Brayden Lenius (born December 19, 1996) is a Canadian professional football wide receiver who is a free agent. He most recently played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the New Mexico Lobos and Washington Huskies. He has also been a member of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL).
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born: | December 19, 1996 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Height: | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Weight: | 230 lb (104 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Carson Graham Secondary Chaminade College Preparatory |
| College: | Washington (2014–2017) New Mexico (2018) |
| Position: | Wide receiver |
| NFL draft: | 2019 / round: Undrafted |
| CFL draft: | 2019 / round: 2 / pick: 15 |
| Career history | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Stats at CFL.ca | |
High school career
editLenius played for the Carson Graham Eagles in North Vancouver.[1] He then moved to the Los Angeles area to play for the Chaminade College Eagles for his grade 12 year.[1]
College career
editLenius played college football for the Washington Huskies from 2014 to 2017.[1][2] He did not play in 2016 and used a redshirt season.[2] He graduated from the University of Washington and transferred to the University of New Mexico to play for the Lobos in 2018.[3]
Professional career
editSaskatchewan Roughriders
editHeading into the 2019 CFL Draft, Lenius was ranked by the CFL Central Scouting Bureau as the 11th best player available in the draft.[4]
He was selected in the second round, 15th overall, by the Saskatchewan Roughriders and signed with the team on May 15, 2019.[5] He played in his first professional game on July 6, 2019, against the Calgary Stampeders. Three weeks later, he recorded his first catch in a game against the BC Lions on July 27, 2021. Overall, he played in 11 regular season games for the Roughriders in 2019 where he had two receptions for four yards.[6] He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the 2020 CFL season.
In his sophomore season, Lenius made the team's opening day roster and scored his first career professional touchdown on a 12-yard pass from Cody Fajardo against the BC Lions on August 6, 2021.[7] He had celebrated by throwing the ball into the stands, but the family that had caught the ball offered to return the keepsake to him.[8] He finished the season having played in all 14 regular season games and recorded 37 receptions for 471 yards and four touchdowns.[6] He also played in both post-season games where he had six catches for 43 yards.[6] On January 7, 2022, Lenius was released one month prior to his contract expiring in order to pursue National Football League opportunities.[9]
Atlanta Falcons
editOn January 10, 2022, Lenius signed a contract with the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League.[10] On July 28, 2022, he was waived.[11]
Saskatchewan Roughriders
editOn August 29, 2022, Lenius re-signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders.[12] He played in seven games where he had 17 catches for 172 yards and one touchdown. He was limited by injuries in 2023 and played in just one regular season game where he recorded two catches for 12 yards. Lenius was part of final training camp cuts in 2024 and was released on June 1, 2024.[13]
Personal life
editLenius was born in Regina, Saskatchewan, to parents Shauna Lenius and Troy Dickey.[14] He moved with his mother, Shauna, to Vancouver, British Columbia, following the divorce of his parents.[14] Shauna played basketball for the Regina Cougars.[15] Lenius' father, Troy, played at wide receiver for the Roughriders in 1995.[2] Lenius had legally changed his last name to "Dickey" in December 2017.[2] His father died on January 6, 2018, following a stroke he had suffered on December 28, 2017, in Glendale, Arizona, where he was staying to watch Lenius play in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl.[14] Lenius' paternal grandfather, Eldridge Dickey, played at wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders for four years, but played quarterback for the Tennessee State Tigers.[2] Lenius' maternal grandparents were season-ticket holders for the Roughriders for many years, but his grandfather, Jim Lenius, died five days before Brayden was selected in the 2019 CFL Draft.[15]
References
edit- ^ a b c Tsumura, Howard (May 3, 2019). "Eight B.C. high school football alums picked in 2019 CFL Draft! Coaches agree player development is on the rise". Varsity Letters.
- ^ a b c d e "Brayden Dickey". Washington Huskies. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
- ^ "Former Washington WR Brayden Dickey to Finish Career at New Mexico". washington.rivals.com. April 8, 2021.
- ^ "Wilkinson, Desjarlais climb final CFL Scouting Bureau rankings". Canadian Football League. April 12, 2019.
- ^ "Riders ink towering targets McInnis, Lenius". Canadian Football League. May 15, 2019..
- ^ a b c "Brayden Lenius". Saskatchewan Roughriders. Retrieved August 14, 2021..
- ^ McCormick, Murray (August 8, 2021). "Saskatchewan Roughriders' Brayden Lenius records first CFL touchdown". Regina Leader-Post.
- ^ Shire, Taylor (August 12, 2021). "Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Brayden Lenius getting milestone football back from fan". Global News.
- ^ "Riders Release Lenius for NFL opportunities". Saskatchewan Roughriders. January 7, 2022.
- ^ "Falcons sign 17 to reserve/future contracts". AtlantaFalcons.com. January 10, 2022.
- ^ Bair, Scott (July 28, 2022). "Falcons sign free-agent safety, adding former Packer to secondary mix". AtlantaFalcons.com.
- ^ TSN ca Staff (August 29, 2022). "Roughriders sign WR Lenius - TSN.ca". TSN. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
- ^ "Quarterback Mason Fine among Riders' cuts". Canadian Football League. June 1, 2024.
- ^ a b c "Dickey, 46, dedicated son, family man, teammate touched lives of many". All Sports Tucson. January 6, 2018.
- ^ a b McCormick, Murray (July 5, 2019). "Brayden Lenius feels right at home with the Saskatchewan Roughriders". Regina Leader-Post.