas, and Deion Sanders. Mandarich was the inauspicious exception, as the Packers bought into the hype around the man nicknamed “The Incredible Bulk” without giving enough thought to why he was such a physical freak. The six-foot-six, 330-pound offensive tackle was able to run a reported 4.65-second forty-yard dash and pound out 39 reps on the bench because he was loaded up on steroids, which, along with a series of concussions, caused him to flame out in Green Bay in four years. After seeking treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, the Oakville, Ont., native made a clean and sober comeback in 1996 with the Indianapolis Colts and retired three years later with a respectable 86 games played and 63 started, but is still widely considered the biggest non-quarterback bust in NFL history.

1996: RB Tim Biakabutuka, University of Michigan — 8th overall, Carolina Panthers

“Touchdown Tim” had arguably the greatest season ever by a Canadian player in the NCAA in 1995, setting Michigan’s all-time single-season rushing record at 1,818 yards. That prompted the Panthers to make the Montreal native their franchise running back, taking him six picks ahead of future All-Pro Eddie George. While Biakabutuka had a very respectable NFL career, lasting six seasons and appearing in 50 games, injuries prevented him from meeting those lofty expectations. He never suited up in more than 12 games in a single season and finished with 611 carries for 2,530 yards and 14 touchdowns, while catching 77 passes for 789 yards and three majors.

2011: OL Danny Watkins, Baylor University — 23rd overall, Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia went against conventional wisdom when they made the then-26-year-old Watkins the oldest NFL first-round selection in four decades, believing the Baylor left tackle could be an elite guard. Legendary offensive line coach Howard Mudd didn’t agree, and the Kelowna, B.C., product almost instantly fell out of favour. The six-foot-three, 310-pounder would last two seasons and play only 23 games before being released, dressing for one more career game with the Miami Dolphins before retiring to become a firefighter. The only group burned worse than the Eagles were the B.C. Lions, who selected Watkins with the fourth overall pick in the 2010 CFL Draft, a year before his NFL stock blew up, and missed out on 15-year stalwart Kristian Matte in the process.

2019: REC N’Keal Harry, Arizona State University — 32nd overall, New England Patriots

Harry is so tenuously Canadian that he never even bothered to submit the paperwork needed to enter him into the CFL Draft, but he was born in Toronto before moving to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines as a baby.  The six-foot-two, 228-pound target was a weapon after the catch for the Sun Devils, recording back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, and there was plenty of hype when Bill Belichick used the final pick in the first round to take him. Disappointingly, there would be no creative scheme usage as he missed most of his rookie season with injury, fell down the depth chart in year two, and demanded a trade to start year three. He has since had brief stops with the Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, and Seattle Seahawks, and last played in 2024, potentially ending his career with 64 catches for 714 yards and five touchdowns.

2023: TE Dalton Kincaid, University of Utah — 25th overall, Buffalo Bills

Do dual citizens really count for this list? You can be the judge, but if we are going to claim David Onyemata and Alex Singleton as our own, then we might as well take Kincaid, too. The Las Vegas native has Canadian parents and proudly wears the Maple Leaf on his helmet in Buffalo to show off his heritage. He also gives us a rare first-round success story, as the six-foot-four, 240-pound target has caught 156 passes for 1,692 yards and nine touchdowns, earning a Pro Bowl nod last season.

2026: DL Akheem Mesidor, University of Miami — ???

All signs point to Mesidor becoming the seventh member of this exclusive club on Thursday, as he is a consensus first-round prospect across all major outlets. The 25-year-old All-American’s age is a potential cause for concern, but he was downright dominant for the Hurricanes during their College Football Playoff run this year. Through 65 career NCAA games, the Ottawa native amassed 208 tackles, 52.5 tackles for loss, 35.5 sacks, and five forced fumbles — perhaps the greatest college resume ever assembled by a Canadian prospect.