2026 roster/cuts

[paulwoods13]

Out of 11 players the Argos drafted this year, six have made the active roster (one of whom is currently injured), one made the practice roster, three were cut outright, and one is currently in the NFL. That's a pretty good draft, in my estimation. It also underscores the belief I have had that accumulating more draft picks is what's most important as it gives you more margin for error.

I love your optimism, Ravi, but I don't think a draft can be reasonably evaluated until at least a couple of years have passed. The number of drafted players on a roster could be indicative of a great draft, or a lineup that was incredibly thin in decent NATs. Two years ago the Argos got Mital, Hergott, Bosse and Blackburn in the first 27 picks. Looked pretty good at the time; now three of those guys are out of the league(and one is a star). Four years ago they got Mackellar, Knight, Adeboboye, Penney-Laryea, Noll, Kwamou and Sutton; all seven made the roster, but only one of them (Adeboboye) seems to be having a worthwhile career.

[ArgoRavi]

Out of 11 players the Argos drafted this year, six have made the active roster (one of whom is currently injured), one made the practice roster, three were cut outright, and one is currently in the NFL. That's a pretty good draft, in my estimation. It also underscores the belief I have had that accumulating more draft picks is what's most important as it gives you more margin for error.

I love your optimism, Ravi, but I don't think a draft can be reasonably evaluated until at least a couple of years have passed. The number of drafted players on a roster could be indicative of a great draft, or a lineup that was incredibly thin in decent NATs. Two years ago the Argos got Mital, Hergott, Bosse and Blackburn in the first 27 picks. Looked pretty good at the time; now three of those guys are out of the league(and one is a star). Four years ago they got Mackellar, Knight, Adeboboye, Penney-Laryea, Noll, Kwamou and Sutton; all seven made the roster, but only one of them (Adeboboye) seems to be having a worthwhile career.

I don't disagree, Paul. Time will certainly tell about the strength of the draft but this is at least a promising start.

I have also been thinking about how the Argos seemingly had a very deep o-line as recently as the 2024 Grey Cup. Unfortunately, Dylan Giffen and Darius Ciraco had injury-riddled 2025 seasons which have ended their careers, for now at least. Gregor McKellar left, Sage Doxtater appeared to have a falling out of sorts with the new brass, Anthony Vandal regressed, John Bosse didn't pan out, Dejon Allen was traded, and Isaiah Cage wasn't brought back. It's amazing how quickly things can change.

[paulwoods13]

I have also been thinking about how the Argos seemingly had a very deep o-line as recently as the 2024 Grey Cup. Unfortunately, Dylan Giffen and Darius Ciraco had injury-riddled 2025 seasons which have ended their careers, for now at least. Gregor McKellar left, Sage Doxtater appeared to have a falling out of sorts with the new brass, Anthony Vandal regressed, John Bosse didn't pan out, Dejon Allen was traded, and Isaiah Cage wasn't brought back. It's amazing how quickly things can change.

The gutting of the Argo o-line since 2023-24 (when it was the best in the league) has been utterly shocking. Ciraco fell off a cliff somehow. Giffen looked promising but couldn't stay healthy. Hunter got moved from a position he excelled at to a position he was ill-suited for. MacKellar flashed briefly as a rookie in 2022 but fell into perpetual backup status before that season ended. Vandal seems to have been a flash in the pan (perhaps not surprising considering he was the last player selected in his draft). Bosse turned out to be terrible. Cage's legs looked completely shot by the end of 2024, and I'm amazed he's still in the league. I've said more than enough about Doxtater and Allen in past threads. Dankwah is huge, but we need to see if he can play.

[ARGO57]

A great piece here from John Hodge: https://3downnation.com/2026/06/01/how- ... tdown-day/

Out of 11 players the Argos drafted this year, six have made the active roster (one of whom is currently injured), one made the practice roster, three were cut outright, and one is currently in the NFL. That's a pretty good draft, in my estimation. It also underscores the belief I have had that accumulating more draft picks is what's most important as it gives you more margin for error.

Last year's draft wasn't quite as bountiful but two picks from there (DL Paris Shand and OL Gavin Coakes) have now joined DL Jeremiah Ojo on the active roster.

The one guy I really wish the Argos had right now for OL depth is first round pick Niklas Henning from this year's draft but hopefully we see him at some point in the next year or so.

Also, on another note, Aaron Casey has joined Ottawa. I suspect that the Argos wanted to keep him on the PR and he didn't want a PR spot but that's just speculation on my part.

Ottawa has a deep LB corps as well, but Dinwiddie must not be putting him on PR. Definitely a strength of this new Redblacks defence.

