When the first player from our home and native land hears their name called at the 2016 NFL Draft in Chicago, it will tie a record for the longest streak of years with a Canadian player selected in history.
At least one Canuck was selected each year from 1979–1984. Nine players were chosen in total in that span, but the talent-grab went 12 rounds back then—in 1994 the league scaled it back to seven.
Today’s Canadian talent boom has meant 11 players—and at least one per year—have been chosen since 2011. And all signs point to the trend continuing. Let’s get you up to speed on which Canadians could be added to those numbers from April 28–30.
Tevaun Smith, WR, Iowa
Hometown: Toronto, Ont.
If NFL teams want a receiver who can provide big-play ability, Tevaun Smith could be their man. He averaged 17.6 yards per catch in his senior season at Iowa. And his 85-yard catch-and-run touchdown in the Big Ten Championship game was the Hawkeyes’ longest offensive play of the season.
At Iowa’s Pro Day, Smith proved that deep speed is real. He ran a 4.33 40-yard dash, 3.94 shuttle and 6.56 three-cone drill. That 40 time would’ve been third fastest overall at the NFL Combine, the shuttle tied for third and three-cone second-quickest. A 38-inch vertical proves he can go up and get the football. Since recording those impressive results, the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts worked Smith out individually.
Arjen Colquhoun, DB, Michigan State
Hometown: Windsor, Ontario
A late riser in the draft process, teams view Colquhoun as a versatile defensive back who can line up at cornerback or safety.
He started 11 games for Michigan State in 2015, piling up a career-high 45 tackles, 22 total passes defenced and two interceptions while helping the Spartans win a Big Ten championship.
Performing well at MSU’s Pro Day in front of 53 scouts spurred interest in Colquhoun. He ran a 4.55 40-yard dash, 4.16 shuttle while adding a 37-inch vertical leap and 10-foot, one-inch broad jump.
Since then, Colquhoun’s visited or worked out for the Kansas City Chiefs, Washington Redskins, Atlanta Falcons and Detroit Lions, among others—nearly 10 teams in total leading up to the draft.
Colquhoun is looking to become the first Canadian defensive back selected in the NFL Draft since O.J. Atogwe in 2005—both attended the same high school, W.F. Herman Secondary School.
David Onyemata, DL, Manitoba
Hometown: Lagos, Nigeria (by way of Winnipeg, Man.)
Onyemata’s ascent through the football ranks is one of the best stories of the draft.
After winning the 2015 J.P. Metras award as the most outstanding down lineman in CIS football, Onyemata earned an invite to the East-West Shrine Game in January. There, he turned several heads while dominating in the trenches at a position he had never played—defensive end.
After that performance, scouts from more than half of the NFL’s teams traveled north of the border for the University of Manitoba’s first-ever Pro Day. Onyemata did not disappoint. After checking in at six-foot-three and 300 lb., he pumped out 33 reps on the bench press, and recorded a 33-inch vertical leap, a nine-foot, 11-inch broad jump, a 5.06 40-yard time, a 7.05 three-cone and a 4.65 shuttle.
All of those results would’ve put Onyemata at or near the top among all defensive linemen at the NFL Combine.
Mehdi Abdesmad, DL, Boston College
Hometown: Montreal, Que.
Abdesmad was the only Canadian to garner an invite to the 2016 NFL Combine in 2016. Coming off a season-ending left knee injury in 2014, he bounced back to play 11 games in his senior season, recording 49 tackles, 15 tackles for a loss and 5.5 sacks with the Eagles.
After meeting with 10 NFL teams at the Combine in Indianapolis, Abdesmad worked out in front of representatives from 16 NFL squads at Boston College’s Pro Day on March 16.
Trent Corney, DL, Virgina
Hometown: Brockville, Ont.
The term “athletic freak” is thrown around too often, but Corney truly meets that description—and then some. The six-foot-three, 251-pounder has the highest “SPARQ” score—an acronym for speed, power, agility, reaction and quickness designed to measure sport-specific athleticism—out of any defensive end or edge player in the entire 2016 NFL Draft class at 137.6.
Corney’s Instagram feed gives you a glimpse of how purely athletic he is, and that impression is more than backed up by the raw testing numbers.
Corney started 11 games for Virginia last year recording 36 tackles, nine tackles for loss, two sacks and one forced fumble. He had five tackles against Notre Dame and flashed his pro potential as a defensive end by giving Ronnie Stanley, who is regarded as an elite offensive tackle prospect in this class, trouble all game long.