Stamps grab defensive lineman with third pick
Sack machine Adeyemi-berglund is team’s top pick after they trade down in first round
Isaac Adeyemi-berglund has sacked the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
That alone is not why the Calgary Stampeders selected him with the third overall pick in the 2020 CFL Draft on Thursday night.
It’s a nice indication of just how dangerous a pass rusher Adeyemi-berglund can be, though.
“I think I can rush the passer pretty damn well,” Adeyemi-berglund said shortly after he was picked. “I think I can contribute in that way and I also think I can contribute on special teams right away.”
The Stamps were originally slated to have the first pick overall in Thursday’s draft thanks to the trade that sent quarterback Nick Arbuckle to the Ottawa Redblacks.
Only minutes before they were set to make that pick, though, the Stamps completed a trade with the B.C. Lions that flipped their picks in both the first and second rounds.
That meant the Lions wound up with the first and 15th picks, while the Stamps moved down to No. 3 in the first round and up to the 12th pick in the second.
With the first selection, the Lions took linebacker Jordan Williams, a player many had tapped the Stampeders to pursue.
In Adeyemi-berglund, the Stampeders are getting a defensive end with a proven pedigree of chasing down quarterbacks.
A native of Dartmouth, N.S., Adeyemi-berglund played his college football at Southeastern Louisiana University.
In 2019, he was second-team all Southland Conference after an impressive season that saw him record 61 total tackles, including 16 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, one fumble recovery, three quarterback hurries and four pass breakups in 13 games for the Lions.
At 6-foot-2 and 250 pounds, he’s not huge for a defensive end, but he’s actually bigger than Folarin Orimolade and roughly the same size as Cordarro Law, who happen to be the Stampeders’ two presumed starters for the 2020 season, should it happen.
Just about every scouting report on Adeyemi-berglund also talks about his intelligence. He earned Southland Conference
all-academic team honours in both ’18 and ’19 and was on the commissioner’s academic honour roll in ’16 and ’17.
He aspires to a post-football career as a doctor and believes his work ethic and intelligence should help him adjust to the pro game quickly.
“I’m also an intelligent guy, so if we’re ever in a situation on the field I can get it done with adjustments,” Adeyemi-berglund said. “I feel like it sometimes helps me. School has always been a strong suit for me, something I take a lot of pride in and something that sets me up in the long run.
“With football, I feel like a lot of it is natural, but definitely some of the study habits I had in school translated onto the football field with getting things right and noticing tendencies.”
The Stampeders have not generally played Canadians at defensive end in recent years, but with free-agent signing Connor Mcgough also being a potential depth piece at the position, it’s possible that they could look to make a change there once Law retires or moves on.
Even if that’s a couple years down the road, Adeyemi-berglund took lots of special teams reps in university and should be able to contribute there right away. That’s something the Stampeders demand of any player breaking into the lineup, and it should make Adeyemi-berglund a valuable piece right away.
“I think they expect me to come in and contribute,” Adeyemi-berglund said.
“I’m the type of guy who is going to come in and work hard and no matter where I’m going to contribute, I don’t know how, but it’s never safe to say certain things about football. I just intend to come in and do what I do, man, and make an impact. Whether that’s on special teams or the defensive side of the ball, I expect to do what I do.”