TORONTO — The Canadian Football League Scouting Bureau published its second edition of the top-20 ranked prospects eligible for the 2018 CFL Draft on Wednesday.
Queen's linebacker Nelkas Kwemo (Montreal) was on the list once again and moved up three spots from 20 to 17 since
the first edition was released in September.
The fourth-year civil engineering student had an impressive season with Tricolour as he led the Gaels with 48 tackles on the year to go along with four sacks and three interceptions proving to be an ever-present threat to the opposing offence. Kwemo also returned an interception for his first touchdown.
Kwemo received his first All-Canadian being recognized as a first-team recipient after also being named a first-team OUA All-Star for the 4-4 Gaels in 2017.
| WINTER SCOUTING BUREAU RANKINGS |
| Rank |
Name |
Position |
School |
Hometown |
| 1 (1) |
David Knevel |
OL |
Nebraska |
Brampton, Ont. |
| 2 (2) |
Trey Rutherford |
OL |
Connecticut |
Markham, Ont. |
| 3 (3) |
Ryan Hunter |
OL |
Bowling Green |
North Bay, Ont. |
| 4 (6) |
Peter Godber |
OL |
Rice |
Toronto |
| 5 (10) |
Julien Laurent |
DL |
Georgia State |
Toronto |
| 6 (4) |
Godfrey Onyeka |
DB |
Laurier |
Brampton, Ont. |
| 7 (12) |
Rashaun Simonise |
REC |
Calgary/Okanagan |
Vancouver, B.C. |
| 8 (9) |
Regis Cibasu |
REC |
Montreal |
Kinshasa, Congo |
| 9 (5) |
Darius Ciraco |
OL |
Calgary |
Burlington, Ont. |
| 10 (-) |
Mark Chapman |
REC |
Central Michigan |
Port Huron, Mich. |
| 11 (14) |
Dakoda Shepley |
OL |
UBC |
Windsor, Ont. |
| 12 (-) |
Mark Korte |
OL |
Alberta |
Spruce Grove, Alta. |
| 13 (19) |
Jackson Bennett |
DB |
Ottawa |
Cumberland, Ont. |
| 14 (8) |
Kene Onyeka |
DL |
Carleton |
Brampton, Ont. |
| 15 (13) |
Andrew Pickett |
OL |
Guelph |
Kitchener, Ont. |
| 16 (15) |
Alex Taylor |
RB |
Western |
Winnipeg, Man. |
| 17 (20) |
Nelkas Kwemo |
LB |
Queen's |
Montreal, Que. |
| 18 (16) |
Ryan Sceviour |
OL |
Calgary |
Calgary, Alta. |
| 19 (11) |
Chris Amoah |
RB |
Laval |
Montreal, Que. |
| 20 (-) |
David Brown |
OL |
Western |
London, Ont. |
BY THE NUMBERS
The rankings include: 10 offensive linemen, three receivers, two defensive linemen, two running backs, two defensive backs and one linebacker.
A total of 18 schools are represented on the list, with only two schools (Calgary and Western) having multiple players on the list.
2017 CFL Draft first overall selection Faith Ekakitie was ranked 11th on the 2016 Winter Scouting Bureau.
Last year's winter rankings saw 19 of 20 prospects selected in the CFL Draft, with five being selected in the first round.
The CFL Scouting Bureau releases its rankings three times each year: in September, December and April. The CFL's Scouting Bureau is comprised of CFL scouts, player personnel directors and general managers from the league's nine teams.
