Written by Brandon Caputo
Photo Credit: twitter.com/NFLCanada
The 2021 NFL Draft has come & gone, leaving us with a lots to talk about for every team; but North of the border our love for American Football is at an all-time high popularity. Although we do not have a Canadian team in the NFL, those teams close to Canadian border cities like the Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions, Seattle Seahawks, & Minnesota Vikings seem to be the quote on quote "local" teams that folks in those areas seem to latch onto.
In saying that, we may not have any teams located North of the border, but we do have players that start out in the "Great White North" who we love to see have success down south in NCAA programs with the hope of making it big into the National Football League either by way of the Draft or Un-drafted Free Agency.
Photo Credit: Sportsnet.ca
In most recent memory we have seen a few of our own succeed at the NFL level which includes:
- 7-year versatile veteran & Super Bowl Champion winning Tight End with the Seattle Seahawks: Luke Willson.
- 2020 rookie standout Wide Receiver who stands at 6'4: Chase Claypool of the Pittsburgh Steelers nicknamed "MapleTron" in reference to his connection with the Canadian Maple Leaf, as well as his comparison to
Hall Of Fame Receiver Calvin Johnson who was given the nickname "Megatron" during his career.
Photo Credit: Don Wright/AP Photo
- Offensive Lineman: Laurent Duvernay-Tardiff a Super Bowl Champion with the Kansas City Chiefs in the
2019-2020 season, who courageously took this past NFL season off & came home to Quebec in order to provide assistance during the COVID-19 Pandemic at a long-term care facility, as a graduated medical professional from McGill University. He was honoured as one of the Sportspeople of the Year by Sports Illustrated due to his selfless contribution to his community.
Photo Credit: Tony Guzzo via leblitznfl.com
With that being said, lets take a deeper look into the 4 Canadians who had their name called at the big stage of the NFL Draft this past weekend in Cleveland, as well as a few lucky Canucks who have since received calls as
un-drafted free agents.
1. S Jevon Holland - Miami Dolphins
Photo Credit: Sean Meagher
The native of Coquitlam, British Columbia thanks to his father playing in Canadian Football League during his birth, Jevon was selected in the 2nd Round, 36th Overall by the Miami Dolphins this past Friday night.
Jevon also held the distinction of being the 1st Safety taken in the 2021 NFL Draft, which is quite the accomplishment in itself.
Statistics from Pro-football-reference.com
The 6'1 200 pound Free Safety opted out of his Junior year at Oregon due to COVID-19 after totalling 9 interceptions & 71 solo tackles in his first 2 seasons as a Duck. At only 21 years old, he looks to have a bright future with a young up & coming Miami Dolphins team under well respected Head Coach Brian Flores.
According to Ourlads.com, Jevon is already slotted into the Dolphins backup Strong Safety role behind veteran Eric Rowe. Jevon also has some experience in Punt Returning as he accumulated 244 yards on 16 returns in 2019 and could serve as a useful fill-in if there were to be an injury to Miami's experienced kick returner Jakeem Grant.
2. CB Benjamin St-Juste - Washington Football Team
Photo Credit: Zach Bolinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Montreal, Quebec native was the 2nd Canadian to have his name called on Day 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft when he as selected in the 3rd Round, 74th overall by the Football Team. The 6'0 202 pound Cornerback played 1 year at the University of Michigan before transferring to another Big-10 school in the Minnesota Golden Gophers for his final 2 seasons.
Statistics from Pro-football-reference.com
Benjamin only appeared in 5 games during the 2020 season, accumulating 14 total tackles, but had a full campaign in 2019 where he eclipsed 45 combined tackles in 15 games as a Golden Gopher.
He will look to gain the trust from long-time defensive Head Coach Ron Rivera, as Washington will be a team who heavily relies on their defensive & more specifically their all-world Defensive Line in hopes of repeating as the NFC East Division champs.
According to Ourlads.com, Benjamin is currently slotted into the Football Team's 3rd string Cornerback spot behind Kamren Curl & Jeremy Reaves. At only 23 years of age, he will look to have a bright future on this young up & coming Washington defense that finally has proper franchise stability with Ron Rivera steering the ship, which should surely benefit Benjamin as a defensive player under a defensive mind like "Riverboat" Ron.
