Elic Ayomanor is the first Medicine Hat-born football player to be drafted into the NFL. (Photo: Canadian Press)

By Jayk Sterkenburg

Medicine Hat receiver Elic Ayomanor first Canadian NFL draft for Tennessee Titans

Apr 28, 2025 | 10:53 AM

Medicine Hat-raised Stanford Cardinal Elic Ayomanor was selected as a Tennessee Titan in the NFL draft Saturday, as the first Medicine Hat-born player to be drafted to the NFL.

READ: Medicine Hat’s Ayomanor expected to be picked early in NFL Draft

Medicine Hat High School Hawks alumni and Stanford Cardinal wide receiver Ayomanor was the 34th pick of the fourth round, No. 136 overall in the draft.

He was also the first Canadian taken in this year’s draft, extending the streak of at least one Canuck having been selected since 2011. A record five Canadians were taken in the 2024 draft.

Ayomanor said in a Tennessee Titans conference call that he doesn’t think he’ll be defined by where he was drafted.

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“I think I’m a dynamic playmaker. But more than that, I think my biggest strength is in my mind,” he said Saturday.

“I think I’m really gritty. I think I’m willing to do whatever it takes, I’m willing to block in the run game,” he added.

“I always continue to improve and get better, and so I think that’s the type of player you get in me.”

Ayomanor said it was a long wait to hear of the selection, but he’s excited to be where he is and prove his worth.

“The competition is the best of the best here in the NFL, and so every game and every practice I’m gonna be putting my best effort out there,” he said.

“Before that even, I’m going to be preparing like my life depends on it. And so I’m just really excited for that level of competition.”

Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke, of Oakville, Ont., was also expected to hear his name called Saturday.

If Rourke is drafted, he’d become the first Canadian quarterback selected since 2001 when Jesse Palmer was taken in the fourth round by the New York Giants.

Laurier quarterback Taylor Elgersma, the 2024 Hec Crighton Trophy winner, was projected as either a late-round pick or priority free agent.

The six-foot-two, 210-pound Ayomanor had 63 receptions for 831 yards and six touchdowns last season as a redshirt sophomore at Stanford before declaring for the draft.

Ayomanor registered 62 catches in 2023 for 1,013 yards and six TDs to earn the Jon Cornish Trophy as the top Canadian playing American college football.

Ayomanor and Rourke were both invited to the ’25 NFL combine but only Ayomanor worked out as Rourke didn’t participate in on-field activities due to off-season knee surgery, but Rourke did attend and made himself available for team interviews.

With files from The Canadian Press.

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