# 1996 CFL draft

The 1996 CFL Draft took place on May 31, 1996. 61 Canadian football players were chosen from eligible Canadian universities as well as Canadian players playing in the NCAA. This would be the last time that a CFL draft would have seven rounds, switching to six rounds in 1997, until the league reverted to seven in 2013. The Edmonton Eskimos obtained the first overall pick, along with Nick Mazzoli, from the Ottawa Rough Riders in exchange for Dan Murphy and Jay Chistenson. In the fifth round, the Montreal Alouettes drafted defensive end James Eggink who had died from cancer in December 1995. The Edmonton Eskimos obtained the first overall pick, along with Nick Mazzoli, from the Ottawa Rough Riders in exchange for Dan Murphy and Jay Chistenson.

## Round one

| = CFL Division All-Star | = CFL All-Star | = Hall of Famer |
| Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | College |
| 1 | Edmonton Eskimos (via Ottawa) | Donnavan Blair | SB | Calgary |
| 2 | Toronto Argonauts | Kelly Wiltshire | CB | James Madison |
| 3 | Saskatchewan Roughriders | Mike Sutherland | OL | Northern Illinois |
| 4 | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | Andrew Henry | DB | C.W. Post |
| 5 | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | Justin Ring | LB | Simon Fraser |
| 6 | BC Lions | Mark Pimisken | LB | Washington State |
| 7 | Edmonton | Duane Arrindell | OL | Northern Illinois |
| 8 | Calgary Stampeders | Farell Duclair | LB | Concordia |
| 9 | Montreal Alouettes | Denis Montana | WR | Concordia |

## Round two

| = CFL Division All-Star | = CFL All-Star | = Hall of Famer |
| Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | College |
| 10 | Hamilton | Kyle Walters | RB | Guelph |
| 11 | Winnipeg | Harry Van Hofwegen | DL | Carleton |
| 12 | Saskatchewan | Tom Monois | WR | Northeastern |
| 13 | Winnipeg | Sean Reade | RB | Western Ontario |
| 14 | Hamilton | Mike Mehelic | OT | Indiana |
| 15 | BC | Andrew English | WR | British Columbia |
| 16 | Edmonton | Jayson Hamilton | RB | Alberta |
| 17 | Calgary | Rob Robinson | DT | Cincinnati |
| 18 | Montreal | Bryan Chiu | DT | Washington State |

## Round three

| = CFL Division All-Star | = CFL All-Star | = Hall of Famer |
| Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | College |
| 19 | Ottawa | Sammie Brennan | DB | University |
| 20 | Toronto | L.J. Eiben | WR | Humboldt State |
| 21 | Calgary | Jean-Agnes Charles | DB | Michigan |
| 22 | Winnipeg | Shane Speena | LB | Henderson State |
| 23 | Saskatchewan | Alton Francis | RB/K | Northern Illinois |
| 24 | BC | Brad Yamaoka | RB | British Columbia |
| 25 | Edmonton | Sheldon Napastuk | DT | Iowa State |
| 26 | Calgary | Cory Stevens | P/K | Minot State |
| 27 | Montreal | Adam Cassidy | OL | Alberta |

## Round four

| Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | College |
| 28 | Ottawa | Grayson Shillingford | SB | British Columbia |
| 29 | Saskatchewan | Paul Frian | LB | St. Francis Xavier |
| 30 | Saskatchewan | Dwayne Ell | DL | North Dakota |
| 31 | Winnipeg | Leonard Jean-Pierre | RB | York |
| 32 | Hamilton | Dan Brown | FB/RB | Bemidji State |
| 33 | BC | Kevin Ho-Young | RB | St. Francis Xavier |
| 34 | Edmonton | Murray Cunningham | DL | Alberta |
| 35 | Calgary | Vito Greco | LB/FB | Carleton |
| 36 | Montreal | Tom Hipsz | DE | Toronto |

## Round five

| Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | College |
| 37 | Ottawa | Darcy Curtis | DT/OL | Simon Fraser |
| 38 | Ottawa | George Savard | OL | Ottawa |
| 39 | Saskatchewan | Nelson Van Waes | SB/LB | Tulsa |
| 40 | Winnipeg | Stuart MacKenzie | OT | Western Kentucky |
| 41 | Hamilton | Paul Kent | OL | Kutztown |
| 42 | BC | Victor Bryna | DB | Simon Fraser |
| 43 | Edmonton | Joe Saul | DE | Saskatchewan |
| 44 | Calgary | Jung-Yul Kim | OT | Toronto |

## Round six

| Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | College |
| 45 | Ottawa | Robert McElwain | DB | Windsor |
| 46 | Toronto | Tim Biakabutuka | RB | Michigan |
| 47 | Saskatchewan | Chris Flory | OL | Saskatchewan |
| 48 | Winnipeg | Mark Holmstrom | LB | Manitoba |
| 49 | Hamilton | Troy Russel | DB | Bishop's |
| 50 | BC | Bryan Bourne | OL | British Columbia |
| 51 | Edmonton | Darcy Park | FB | Alberta |
| 52 | Calgary | David Lane | OL | Simon Fraser |
| 53 | Montreal | Adrian Rainbow | QB | British Columbia |

## Round seven

| Pick # | CFL Team | Player | Position | College |
| 54 | Ottawa | Michael Hendricks | LB | Ottawa |
| 55 | Toronto | Craig Poole | WR | Windsor |
| 56 | Saskatchewan | Greg Moe | K | Saskatchewan |
| 57 | Winnipeg | Gerald Lewis | LB | Eastern Michigan |
| 58 | Hamilton | David Burnie | DE | Western Ontario |
| 59 | BC | Paul Greenhow | CD | Queen's |
| 60 | Edmonton | Troy Shwetz | DB | Jamestown College |
| 61 | Montreal | Marc Charles | DT | Morgan State |