3. WR Josh Palmer - Los Angeles Chargers
Photo Credit: Tennessee Athletics
The Brampton, Ontario native was the 3rd Canadian to be drafted on Day 2 of the 2021 NFL Draft when he was selected in Round 3, 77th overall by the Los Angeles Chargers. The 6'2 210 pound Wide Receiver spent 4 full seasons as a Tennessee Volunteer while accumulating a solid 1514 yards on 99 receptions in 42 games,
despite playing on an underachieving Vols squad for a majority of his college career there.
After high school, Josh was originally committed to Syracuse before de-committing & choosing to go down to the Volunteer state instead to dawn a different shade of orange at Tennessee.
Statistics from Pro-football-reference.com
With a new regime in Los Angeles, the 21 year old Palmer will be coming into a clean slate to try & prove himself as a weapon for young standout QB Justin Herbert going forward. According to Ourlads.com, Palmer is currently slotted in as the backup LWR behind All-Pro receiver Keenan Allen which could work out as a major benefit by learning next to one of the NFL's most elite players at that position.
It should also be mentioned that the Chargers current #2 receiver Mike Williams is going into the final year of his current contract. This could result in a big opportunity for Palmer to prove that he could be the guy to play his way into that role, if the team wishes not to re-sign Williams after this season.
4. RB Chuba Hubbard - Carolina Panthers
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Last but certainly not least, most likely the most notable for any football fan our of the 4 Canadians to have their names called during the 2021 NFL Draft weekend, the Edmonton, Alberta native Hubbard was selected in the 4th Round, 126th Overall by the Carolina Panthers. The 6'0 210 pound standout Running Back for the Oklahoma State Cowboys took the Big-12 by storm in the 2019 season by accumulating an incredible 2292 all-purpose yards with 21 rushing touchdowns. Chuba also did some work as a Kick Returner during the 2018 season where he totalled 510 yards on 23 returns, however not much of any in his final 2 seasons at Oklahoma State.
Statistics from Pro-football-reference.com
In 3 great years as a Cowboy before declaring for the NFL Draft & missing out on his senior year, Hubbard eclipsed 3938 all-purpose yards & 36 touchdowns despite having his 2020 season cut short after 7 games.
Hubbard won Big-12 Offensive Player of The Year honours & Consensus All-America honours thanks to his great 2019 campaign.
To cap it all off, Hubbard was awarded the Jon Cornish Trophy as the top Canadian in NCAA Division 1 football, edging out previously mentioned Notre Dame senior & now Wide Receiver for the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers: Chase Claypool.
According to Ourlads.com, Chuba is currently slated in as the Panthers 4th string RB, but should be able to work his way into a dressed role before the season starts given his talent & drive to be successful at the NFL level, as his game definitely has similarities to transfer over well from the Collegiate level.
Under offensive minds like Head Coach Matt Rhule & college-like playcaller Joe Brady as Offensive
Co-ordinator, Hubbard could see a unique role behind All-Pro Christian McCaffrey; who like Chuba is an
all-purpose back for all sorts of running and/or passing situations. McCaffrey missed a good chunk of the 2020 season & if he were to go down again, the Panthers must believe that they have a solid safety net in Hubbard who could pose the same type of threat to opposing defenses.
Notable Un-Drafted Free Agents
OL Pier-Olivier Lestage
the 23 year old who stands at 6'3 & 305 pounds from Saint-Eustache, Quebec, has signed with the Seattle Seahawks following his Collegiate career at the University of Montreal as a Carabin.
TE Bruno Labelle
the 23 year old 6'4 & 248 pounder from Montreal, Quebec has signed with the Arizona Cardinals following his Collegiate career at the University of Cincinnati as a Beacat.
OL Alaric Jackson
the 22 year old 6'5 & 318 pounder from Windsor, Ontario has signed with the Los Angeles Rams following his Collegiate career at the University of Iowa as a Hawkeye.
LB Amen Ogbongbemiga
the 22 year old who stands at 6'1 & 235 pounds from Calgary, Alberta has signed with the Los Angeles Chargers, who also selected the previously mentioned Josh Palmer as their 2nd Canadian added following the 2021 NFL Draft.
Amen was also a teammate of previously mentioned Chuba Hubbard at Oklahoma State making it an even smaller world for Canadians going into in the NFL next season.