On Thursday, the CFL held its 2021 Global Draft, which consists of four rounds with almost 300 eligible football prospects from over 25 countries.
The Edmonton Football Team held the second overall selection and picked offensive lineman Steven Nielsen from Denmark. The six-foot-eight, 307-pound product played 59 games over four seasons in the NCAA for Eastern Michigan, starting in 48 games. Nielsen played multiple positions for the Eagles and said he is happy to become a member of the green and gold in the CFL.
“I’m just excited to play football again. It’s been a while since I put a helmet on and get to ball around with some guys,” he said. “I’ve been watching a lot of Canadian football when I was in college during the summers, and coming home during summer workouts, I would put on Canadian football and just watch that all day.
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“I’m definitely familiar with the game, and again, I’m just excited to play again.”
Nielsen was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars of the NFL in 2019 but was later released.
In the second round (17th overall), the team picked defensive lineman Misiona Aiolupotea-Pei from New Zealand. He played 25 games over two years at Washington State, making six starts. He recorded 29 tackles, 4.5 tackles for a loss and 3.5 quarterback sacks.
Three picks later, the draft moved into the third round, where the Edmonton Football Team selected defensive lineman Tibo Debaillie from Belgium at 20th overall. Debaillie played 22 games in three seasons at Towson University, making nine starts, all in 2019. Debaillie recorded 22 total tackles, 0.5 quarterback sacks and was credited with two quarterback hurries.
With the team’s final selection in the fourth round (35th overall), the Edmonton Football Team picked Australian defensive end Matt Leo, who played 29 games over three seasons with Iowa State, making five starts. In 2019 he recorded 14 total tackles, including 5.5 tackles for a loss and one quarterback sack in a reserve role.
Watch below: Some Global News videos about the Edmonton Football Team.