Canadians Sow, Robinson and Brown taken on final day of ’23 NFL draft

KANSAS CITY, Mo. –

A record NFL draft for Canadian football.

The Cincinnati Bengals selected Illinois running back Chase Brown, of London, Ont., in the fifth round Saturday. Brown became the fifth Canadian taken in the draft, the most ever.

Brown was the third Canadian picked Saturday.

The New England Patriots took Eastern Michigan offensive lineman Sidy Sow, of Bromont, Que., in the fourth round, No. 117 overall. Just seven picks later, the Baltimore Ravens selected Ole Miss defensive end Tavius Robinson, of Guelph, Ont.

On Friday, the Atlanta Falcons took Syracuse offensive lineman Matthew Bergeron, of Victoriaville, Que., in the second round. Then in the third round, the Philadelphia Eagles selected Illinois safety Sydney Brown, Chase Brown’s twin brother.

The Browns become just the sixth twins to be taken in the same NFL draft and first since Khalil and Carlos Davis in 2020. Robinson began his college career at Guelph and is the first Gryphons player ever to be drafted south of the border.

The six-foot-four, 329-pound Sow was the Patriots’ third pick of the fourth round and their second offensive lineman. New England took Troy centre Jake Andrews with the fifth selection of the round, No. 107 overall.

Sow started 13 games last season, allowing just two sacks in 949 snaps. He helped the Eagles finish first in the MAC in red-zone offence (93.9 per cent) and third-down percentage (44.9), and second in passing efficiency (137.9).

Daniel Jeremiah, NFL Network’s draft guru, feels the Patriots selected a future starter in Sow.

“Torque and power, that’s what his game is all about,” Jeremiah said during the network’s draft telecast. “Excellent on combo blocks. He’ll give up his chest a little bit in pass protection but he can anchor down.

“He’s going to be a starter. A really good football player.”

Sow was an All-MAC first-team selection in 2022 after being named a third-team player in 2021. He started 11-of-13 games at left tackle as a true freshman in 2018 before moving to left guard in 2019.

After being named a third-team MAC selection in 2020, Sow was a first-team pick in 2021 and 2022. Sow finished his collegiate career as Eastern Michigan’s all-time leader in games played (56) and started (54).

Sow participated in the ’23 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and NFL combine. He also was ranked fifth by the CFL scouting bureau in its list of top-20 prospects for the ’23 draft, slated for Tuesday.

The six-foot-six, 257-pound Robinson started 13 games last season for Ole Miss. He recorded 44 tackles (17 solo), seven sacks, five forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

The Ravens selected Sow as an outside linebacker.

“He did a nice job at Ole Miss,” Jeremiah said of Robinson. “The more you saw, the more you saw him improve.

“He’s long, he launches out of his four-point stance. There are times in the run game he gets pinned inside a little bit but the Ravens will try to cut him loose off the edge.”

Over three seasons at Mississippi, Robinson had 90 tackles (36 solo, 14 tackles for loss), 11.5 sacks and five forced fumbles (second most in the FBS). At Guelph, he recorded 65 tackles and 13.5 sacks and was named to the 2018 OUA all-rookie team before earning a ’19 second-team all-star selection.

Robinson participated in both the ’23 Senior Bowl and the NFL combine. He covered the 40-yard dash in 4.66 seconds, registering a 33.5-inch vertical leap and 10-foot broad jump as well as 23 reps in the 225-pound bench press.

Robinson was ranked fourth by the CFL scouting bureau in its list of top-20 prospects for the ’23 draft, slated for Tuesday.

The five-foot-11, 205-pound Chase Brown had a stellar ’22 season at Illinois. Brown, 23, was fourth in NCAA rushing with 1,643 yards, averaging five yards a carry and registering 10 100-yard games.

He also had 13 touchdowns (10 rushing, three receiving) and was a finalist for the Doak Walker Award as U.S. college football’s top running back. Brown captured the Jon Cornish Trophy as the top Canadian in American college football.

Brown participated in both the Senior Bowl and NFL combine. At Mobile, Ala., he was named the National team’s running back practice player of the week in voting by members of the squad’s linebackers group.

Brown also raised eyebrows at the NFL combine, posting a 40-yard dash time of 4.43 seconds, 40-inch vertical, 10-foot-seven broad jump and 25 reps in the 225-pound bench press.

The CFL scouting bureau listed Brown as the second-ranked prospect for its draft Tuesday, behind Bergeron.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2023.