Who will Calgary Stampeders choose with No. 1 pick in 2025 CFL Draft?
We have the inside dish from TSN analyst Jim Barker and hints from Red and White GM/head coach Dave Dickenson ahead of Tuesday's pick-em
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Dave Dickenson knows which player tops his talent board ahead of the 2025 CFL Draft.
But the GM won’t be divulging who that is until d-day Tuesday, when the Calgary Stampeders deliver the name for the first overall selection of the Canadian pick-em.
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So we’ve levied a few gurus to help us with the guessing game, including TSN analyst Jim Barker.
And the former CFL GM and coach certainly has his convictions.
“Keelan White is the best player in the draft that’s going to play in the CFL — period,” said Barker of a receiver with the NCAA’s Montana Grizzlies. “And I’m a believer that you take the best player that’s there.
“Here’s what my take on Calgary’s receiving core is …” continued Barker. “They lose Cole Tucker for good — he’s retiring. And you’ve got injury guys (in Jalen Philpot and Clark Barnes), and they need to play at least one for their ratio and probably — ideally — two.”
Dickenson himself is about that whole best-player approach, too.
“I don’t really subscribe to drafting for need,” Dickenson said. “I think when you do that, you end up maybe not getting the players you want versus drafting the best players.
“I do think you should draft upside, though. I think you should draft people that have a chance to be all-stars.”
The draft for the Stamps looks like this …
• Round 1, 1st overall
• Round 1, 8th overall
• Round 2, 17th overall
• Round 3, 20th overall
• Round 4, 32nd overall
• Round 5, 38th overall
• Round 6, 47th overall
• Round 7, 56th overall
• Round 7, 61th overall
• Round 8, 65th overall
“I actually think there’s pretty good depth across the board,” Dickenson said. “And that’s for us exciting, because we have four picks in the top 20.”
We know they’ll be taking the best players available early, although the GM admits “None of us know if we’re right or wrong. You know, you’ve got idea, but it’s still not an exact science.”
Consensus says they need help at receiver, linebacker, offensive line and defensive line.
Here’s a position-by-position look at the top possible prospects and pick predicitions for the Stampeders come Tuesday in the 2025 CFL Draft (4 p.m., TSN) …
WIDE RECEIVERS
Top prospects: Keelan White (Montana), Damien Alford (Utah)
The skinny: There’s only a few receivers ranked high among scouts for this year’s edition. So they become valuable on draft boards. And White is high — ranked first by CFL.ca’s Marshall Ferguson in his original mock draft in early April.
Dickenson on White: “Keelan’s from Vancouver, walked on the Griz, a good player and made a name for himself down there.”
Barker on White: “Keelan White got better every year with Montana. You can see him progress on film. You can see him become explosive out of his break that he wasn’t early in his career. He went to Montana as a walk-on, and he became that kind of guy. His ceiling is off the charts.”
Barker on Alford: “He’s 6-foot-5 and change, is 224 pounds and ran a 4.46 (40-yard dash) with a 32-inch vertical jump. He’s a quality player that NFL teams will like, but he’s nowhere the receiver Keelan White is.”
Our prediction: Stamps select Keelan White with first overall selection. It helps that White played for Montana, Dickenson’s alma mater.
LINEBACKERS
Top prospects: Connor Shay (Wyoming), Jaylen Smith (North Texas), Jalen Rayam (UTEP), Devin Veresuk (Windsor)
The skinny: Shay is being touted as a top pick in this draft. In fact, Ferguson has Shay in the first overall spot taken by the Stamps in his latest mock draft after being at No. 2 for his original mock-up in early April behind only receiver White.
Dickenson on Shay: “A lot of people compare Connor to Alex Singleton. Let’s be careful on that. I mean … Alex is special. Alex, honestly, there’s a reason why he’s starting and doing things in the NFL that are special. And I think anyone knows in Calgary knows how good a player he was, how instinctual he is, how hard he works … So I don’t really like compare people necessarily — just maybe the story’s the same with Connor, but still a different, different person.”
Dickenson on the linebackers: “This is a good group of linebackers across the board. I think you can look at five or six guys that could impact the game immediately, on special teams, their physicality the way they run.”
Barker on Shay: “The difference between Keelan White and Connor Shay is there are four linebackers that are highly ranked, and you can ask four different CFL people, and they will all tell you a different one’s going to be great.”
Barker on Rayam: “I think Jalen Rayam’s the best there, but he hasn’t played in two years due to injury,” Barker said. “Based on his 2022 year alone at Middle Tennessee State, he’s the best linebacker. But now you’ve got two years that happened — one, he blows his ACL in training camp, and the next year, he gets hurt the first game of the season at UTEP.”
