CFL.ca’s Top of the Depth Chart series offers an early, speculative look at how each team’s roster could shape up, highlighting potential starters and key position battles ahead of training camp.

2025 saw plenty of new faces for the Edmonton Elks, with Ed Hervey taking over as general manager and Mark Kilam leaving Calgary to become head coach.

Unfortunately, the results stayed the same, as Edmonton missed the playoffs for a fifth straight year.

The team stumbled out of the gate with a 1-6 start, but it was a familiar face in Cody Fajardo who helped them go 6-5 down the stretch. The question now is which version of Kilam’s Elks we’ll see in 2026?

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Cody Fajardo stepped in for a struggling Tre Ford and did his best to steady the ship on offence.

Fajardo is not the type of quarterback that will take you on a wild ride with elite athleticism or a big arm, but what he will do is get the job done and win more often than he loses. Fajardo is perfect for an organization looking to establish a winning identity because there is no football scenario he hasn’t lived through. Cody is your 2023 Grey Cup MVP, has been a part of winning and losing teams in Saskatchewan and has been a part of just about every different quarterback room you can think of.

I would caution against focusing solely on the fact that Brendan Bordner was benched last year by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at the end of 2025. Bordner has already started 29 games in his two-year CFL career and at just 26 years old the future is bright for Fajardo’s blindside protector.

Carter O’Donnell joined Edmonton in early September after several years in the NFL. I could go on about his positional flexibility but instead check out this fun interview he did with Michael Arcuri and the Elks website.

David Beard was named All-CFL as a centre for the 2024 Hamilton Tiger-Cats and was a member of the last Edmonton team to win the Grey Cup. Beard brings much-needed........

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