TORONTO — Three must be Janarion Grant‘s lucky number.
Over the last three weeks, the Toronto Argonauts No. 3 has found the end zone a total of three times. That’s one touchdown in every game from Weeks 5-7, providing a spark to the Argos that very few players around the league could match.
Grant is no stranger to these type of performances. The 2022 CFL All-Star and two-time Grey Cup champion did exactly that for years with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, making opposing special team coordinators hold their breath every time he touched the ball.
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The returner was a free agent in 2024 though, waiting until May to sign with a different team for the first time in his CFL career.
It was worth the wait for the Double Blue. After showcasing his explosiveness over the first four weeks, Grant exploded once more in Week 5 and hasn’t been stopped ever since.
It all started against the Saskatchewan Roughriders in Regina. Grant took a punt 84 yards back to the house to break an early stalemate against the Riders.
Having a player that can score every time he touches the ball completely changes the dynamic of the game.
That was especially true the following week, when Grant tallied a 103-yard kickoff return to give the Argos a nine-point lead heading into halftime.
A 17-15 close first-half battle suddenly became a 24-15 comfortable lead that the Argos would seal in the second half.
To nobody’s surprise, Grant is the highest graded special teams player (88.0) in the CFL according to PFF, forcing 33 missed tackles overall with his unique shiftiness.
That’s all while showing the type of ball security that makes your head coach continue to send you out there, as Grant has yet to fumble the ball.
Last week, Grant tallied a kick-return touchdown for the third straight game – a 96-yard effort. He is the third player to accomplish the feat, joining Henry Williams (1990) and Chris Williams (2012).
The scores puts Grant at 11 career kick-return touchdowns (nine punt, two kickoff) in 47 games; his mark of one in every 4.3 games is the best in league history. Grant also leads the league with 16.3 yards per return – a pace that would be fourth best all-time.
What’s impressive in this year’s majors is the fact that in all three of these highlights it looks like the ace special teamer was barely touched, showcasing the type of vision and acceleration required to reach milestones such as these.
On Saturday, familiar faces await. Grant faces the Blue Bombers for the first time after spending his first five CFL seasons in Winnipeg.
Grant holds the Bombers’ franchise record with eight kick-return touchdowns (7 PR, 1 KO), but still has a long way to go to catch up to his general manager Michael Clemons’ eight punt-return touchdowns for the Argonauts.
No. 3 will look to continue adding to his totals when the Argos host the Bombers on Saturday at BMO Field with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.