Barker on Smith: “If the Stampeders could get a Jaylen Smith at No. 8, that would be unbelievable. But I don’t think he’s going to be there.”
Barker on Veresuk: “I have him rated as the top prospect. He hasn’t played as high a level as Connor Shay and Jalen Smith, but he’s a physically tough Canadian kid. He reminds me of Mike O’Shea.”
Our prediction: The Stamps select Rayam among their first four picks even if they draft another linebacker earlier. He’s the son of Thomas and the brother of T.J. — both of whom played for the Red and White. And Dickenson isn’t afraid to take a home-run swing even through injury issues. The GM did it by drafting Ben Labrosse in the first round last year, and the Canadian defensive back arguably improved the most of anyone on the team last year.
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN
Top prospects: Darien Newell (Queen’s), Hayden Harris (Montana), Jeremiah Ojo (Montreal), Paris Shand (LSU), Ali Saad (Bowling Green), Silas Hubert (Queen’s), Isaiah Bagnah (BYU), Ty Anderson (Alberta)
The skinny: Newell and Harris — who was signed Sunday by the Buffalo Bills — are ranked high by Ferguson, and Ojo is rated extremely high on other boards as a “physical stud”, says Barker.
Dickenson on Newell: As soon as you see him, you know he’s a football player. He’s worked hard — he hasn’t had a lot of things given to him, so he’s earned it. So strong player that I think everyone in the league likes, and certainly we’re one of those.”
Dickenson on Harris: “Hayden is a Washington guy that was with UCLA, actually an ex-quarterback, but he’s 6-foot-5, 257 pounds. I do like ex-quarterbacks. I think sometimes they see the game in a different light. I’ve always felt like it can sometimes help you as a player. And I can jump in on the two Montana guys. I think both Hayden and Keelan are quality people. I think they’re hard workers.”
Dickenson on Ojo: “He unfortunately got hurt at the combine. But the University of Montreal has consistently kicked out really good players. There’s something there, there’s an attitude, there’s an enjoyment for the game … So there’s a a certain there standard, and that’s a great thing.”
Barker on the d-linemen: “My favourite players are Paris Shand on the edge and Ali Saad inside. Most people like Newell better — he’s very quick, and he reminds me a little of Derek Wiggan.”
Our prediction: There’s plenty of talent in this group, and with those four picks in the top 20, the Stamps are likely to grab one.
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN
Top prospects: Christopher Fortin (Connecticut), Erik Andersen (Western), Tiger Shanks (UNLV), Sam Carson (Louisiana Monroe), Ethan Vibert (South Dakota State), Arvin Hosseini (UBC), Ethan Pyle (Guelph)
The skinny: The o-line group isn’t considered as talented as previous years, with Barker saying it’s the worst he’s ever seen in his decades of scouting the prospects for the draft. But losing Sean McEwen in free agency — he signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders in February — means the Stamps are in the market.
Barker on the o-linemen: “If you ask five different people, you’re going to get five different names as the best guy in the draft among offensive lineman. I guarantee you. And that’s the thing about this entire draft — a guy that you think is the best guy, he may be fifth on everybody else’s list. You just don’t know. It’s not like everybody says, ‘Well, this kid’s the best guy in the draft for at this position.’ My favourite is Shanks. But it wouldn’t shock me if they went on Sam Carson, because he is a Calgary guy and his dad is a line coach in the city.”
Our prediction: The Stamps love drafting Canadian o-linemen, but with not much to supposedly choose between the best ones, they won’t reach for a guy. However, expect them to pluck one in the first four rounds.
OTHER PROSPECTS
Quarterbacks: Taylor Elgersma (Wilfrid Laurier), Kurtis Rourke (Indiana), Arnaud Desjardins (Laval). “You really feel like this could be as good or the best quarterback class the Canadian draft has ever produced,” Dickenson said. “I think the UBC kid (Garrett Rooker) is a good player, as well … We’d take a Canadian quarterback.”
Running backs: Isaiah Knight (UBC), Opemipo Oshinubi (Alberta), Keanu Yazbeck (Western). Oshinubi is a Calgary product. The graduate of Robert Thirsk High School in the city’s northwest posted the fastest forty-yard dash at the 2025 CFL Combine with a time of 4.41 seconds.
Defensive backs: Jackson Findlay (Western); Nate Beauchemin (Calgary); Eric Cumberbatch (Ottawa); Anton Haie (Laval). “Calgary could go Nate Beauchemin at No. 8,” added Barker. “He’s a free safety. There’s very few free safeties in this, but Jackson Findlay is the best free safety.”
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