Matthew Bergeron defying the odds as Canadian NFL draft pick
VICTORIAVILLE, Qu茅bec (BVM) 鈥� Matthew Bergeron made history during the 2023 NFL Draft as one of the highest-drafted Canadians in NFL history. Born in Montreal and raised in Victoriaville, Bergeron鈥檚 journey to becoming the No. 38 overall pick is now inspiring Canadian-born football players who want to get noticed at the highest level.聽
Bergeron was in Qu茅bec when he got the call from the Atlanta Falcons during the second round of the draft. The 23-year-old has only played four years of American football 鈥� 鈥� and ultimately joined the rare group of Canadians who made it to the NFL.
A total of 63 players from Canada have been selected in the NFL draft since the start of the Super Bowl Era in 1966 through the 2020 draft, according to data collected by An additional 12 were selected between 2021-23 鈥� totaling 75 Canadians drafted in the modern era.聽聽
Additionally, the NFL had only 13 Canadian-born players across the 53-man NFL rosters in 2022 (not including injured/practice squads), as reported by the While Bergeron now adds to that number for the 2023 season, he鈥檚 also a part of the five Canadian prospects who were selected in the 2023 NFL Draft 鈥� which set a new record for the highest number drafted in a single year.
鈥�There鈥檚 definitely a growth in football in Canada and I鈥檓 glad to be part of it,鈥� Bergeron said. 鈥淲henever I come back home, [I] see more and more kids sign up for football and I feel like that鈥檚 the result of all those [past guys drafted that are] setting an example for the kids out here and now there鈥檚 more and more kids signing up. I鈥檓 in those shoes myself now. Chase Brown, Sydney Brown, Tavius Robinson, Sidy Sow 鈥� we鈥檙e in those shoes now and hopefully, we鈥檒l motivate the younger generation (in Canada) to sign up for football.鈥�
Bergeron knows all too well that many top football talents go unnoticed in Canada. After all, Syracuse was literally his only NCAA college offer. So, Bergeron proposed a solution for NCAA-level recruits.聽聽
鈥淲hat might need to change is maybe have a camp in Canada and have [American] college scouts come up [to us],鈥� Bergeron said.聽
Bergeron acknowledged that, 鈥淪ince there鈥檚 such a big pool of players in the United States, it鈥檚 hard for teams to come up and scout players north of the border.鈥澛�
So, he has some advice for young Canadian football players.聽
鈥淚 feel like the best route if you want to get recruited is just go down to those summer camps and go in there and compete,鈥� Bergeron said. 鈥淵ou might not get an offer on the first one, but if you go to a few in the same summer, you might get some looks.鈥澛�
Bergeron, who was raised by a single mother, feels fortunate that he was able to attend that life-changing Syracuse camp back in 2018.聽
鈥淸Growing up], it was a different dynamic in a single-parent household,鈥澛� Bergeron said. 鈥淢y mom did everything she could so I didn鈥檛 miss anything. My mom signed me up for all the sports that I ever asked to get signed up for.鈥澛�
Bergeron believes that Canadian-born players can one day dominate in numbers in the NFL. But, he said it鈥檒l take more Canadians simply believing in themselves.
鈥淭here鈥檚 going to be people who tell you it鈥檚 not possible based on where you鈥檙e from and where you played football, but if you believe in yourself and your head down and work, anything is possible,鈥� Bergeron said.聽
In terms of the future, Bergeron said he isn鈥檛 shy of returning to Canada to play in the CFL someday in the distant future.
鈥淚f something doesn鈥檛 go my way in the NFL, I can come back and play in the CFL one day,鈥� Bergeron said. 鈥淏ack in the day, the CFL was my dream. Now I have the chance to play in the NFL and I鈥檒l make the most of this opportunity.鈥澛�
Bergeron said 鈥淚鈥檓 grateful to be Canadian,鈥� and noted that he’s ready to start another part of his life in Atlanta with the Falcons. The 6-foot-5, 318-pounder is making the transition from tackle to guard.聽
鈥淸The Falcons] like my versatility at the position,鈥� Bergeron said. 鈥淓ver since that phone call, it鈥檚 been straight work in getting to know the playbook.鈥澛�
