Illinois offensive lineman Adams retains top spot in CFL Scouting Bureau spring list

Illinois offensive lineman Adams retains top spot in CFL Scouting Bureau spring list

TORONTO — Isaiah Adams remains the top-ranked player for the 2024 CFL draft.

The Illinois offensive lineman topped the CFL Scouting Bureau’s spring top-20 list released Wednesday, retaining the No. 1 spot he held in December. However, teams eyeing the six-foot-five, 320-pound Adams from Ajax, Ont., in the CFL draft on April 30 will have to wait as he’s expected to be taken in the NFL draft, which is slated to be held April 25-27 in Detroit.

Theo Johnson, of Windsor, Ont., a six-foot-six, 260-pound tight end from Penn State, moved up one spot into second behind Adams. Tanner McLachlan, of Lethbridge, Alta., a six-foot-five, 245-pound tight end from Arizona, also improved one position to sit third overall. Like Adams, Johnson and McLachlan are both expected to garner NFL attention at the end of the month.

Toronto’s Kyle Hergel, an offensive lineman from Boston College also moved up a spot into fourth ahead of Theo Benedet, a towering six-foot-seven, 305-pound native of North Vancouver, B.C., who anchored the University of British Columbia’s offensive line.

Cincinnati linebacker Joel Dublanko was at No. 6. Dublanko, an American, was added to the CFL draft as his father was born in Edmonton. The six-foot-three, 240-pound Dublanko was bypassed in the 2022 NFL draft but did spend time with New Orleans and Seattle before playing for the USFL’s Philadelphia Stars in 2023.

Auburn receiver Nick Mardner (Oakville, Ont), UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu (Pitts Meadows, B.C.), Memphis linebacker Geoffrey Cantin-Arku (Levis, Que.) and Laval receiver Kevin Mital (Saint-Hubert, Que.) rounded out the top-10.

Mital cracked the top-10 after being ranked No. 20 in the winter list.

The CFL scouting bureau consists of league scouts, player-personal directors and GMs. It releases rankings three times each year (fall, winter and spring).

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press