REDBLACKS TAKE VACCARO FIRST OVERALL IN 2026 CFL CANADIAN DRAFT
Toronto drafts OL Henning second; Edmonton selects LB Djabome third
TORONTO (April 28, 2026) – With the first overall selection in the 2026 Canadian Football League (CFL) Canadian Draft, the Ottawa REDBLACKS have selected Winnipeg native Giordano Vaccaro, an offensive lineman from Purdue University.
Exclusive coverage of Rounds 3-8 can be seen on TSN+.
Up-to-date results are available via the CFL Draft Tracker.
Additional information surrounding the Class of 2026 can be found in the CFL Draft Guide (available for download below).
2026 CFL DRAFT – FIRST ROUND
(Team | POS | Name | School | Hometown)
- Ottawa | OL | Giordano Vaccaro | Purdue | Winnipeg
- Toronto | OL | Niklas Henning | Queen’s | Milton, Ont.
- Edmonton | LB | Dariel Djabome | Rutgers | Longueuil, Que.
- Winnipeg | DL | Nuer Gatkuoth | Wake Forest | Edmonton
- Hamilton | OL | Jonathan Denis | Louisiana Tech | Homestead, Fla.
- Calgary | LB | Eric Rascoe | Angelo State | San Antonio, Texas
- BC | WR | Nathan DeMontagnac | North Dakota | Mississauga, Ont.
- Montreal | Rohan Jones | TE | Arkansas | Montreal
- Saskatchewan | DB | Malcolm Bell | Michigan State | Montreal
BY THE NUMBERS
- Position breakdown
- Three offensive linemen
- Two linebackers
- One defensive lineman
- One wide receiver
- One tight end
- One defensive back
NEED TO KNOW
- Vaccaro is the fourth offensive lineman to go first overall in the past 11 Drafts. The most recent was in 2023, when Dontae Bull was also selected by Ottawa.
- Henning is the highest prospect to be selected out of Queen’s since Shomari Williams was drafted 1st overall by Saskatchewan in 2010.
- Djabome is the second-ever prospect drafted out of Rutgers, joining DB Jason Nugent (2006).
- Gatkuoth is the fifth-ever prospect to be drafted from Wake Forest and he is the first since Toronto took Mark Moroz in 2004
- In CFL Canadian Draft history, only two players from Louisiana Tech have been selected, with both coming in the first round – Jonathan Denis this year and Samuel Emilus in 2022.
- Rascoe is the first linebacker taken by Calgary in the first round in 2021 – Amen Ogbongbemiga
- DeMontagnac becomes the first wide receiver to be drafted by BC in the first round since Danny Vandervoort in 2017.
- Jones is the first-ever prospect selected out of the University of Arkansas
- Bell is the second-ever first-rounder to be selected out of Michigan State, joining Mike Gyetvai in 2007 (Calgary)
2026 CFL Draft Guide
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Lucas Barrett
Associate Vice-President, Communications & Public Affairs, Canadian Football League