Edmonton to host 2026 CFL Combine

The 2026 CFL Combine is heading back to Edmonton. The CFL officially announced on Wednesday that the event would return to the city on March 27-29, three years after previously hosting the combine in 2023. During the three-day event, media and CFL front office personnel have the opportunity to evaluate draft-eligible prospects in the year's entry draft, where participants compete in various drills and tests. Teams evaluate players on the bench press, three-cone drill, 40-yard dash, vertical jump, individual drills to observe their ability to function in practice settings, as well as one-on-one interviews with the club. Only select Canadian players in U SPORTS or the NCAA, as well as top global players eligible for the CFL draft, are invited to the combine. Last time the event was hosted in Edmonton, Michael Brodrique (Montreal), Lake Korte-Moore (UBC), Dayton Black (Saskatchewan), Anthony Bennett (Regina), and Clark Barnes (Guelph) appeared at the combine and made names for themselves being drafted and heading to the CFL. The combine is a crucial stepping stone for U SPORTS players to showcase their skills to CFL scouts and can have implications on a player's draft stock. It is also a pipeline that relies on U SPORTS for fueling the CFL's Canadian player ratio, which requires a minimum of 21 Canadian players to be dressed on an active roster. 57 of 72 total selections in the CFL draft were from U SPORTS programs the last year Edmonton hosted the combine. The past two CFL drafts have seen a slight decline in selections from Canadian universities; however, U SPORTS players still make up the overwhelming majority of the selections — 47 in 2024 and 49 in 2025. With the 2026 CFL Combine now announced, the countdown for the top U SPORTS talent to prove their draft worthiness has now begun ahead of the 2025 U SPORTS football season that kicks off on Aug. 22.