Montreal Alouettes sign seven CFL draft picks, cut four

Photo: Southeastern Louisiana Athletics

The Montreal Alouettes have signed seven picks from the 2026 CFL Draft, including running back Liam Talbot, receivers Nathan Udoh and Zachary Houde, linebacker Harrison Daley, defensive backs Shakespeare Louis and Cyrus McGarrell, and kicker Michael Horvat.

Talbot, Montreal’s fourth-round pick, played collegiately at the University of Windsor. The six-foot-one, 205-pound ball-carrier rushed for 641 yards, caught 18 passes for 158 yards, returned 27 kickoffs for 570 yards, returned 61 punts for 612 yards, and scored six touchdowns over 29 games with the Lancers.

Udoh caught 44 passes for 599 yards and three touchdowns over nine games at the University of Manitoba in 2025. The six-foot-one, 215-pound native of Winnipeg was Montreal’s third-round pick.

Houde, the team’s eighth-round pick, caught 117 passes for 2,035 yards and nine touchdowns over 25 collegiate games at St. Francis Xavier University.

Daley played five collegiate seasons at the University of Windsor, where he made 80 total tackles, two interceptions, four pass knockdowns, and one forced fumble over 34 games. The six-foot-four, 210-pound defender was Montreal’s fifth-round pick.

Louis made 44 total tackles, one interception, two knockdowns, and forced one fumble over 13 games at Southeastern Louisiana University this past season. The second-round pick, who was born in Ottawa, previously played at Robert Morris University.

McGarrell, the team’s seventh-round pick, played collegiately at Northern Illinois University. The six-foot-two, 197-pound defender made 31 tackles, two interceptions, and two pass breakups over 39 games.

Horvat was named a U Sports first-ream All-Canadian at McMaster University, where he averaged 47.8 yards on 53 punts in 2025. The native of Hamilton, Ont. was Montreal’s sixth-round pick.

Tight end Rohan Jones, Montreal’s first-round pick out of the University of Arkansas, recently signed with the Los Angeles Rams as an undrafted free agent. As such, he’s not expected with the Alouettes anytime soon.

Montreal has also released Canadian receiver Daniel Oladejo, American receiver Giles Jackson, Canadian offensive lineman Jesse Gibbon, and Canadian defensive lineman Philippe Lemieux-Cardinal.

Oladejo played three regular-season games with the Alouettes in 2025, though he didn’t register a catch. The 26-year-old native of Nigeria, who was raised primarily in Ottawa, was a second-round pick in the 2023 CFL Draft. He has since dressed for 18 regular-season CFL games with the Redblacks and Alouettes, making four catches for 38 yards.

Jackson joined Montreal late last season after a stint in the NFL. The five-foot-eight, 187-pound target began his career as a returner with the University of Michigan, before transferring to the University of Washington after two seasons. In 64 college games, he logged 159 receptions for 1,723 yards and scored 14 total touchdowns.

Gibbon spent the last three years with the Alouettes, winning the Grey Cup in 2023 and dressing for 47 regular-season games. The native of Hamilton, Ont. was acquired through a trade with the Edmonton Elks in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2024 CFL Draft, which was later used on Canadian fullback Bradley Hladik. He was originally a first-round pick in the 2019 CFL Draft out of the University of Waterloo.

Lemieux-Cardinal dressed for 10 regular-season games with Montreal last season, recording two special teams tackles. The 29-year-old product of the Université de Montréal originally went unselected in the 2022 CFL Draft before stints with the Ottawa Redblacks and Alouettes.

The Montreal Alouettes recently selected Arkansas tight end Rohan Jones with their first-round pick in the 2026 CFL Draft, though he is currently under contract with the Los Angeles Rams. The team’s other major offseason additions include quarterback Dustin Crum, receiver Jerreth Sterns, and returner DeVonte Dedmon.

All CFL training camps are scheduled to open on May 10. The team will play its first preseason game against the Ottawa Redblacks on Friday, May 22 and its first regular-season game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Thursday, June 4.

In 2025, Montreal finished second in the East Division standings with a 10-8 record and beat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Final before losing the 112th Grey Cup to the Saskatchewan Roughriders.