BC Lions defensive lineman Covington pleasantly surprised by level of talent in CFL

B.C. Lions defensive lineman Christian Covington looks on during the CFL football team's training camp in Kamloops, B.C., on Monday, May 13, 2024. Christian Covington is entering his second CFL season with the hometown Lions after nine seasons in the NFL. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Christian Covington enters his second CFL season with renewed respect for the Canadian game.

The six-foot-three, 285-pound defensive lineman signed with B.C. last May after playing 101 regular-season games over nine NFL seasons. Covington, 31, registered 29 tackles, six sacks — two off the league lead — and two forced fumbles with the Lions but was pleasantly surprised by the level of talent in the CFL.

“I can’t lie to you, there were times when I wondered, ‘How early can I dominate in this league?‘” Covington said Thursday from the CFL’s annual marketing shoot. “But it’s like, ‘No, you may think that but you’re going to be humbled real quick.’

“The talent here is ridiculous. I know there are guys here who could play (in NFL) and I know some of the guys in the NFL would struggle up here. It’s just the change of a single letter in the league name but it’s still professional football at the highest level.”

And nowhere was that more evident to Covington than along CFL offensive lines.

“These units they have with these teams, they’ve been working together for years,” Covington said. “They know the ins and outs, they know their boys’ weaknesses and strengths, they know how to work as a unit.

“It’s the experience factor … that’s something you can’t come in and beat at the jump. You’re going to have to learn, study, do your due diligence with film to be able to truly understand how to beat and manoeuvre around these teams and these units.”

The ‘24 season was one of transition for Covington, who played four-down football during his high school days in Vancouver then at Rice University. B.C. drafted Covington in 2015 but he opted for the NFL after being taken in the sixth round that year by the Houston Texans.

Covington played four seasons with Houston (2015-18) then had stints with Dallas (2019), Denver (2020), Cincinnati (2020) and the Los Angeles Chargers (2021-22). He attended Detroit’s training camp in 2023 before spending the season on the Chargers’ practice squad.

“It certainly was a transition,” Covington said. “The only aspect of the Canadian game I could kind of understand was from watching film of my dad (Canadian Football Hall of Famer Grover Covington) and going to B.C. Lions games.

“The one beautiful thing about football is it doesn’t matter how good of shape you’re in, there’s no shape like football shape. You actually have to play the game to get into shape. The actual rules themselves, there was a transition getting used to them as well as my proper footwork, getting my pass-rush down and making sure my timing was right.”

Covington’s biggest adjustment was lining up a yard off the ball.

“Especially coming from the south where you have that credit-card alignment (lining up right across from offensive line),” Covington said. “And the moment anything moves you go and you’re in instant conflict, instant contact with your opponent.

“It’s a transition knowing how to navigate through, “Oh, it’s a pass I’ve got to make sure of my foot step or I don’t have a false step in this direction because there’s this much space to cover.’ And you’re doing all this on the fly.”

Covington said it took him until August to really feel comfortable playing the Canadian game. And having a full CFL season under his belt has helped his off-season workouts and preparation for 2025.

Still, the ‘24 campaign was a disappointing one for the Lions, whose goal was to win the Grey Cup at B.C. Place. After finishing third in the West Division, the squad’s season ended with a 28-19 semifinal loss to Saskatchewan.

Rick Campbell, B.C.’s head coach/co-general manager was fired and replaced by Buck Pierce, the former Winnipeg offensive co-ordinator and one-time Lions quarterback. Veteran CFL coach Mike Benevides will be Pierce’s defensive co-ordinator following two seasons as B.C.’s special-teams co-ordinator while former defensive co-ordinator Ryan Phillips remains as secondary coach/passing-game co-ordinator.

“Every year if you don’t win it’s a disappointment,” Covington said. “But there was an added emphasis to the significance of what last year could’ve meant for the team with everything Amar (owner Amar Doman) has been doing to build up this organization.

“It’s still football at the end of the day but everybody is going to have to make that adjustment to different philosophies, different coaching styles and different coaches in general. This staff is hungry, it’s tenacious and as ready to get after it as much as we are. We’re excited for this to all come together in training camp and see how it’s all going to blend and mesh together.”

This report by Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press, was first published April 10, 2025.