CFL Draft: 5 players the 49ers must watch for in 2021
No. 3: Patience will be needed for defensive end Deshawn Stevens, but he could be worth the wait
The Ottawa Redblacks received the honor of selecting Toronto, ONT, defensive end Deshawn Stevens with the sixth pick in the CFL Draft.
With the sixth pick in the 2021 #CFLDraft, the @REDBLACKS select LB Deshawn Stevens pic.twitter.com/eV7gvfmzFh
— CFL (@CFL) May 4, 2021
Stevens will be an interesting prospect for the 49ers to watch. He’s two years off of an Achilles Injury with Maine. But he’s decided to enter the NCAA transfer portal.
Scouting Report:
"The six-foot-two, 255-pound defender has extensive experience at middle linebacker and weak-side linebacker but projects as a CFL defensive end. A first team all-conference player and team captain at Maine, he recently entered the transfer portalas he looks to take on a higher level of competition in the fall in his pursuit of the NFL, but has said he’ll play in the CFL this year if a sufficient offer doesn’t arrive."
As we’ve seen in recent years, a season or two in the CFL wouldn’t hurt Stevens’ stock. The 2021 Canadian season will showcase which players are ready to make the jump to the next level in a short amount of time.
If Stevens can succeed with a new NCAA school and gain experience in Canada, he could be one of the best defensive players out of this draft. And though the Niners have a pretty stacked crop of front-seven defenders, looking at a player like Stevens can help bolster a unit that was maligned with injuries last season, guarding against something similar happening again this year.