The 2021 CFL National Draft will take place on Tuesday, May 4, the league has announced Tuesday evening.

 

The Hamilton Tiger Cats currently hold the No. 1 pick, with Saskatchewan and Winnipeg rounding out the top three.

This season the draft order was determined by a random draw that is equally weighted across the nine CFL clubs.

The draft this season will feature a “snake” format. That means that after teams pick in the first round they will then pick in reverse order in the second round, and that pattern will continue. 

The 2021 CFL Draft will be six rounds long instead of the traditional eight rounds, and there will be no territorial selections. 

In July, U SPORTS announced a one-time exemption to its Policy 40.10.4.3.1.1., which means that football players who did not have an opportunity to play Canadian university football this year because of the pandemic would be allowed another year of eligibility next year. In August, the NCAA Division 1 Board of Directors also decided to grant another year of eligibility to any Fall sport athletes denied an opportunity to compete this year because of COVID-19.

In light of these changes, the CFL will allow 2021 Draft eligible players to defer their Draft year to 2022.