1st & 10 | Dante Daniels’ long road to Winnipeg

Dante Daniels spent his Tuesday night with his wife in his Raleigh, N.C. apartment watching the CFL Canadian Draft unfold and wondering with a mix of excitement and fascination as to when he might hear his name called.

And when the Winnipeg Blue Bombers made a trade with the Ottawa RedBlacks to move up three spots to grab the North Carolina State tight end with the first pick in the second round, 10th overall, his first reaction was the picture of muted surprise.

The tears soon followed.

“I just watched a video of my reaction afterward,” said Daniels in a chat with bluebombers.com Wednesday morning from Raleigh. “It’s funny because I saw my name pop up and it’s, ‘Oh, that’s me.’ Then the Blue Bombers called me after.

“It was amazing. My wife cried a little bit. I cried, too, obviously.”

@reagandanielss canada here we come! #winnepeg #cfl #footballwife #winnepegbluebombers @WPG Blue Bombers ♬ original sound – Reagan Daniels

The selection of Daniels caught some CFL observers by surprise on Tuesday, but his name had been gaining momentum in the hours leading up to the draft. He’s been described as a ‘CFL unicorn’ because of his size (6-5, 272) and his ability to block and double as a receiver.

Asked to provide his own self scout, he offered this description which should have GM Kyle Walters, head coach Mike O’Shea and new offensive coordinator Tommy Condell and positively beaming:

“They’re getting a hard-nosed guy, for sure, who will go downhill to hit someone as hard as I can,” he said. “I’m somewhat sneaky at routes. I wasn’t used that much at NC State (as a receiver) but I’m a guy who can catch balls and create separation and make some big-time plays.

“If you can watch my film, I’m jumping over guys, I can truck people, I can high-point the ball, I can throw a D tackle to the ground.

“I’ll also be a team leader and bring a big spirit to the team as well and try to be uplifting whether we’re up by 20 or down by 20.”

The Blue Bombers are all-in on the product of Windsor, Ont. and their excitement was certainly captured by our video team in the club’s draft room on Tuesday.

Traded up for our guy. #ForTheW pic.twitter.com/a6bF0zTNJk

— Winnipeg Blue Bombers (@Wpg_BlueBombers) April 29, 2026

All of this in itself makes for a heckuva story. Yet is truly just scratching the surface of Daniels’ road to Winnipeg because it’s the layers that make up his tale which make it compelling, eye-opening and oh so heartwarming all at the same time.

His story isn’t just about becoming a professional football player, you see, but the incredible odds he has already overcome in his life to even begin chasing that dream.

Daniels is the third oldest of six children and it’s here where the potholes and roadblocks he encountered make you appreciate the man’s perseverance.

His mother Danielle is a recovering drug addict. His father, Edward, left the family for Detroit when he was seven. In a 2024 interview with The Raleigh News & Observer he spoke of remembering police cars rolling up to his childhood house just before he was rushed off to his aunt’s house, wondering all the while if his mother had died from an overdose.

Later, his older siblings, Tyler and Taylor, opted to move out on their own leaving Dante to help take care of Aliyah, Dante and Savannah. He collected recyclable cans for money for food and did get some financial help from his grandmother.

But when his mother then also moved to Detroit, Daniels was essentially homeless, moving from one friend’s house to another. Ultimately, he landed with the Fillions — Jen and Joel — who welcomed him into their two-bedroom home with their own two sons, including Paul, a friend he first met when the two had played T-ball growing up.

Daniels with the Fillions; photo courtesy Joel Fillion and the Raleigh News & Observer

In 2018, not long after Daniels turned 16, his mother was in the hospital after another overdose and the Fillions chose to become his legal guardians, guiding him through an important transition from boy to man which would soon take him to Butler Community College before landing at N.C. State.

“I’m very fortunate they were able to take me in,” said Daniels of the Fillions. “I was like I was their own kid, welcoming me and paying for my sports, paying for everything in my life. They were a blessing me, treating me like they birthed me.

“Hearing them crying on the phone (Tuesday) night with the news that I’m going to play professional football, and we don’t have to worry about college any more… there were sobs from my foster mom.

“It was like, ‘you’ve taken the right steps.'”

And it’s right about here where it feels like it’s time to exhale, because it’s a lot to even just read the abridged notes of what Daniels went through.

So, imagine living it.

Before pressing on, we asked Daniels if he was comfortable detailing his road and it says so much about him that he didn’t crumble from his situation, but used it — along with the help of the Fillions — as motivation.

“I’m very open talking about it,” he said in our chat. “I learned throughout the years that holding it in doesn’t help me as a person or help me anyone else who might be going through the same thing.

“I was at a foster kid camp one day and everyone in kindergarten was going through the same thing I was and had no one to talk to, but me going and expressing my feelings and what I went through helps these kids realize, ‘I can do whatever I want to.’ It helps my own siblings as well — ‘Hey, if my older brother can play professional football and do things in his life, why can’t I?’

“It shaped me to be the person I am today,” he added. “It helped me realize that I can either give up on everything when everything is getting hard or when adversity comes into my life or be like, ‘Hey, I’ve been through way worse than this.'”

And if you’re wondering if he takes a part of all this to the football field, Daniels didn’t hesitate.

“My coach always says, ‘You’re one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met, but you’re a dickhead on the field,”” Daniels laughed. “On the field, I’m a completely different person.

“If I’m in a tussle with someone on field, I’ll almost fight you. That’s how I am. I don’t care if you’re my friend or not, when we’re between those lines, we’re not friends.”

FYI, Daniels said his dad is now back in his life — they spoke before the draft — and that he’ll only speak to his mother ‘when I think she’s getting better.’

“I want to make sure she’s getting better before I bring her back into my life,” he said. “I don’t want to take that risk of falling into the trap of sending her money and all that stuff.”

Daniels and his wife Reagan are now planning to drive to her home in Kansas to drop off some of their belongings. Then it’s all about getting to Winnipeg for rookie camp and taking living out the next chapter in his life as a Blue Bomber.

He’ll also likely soon be venturing into The Bomber Store. After all, there is now an extensive fan base in Windsor that have just become Blue Bomber fans.

“That will be an expensive trip,” he said with another laugh. “I have siblings, a bunch of step siblings, I have foster siblings. I have people all over the place. It’s worth it.

“I can’t wait to get there.”