Smart move by Dinwiddie.

[OV Argo]

I have also been thinking about how the Argos seemingly had a very deep o-line as recently as the 2024 Grey Cup. Unfortunately, Dylan Giffen and Darius Ciraco had injury-riddled 2025 seasons which have ended their careers, for now at least. Gregor McKellar left, Sage Doxtater appeared to have a falling out of sorts with the new brass, Anthony Vandal regressed, John Bosse didn't pan out, Dejon Allen was traded, and Isaiah Cage wasn't brought back. It's amazing how quickly things can change.

The gutting of the Argo o-line since 2023-24 (when it was the best in the league) has been utterly shocking. Ciraco fell off a cliff somehow. Giffen looked promising but couldn't stay healthy. Hunter got moved from a position he excelled at to a position he was ill-suited for. MacKellar flashed briefly as a rookie in 2022 but fell into perpetual backup status before that season ended. Vandal seems to have been a flash in the pan (perhaps not surprising considering he was the last player selected in his draft). Bosse turned out to be terrible. Cage's legs looked completely shot by the end of 2024, and I'm amazed he's still in the league. I've said more than enough about Doxtater and Allen in past threads. Dankwah is huge, but we need to see if he can play.

MacKellar started some for the EE last season but ended up replaced; Vandal started for GC winning Argo team; Giffen, when healthy, often did not get a chance to play.

The Argos could have drafted Chris Fortin, who started most of last season as a rookie for the Stamps, but instead drafted Ojo and sat him on the bench all season. The year before (24), the Argos only had one draft pick in the top 23 and missed out on several good O-line prospects.

The O-line was not good last year but that was greatly compounded by Dinwiddie having some real issues including running a simple offence with no ground game and having average at best Arbuckle try to hold the ball all day in the pocket.

O-line talent is one thing - smart O-line coaches will identify it, but they might not have much say on draft picks; GMs and scouts who are not too bright at identifying O-line talent is another matter; as are HCs & OCs that only know basic, simple offences and set their O-line up to be exposed or exploited .

[primetime321]

I think that the Argos fortunes this season will hinge on how well the offensive line plays, especially the tackles. We'll see how the offensive planning is with Miller at the helm. Maybe he does his planning on the strengths and weaknesses of the line i.e. very strong in the interior and calls plays accordingly such as more runs up the middle.

As for roster composition, maybe they have players in the pipeline that haven't made it up here yet so that is why they are waiting on them. To my recollection, Makai Polk didn't show up until the end of camp a couple of years ago and didn't play until the second or third game. Since they start in week 2 then they have some time to make additions if the right players become available. Otherwise, they are pretty solid in most position groups IMO although I am very disappointed that they released Aaron Casey.

[gilthethrill]

Does OT George Moore return from the Suspended List to reclaim his LT spot?

[RichK]

Lots of hand-wringing around here about the O-line and I get it, they weren’t very good last year. But it didn’t help that they were protecting a QB that moves in the pocket like he’s wearing snowshoes. The guy is a sitting duck under pressure.

On the other hand #12 can make any O-line look good. He sees the field better, he escapes the rush better, he runs downfield better, he releases the ball quicker. The O-line doesn’t really need to improve that much for this offence to look a whole lot better in 2026. If we can get the run game going this offence will be pretty hard to stop.

[ARGO57]

Lots of hand-wringing around here about the O-line and I get it, they weren’t very good last year. But it didn’t help that they were protecting a QB that moves in the pocket like he’s wearing snowshoes. The guy is a sitting duck under pressure.

On the other hand #12 can make any O-line look good. He sees the field better, he escapes the rush better, he runs downfield better, he releases the ball quicker. The O-line doesn’t really need to improve that much for this offence to look a whole lot better in 2026. If we can get the run game going this offence will be pretty hard to stop.

Arbuckle does tend to hold onto the ball too long but the O-Line wasn’t very good overall which includes poor run blocking.
A healthy Chad Kelly will be the biggest boost for this team, hopefully the O-Line drastically improves to keep him protected.

[Unplayable]

I am not sure why people are so worried about the offence, and in particular the -O-line.

Last year, the offence finished third in the entire league in pts scored, second in the east only behind Hamilton. Surely we can’t expect the offence to be any worse this year, especially with Kelly back and the expectation of an improved O-line?

It's the defence that will determine how the year goes. They essentially gave up over 28 pts per game last year, and were worst in the league by a large margin in pts given up. I am keeping my fingers and toes and eyes crossed, hoping the defensive line play improves a lot.