Canadians at 2023 NFL Draft: Quebec’s Matthew Bergeron headlines promising class

The most pivotal weekend of the NFL off-season is about to take place with the 2023 NFL Draft in Kansas City.

There will be many storylines to follow, including for fans north of the border in what could be a record-setting year for Canadian prospects. Five Canadians could hear their names called over the course of this year’s draft, which would surpass the previous record of four selected in 2014 and 2021.

Who are the Canadians that could be drafted into the NFL this week? Here is a look at the players who stand out as top Canadian candidates to have an NFL home after this weekend.

Note: Draft projections based on consensus gathered from mock drafts.

Matthew Bergeron, OL, Syracuse
Draft Projection: Late Round 1, early Round 2

Bergeron is looking to follow in the footsteps of fellow Quebec native and idol Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. Growing up in Victoriaville, Que., his experience as a multi-sport athlete — including hockey, soccer, basketball and swimming — allowed him to develop important athletic traits needed to succeed as an offensive lineman. He earned an invitation to a football camp at Syracuse University in 2018 which led to him receiving a Division-I scholarship offer from the school.

Also helping bolster his draft stock was the time he spent working with future Hall of Fame lineman Joe Staley, gaining some valuable advice both on and off the field.

Going into the draft, Bergeron is viewed as someone who can play at offensive tackle in the NFL given his experience as a starter at Syracuse where he showed his versatility by playing at both right and left tackle.

“I think he can play left tackle [in the NFL],” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah said during a recent conference call. “Occasionally he’s a little late off the snap so figure out what the heck that’s all about. That should be able to be solved.

“I think he can play tackle, I think he can stay at tackle. I know some might say, ‘Okay, you kick him to guard.’ I think he could do that but I didn’t see anything with him that would be a reason why I’d move him.”

Even Bergeron’s idol believes he has the potential for a long career.

“Matthew is the next generation of NFL players from Québec that are going to be able to have a big impact and hopefully stay in the league for a long time,” Duvernay-Tardif told The Athletic. “I think he has the athletic ability to do so.”

Sydney Brown, DB, Illinois
Draft Projection: Mid Round 2, early Round 3

There will be a lot of eyes on what happens to twin brothers Sydney and Chase Brown, who grew up in London, Ont., heading into the draft. The twins made the move to Florida in high school, staying with a host family, in order to further develop their football skills and get noticed by American college programs.

Sydney, who was viewed as one of the more impressive players at the Senior Bowl, and his brother Chase both reportedly had a meeting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who have needs at both running back and safety — which happen to be the positions the Brown brothers play.

Jeremiah has Sydney Brown as his 68^th-ranked prospect, and second-best safety on his board. What makes Brown a coveted player in the secondary is his versatility as he can slide over to play cornerback. He should be a Day 2 pick given a thin safety class.

In 2022, Brown played a key part in the nation's top-scoring defence, intercepting six passes along with 59 tackles, 3.5 for loss, one sack and seven pass breakups in 12 starts. He also was named a first-team All-Big Ten pick.

Chase Brown, RB, Illinois
Draft Projection: Fourth round

It might take some time before we see Chase Brown join his brother in hearing his name called to the NFL considering teams aren’t as willing to invest early picks at the running back position. But whoever takes the London, Ont., native will get a workhorse in the backfield.

In his final season at Illinois, Brown finished fourth in rushing in Division-I and second among players in Power 5 conferences with 328 carries for 1,643 yards and 10 touchdowns while adding another 240 yards and three touchdowns through the air. At the combine, Brown had an impressive showing that helped him improve his stock heading into the draft.

Jeremiah has Brown as the 134^th-ranked player going into the draft and could see a similar path to fellow Canadian Chuba Hubbard who showed his value to the Carolina Panthers as a fourth-round pick.

NFL.com draft analyst Chad Reuter believes Brown should garner more attention from teams given how he performed at the combine.

"Brown was solid during on-field drills, making cuts and catching passes with more fluidity than some of his fellow combine RBs,” Reuter told the Canadian Press. “He's not going to break a lot of ankles in the NFL but I believe he displayed the speed and just enough shiftiness to be picked on Day 2 of the draft."

Sidy Sow, OL, Eastern Michigan
Draft Projection: Fourth or fifth round

Like Brown, Sow’s stock improved at the combine to go along with a strong season at Eastern Michigan where he started 13 games and allowed just two sacks in 949 snaps.

Reuter pointed to Sow’s measurements — 33 5/8-inch arm length and 10 3/8-inch hands — and combine performance, including a 32-inch vertical and 40-yard dash time of 5.07 in his assessment:

"The six-foot-five, 323-pound guard looked fluid in position drills on Sunday, maintaining a low centre of gravity and moving quickly around cones,” he said of Sow’s combine performance. “Sow's heavy hands popped the pads, as well, which was no surprise given the power he shows on the field."

Jeremiah has Sow listed as a player who could go in the fifth round before the combine while Reuter thinks he could go in the fourth round with more teams able to get a closer look at the Bromont, Que., native.

Tavius Robinson, DL, Mississippi
Draft Projection: Sixth-round pick

Whether or not we see five Canadians drafted this weekend depends on how teams value the production Robinson put up.  

The six-foot-six, 265-pound Guelph, Ont., native was impressive at Ole Miss in 2022 recording 44 tackles, seven sacks, five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 13 games.

"Robinson had the production," Jeremiah said. "He's long, he's kind of fun to watch because he's in that four-point stance and just launches out of it.

"He's a little bit stiff at the top of his rush and I thought he got pinned and sealed a little too often in the run game. He's a later-round guy for me, more of like a sixth-round pick. But you've got some size and you've got some production so definitely you're going to hear his name called."

In a conversation with The Draft Network, Robinson revealed that he had meetings with the Bengals, Giants, Texans, Jets, and 49ers.