This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://www.cfl.ca/2026/04/13/a-look-at-the-last-7-first-overall-picks-in-the-cfl-draft/
Wow only two have really panned out. Dublanko took a couple of years to start. Richards is ok on special teams, but not to good a record IMO.
The first overall pick in the CFL draft is oddly enough more of a crapshoot than the other picks. Like Damien Alford, there’s the fear that your pick will end up in the NFL so teams don’t even go for the best player available at times.
Yet if you pick based on immediate need, very few players will provide that as well, unlike in basketball or hockey.
It would be curious to know the success rate of draft picks by round (players having played 30+ games as a baseline).