The Ottawa REDBLACKS -- who hold the No. 1 pick in the 2026 Canadian Football League (CFL) Draft on April 28 -- "love" the work of two-time First Team All-Canadian and JP Metras Award winner Giordano Vaccaro, who played his first three seasons of university eligibility with the Manitoba Bisons from 2022-24. There is a "very real" chance he goes first overall according to John Hodge of 3DownNation.com, who also predicts there's "no chance" he goes lower than No. 4 overall. No Bison has ever been selected No. 1 overall in the CFL Draft, with the highest-ever pick being former league commissioner Randy Ambrosie at No. 2 in 1985. 

The last Bison to be selected in the first round of the draft was offensive lineman Geoff Gray, eighth overall to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in 2017. The highest a Bison has gone in the last decade was receiver Nic Demski, picked sixth overall by Saskatchewan in 2015, while running back Anthony Coombs went third overall the year prior to Toronto. Defensive lineman Evan Gill was taken six slots later by Hamilton. 

The Blue Bombers hold the No. 4 pick in the draft, and if Vaccaro is available, there is almost near certainty he will be taken by his hometown club.

Vaccaro enters the CFL Draft ranked at No. 11 in the annual Scouting Bureau Rankings. Released three times each year, the Scouting Bureau, comprising CFL scouts, as well as player personnel directors and general managers from the league’s nine clubs, announce their rankings of the top 20 prospects eligible for that year's CFL Draft in the fall, winter and spring. Vaccaro retains his No. 11 position from the fall. 

And while his ranking is 11, the buzz is as high as ever for the 6'2", 307-pound Vaccaro, a Winnipeg, MB native who didn't miss a start over his three seasons playing on the offensive line for the Herd.

In 2022, the St. Paul's High School grad became the first Bison in head coach Brian Dobie's 29-year tenure to start at left tackle as an 18-year-old true freshman. Vaccaro then started at guard each of the following two seasons, where he was a unanimous all-star selection, becoming the first Bison offensive lineman to earn back-to-back Canada West All-Star and First Team All-Canadian nods since Chris Bochen in 2001 and 2002.
 

Vaccaro -- a physical force who describes himself as a "mauler" at the guard position -- contined to add to his legacy in 2024 where he was named the JP Metras Award Winner as Lineman of the Year in U SPORTS. In doing so, Vaccaro became just the second offensive lineman in school history to earn the award, and first since Bart Evans in 1974. It was a record-breaking year on the offensive line for Vaccaro and company, helping the Herd set a school record, with 2,016 rushing yards, which also led the nation. That total broke a 29-year school best by 168 yards. 

Following the 2024 season, Vaccaro -- who plied his trade over the years with premier Winnipeg-based football program Recruit Ready -- made the difficult decision to transfer to the NCAA. He accepted a scholarship to play at the Division 1 level with the Purdue Boilermakers in 2025, a Power Four program in the Big Ten Conference. Vaccaro saw action in Purdue's season-ending matchup against Indiana, the eventual NCAA National Champions. 

Since the end of the collegiate football season, Vaccaro's stock has skyrocketed. The former hockey player (13 years as a centre) put up 28 reps of 225 pounds at Purdue's Pro Day in March, while testing well all across the board. 

The 2026 CFL Draft begins at 7 pm ET on April 28.