EDMONTON – The Edmonton Elks drafted linebacker Dariel Djabome with long-term hopes, not realizing that pick would turn into a critical piece of their defence early in the CFL season.
Selected No. 3 in this year’s Canadian draft, the six-foot-two, 235 native of Longueuil, Que., suddenly found himself the team’s starting middle linebacker after Nick Anderson suffered a hamstring injury in the Elks third game of the season.
The 22-year-old Djabome had seven tackles in each of his first two starts along with a pass interception in his first game. His steady performance hasn’t come as a surprise to the Elks.
“No, not surprised,” head coach Mark Kilam said this week as the 4-1 Elks prepared for their Friday night home game against the 1-3 B.C. Lions, the only team they’ve lost to this season.
“We drafted him thinking he would be an impact special teams guy right away and an eventual starter. We didn’t think it was going to be four games in, but the guy never flinched. He wants to be great; he’s critical of himself in areas where he needs to improve and he works on those areas.”
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Defensive co-ordinator and linebacker coach J.C. Sherritt, himself an outstanding middle linebacker in his eight-year career with the then Edmonton Eskimos, was encouraged by Djabome’s performance.
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“He made a big jump from Game 1 to Game 2 and that’s the most encouraging thing,” said Sherritt. “He learned from his mistakes in the first game and applied them. To watch him do that in a seven-day span, or whatever it was, was very encouraging.”
Djabome was an offensive player in his early career, playing running back and receiver before switching to defence at the suggestion of coach Greg Schiano at Rutgers University.
“It’s really when I got to the States that I started playing linebacker,” said Djabome. “It was really the coach telling me that they see me more as a defensive player with my abilities and my skills. That would be like the perfect position for me. I trusted him all the way and it ended up turning out good for me.”
And fortunate for the Elks who lost Anderson, the most outstanding rookie in 2024. He remains on the six-game injury list.
Djabome learned his new position quickly and exceptionally well at Rutgers, dealing with the adjustments to defence both physically and mentally. That learning process, coupled with his dedication to training and preparation, put him in an advantageous position to fill in for Anderson, who has been one of several Elks who continue to help Djabome improve.
“I have a really great group of leaders who have been making sure I’m straight with everything, the playbook, the adjustments, so I’m grateful to have great leaders in the room,” he said. “Just making sure everything is straight so I could play free on game day.
“I’m grateful to have leaders like that because I know it’s not every place, every organization that you have vets who put it on the line, might even like put their job at risk for other people. And then, you know, I take every day as if, you know, it was the last day.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 16, 2026.
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