Bonjour, mes amis. Comment ca va?
The Saskatchewan Roughriders hope the answer is something to the effect of “tres bien” after selecting two Quebecois players with their first picks of Tuesday’s CFL Canadian draft.
With their first-round pick, ninth overall, the Riders drafted Michigan State University defensive back Malcolm Bell.
As previously reported by 3DownNation prior to Tuesday’s draft, the Montreal product recently accepted an invitation to a rookie mini-camp with the Cleveland Browns.
Last season, Bell played 12 games at defensive back for the MSU Spartans, starting 11 of them, and recording 33 defensive tackles, five tackles for a loss, four pass knockdowns, and one sack along the way.
The Riders’ selection of Bell made him the first defensive back picked by the team in the first round since Nelson Lokombo and just the second since general manager Jeremy O’Day first joined the team as a player in 1999.
“He’s a long corner, played at a high level at Michigan State, very good coverage corner,” O’Day told reporters after the pick. “Obviously when you look at our roster, how we’re constructed, we’re starting with two DBs going into camp and just liked a lot about him from his tape and going through the interview process.
“Just a good player who played at a high level and like I said he’s got length and speed.”
Justin Dunk of 3DownNation also reported Sunday that, at Michigan State’s pro day in March, Bell ran an official 40-yard dash in the 4.50-second range, a 4.36-second short shuttle and 7.13-second three-cone drill.
Further courtesy of 3DownNation, the 6-foot-1, 191-pound cover man pushed 225 pounds 12 times on the bench press, posted a 33.5-inch vertical jump, and recorded a 10-foot-1 broad jump.
The Riders opted for offence in the second round, picking Alabama State receiver Dylan Djete.
Djete, from Levis, Que., played his 2025 season with the Hornets after three years with Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C..
In his first year with Alabama, the 6-foot-0 receiver had 28 receptions for 422 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games.
“He’s a receiver that we kind of liked from the beginning, someone we went back and looked at multiple times,” said O’Day. “And different from the receivers that we have, that are a little bit bigger, but he’s a fast receiver, willing blocker, can do a lot of different things with him, and kind of how we’re set up, see that he can play multiple spots.”
In the third round (29th overall), Saskatchewan selected 6-foot-3, 300-pound offensive lineman Darius Bell, from East Carolina.
University of Calgary Dinos linebacker Osasere Odemwingie was Saskatchewan’s fourth-round selection (38th).
Southern Mississippi offensive lineman Jez Janvier was the Roughriders’ fifth-rounder (47th).
In Round 6, Saskatchewan claimed Mississippi State offensive lineman Albert Reese IV (56th).
The Roughriders’ seventh-rounder (65th) was UBC Thunderbirds receiver Shemar McBean.
University of Saskatchewan Huskies defensive lineman Charlie Parks was picked in the fourth round, 31st overall by the Ottawa RedBlacks.
University of Regina Rams offensive lineman Ethan Graham was taken in the sixth round, 54th overall, by the B.C. Lions.
And Huskies O-lineman Jack Warrack was selected in the eighth round, 71st overall, by the Calgary Stampeders.
