The Winnipeg Blue Bombers got most of the band back for a run at a fifth straight Grey Cup, and while coach Mike O’Shea’s squad remains in Dynasty mode, the BC Lions are roaring at the chance to play for it all in front of what would be a staunch BC crowd at BC Place on November 17.
Winnipeg and BC are the clear favourites out West, yet could there be a revival in Calgary, or could a more physical band of Roughriders spoil projections?
Oh, there’s also an Elks offence that will be more lethal now that 2022 Grey Cup-winning pivot McLeod Bethel-Thompson has the keys.
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BC LIONS
2023 Record: 12-6-0, Lost in Western Final
New Faces: DL Christian Covington, OL George Una, RB William Stanback
Quarterback: A 5,000-yard season is within reach for Vernon Adams, Jr. Coming off a season that saw him toss a CFL-best 4,769 yards and 31 majors, Adams is primed to guide the Lions in a bid to unseat Winnipeg from its perch atop the West Division. The one thing Adams must improve upon, though, is his penchant for mistakes (18 interceptions in 2023); if he does that, don’t be surprised if he’s a Most Outstanding Player finalist. Fantasy owners won’t have any problem adding him weekly.
Running Back: Stanback, the two-time 1,000-yard rusher, has been so impressive in camp that the Lions released Taquan Mizzell, who led the team with 773 rushing yards last season. A fully healthy Stanback can still be among the league’s elite, especially if the Lions get him more involved in the passing game than the Alouettes did the past two seasons. If Stanback returns to his 2021 All-Star form, a potent offence will go to another level. Newcomers Percy Agyei-Obese and Jordan Terrell will fight to line up behind Stanback on the depth chart.
Receivers: The Lions will open the season without West Division All-Star Keon Hatcher, but the unit remains among the league’s best. Alexander Hollins also earned West Division All-Star honours after tying Hatcher with 78 receptions (1,173 yards) and a team-best nine receiving majors. With Dominique Rhymes and Lucky Whitehead departing, the door is open for Jevon Cottoy to have a huge season for both the Lions and fantasy users. Cottoy will thrive early as he’s now the second option for Adams. Like Hatcher and Hollins, Justin McInnis averaged at least 15 yards per catch and will offer strong fantasy potential. Keep an eye on Ayden Eberhardt, who impressed in the two games he appeared in last season. With more targets available, Eberhardt is a deep sleeper who could emerge as a solid value play for fantasy owners.
Defence: Only Winnipeg and Montreal allowed fewer yards per game than the Lions last season. The unit suffered a mixed bag of an off-season as All-Star DL Mathieu Betts took his National record-setting 18 sacks to the NFL’s Detroit Lions but added DL Christian Covington after the team’s fifth-round pick in the 2015 CFL Draft came home after a decade down South. Bo Lokombo continues to terrorize ballcarriers at LB.
Fantasy Nugget: Once Hatcher returns to the lineup, the Lions will have one of the league’s most effective pass-catchers in the CFL. According to Pro Football Focus, Hatcher’s 80.3 grade made him one of only two receivers (Winnipeg’s Dalton Schoen) to grade above 80.
CALGARY STAMPEDERS
2023 Record: 6-12-0, Lost in Western Semi-Final
New Faces: CB Demerio Houston, OL Trevon Tate
Quarterback: Jake Maier comes into the season as the starter after a season that saw him finish with a 19-15 TD-INT margin while leading an offence that finished last in total yards per game (335.3). Injuries to his receiving corps worked against him, but having the likes of Marken Michel and Jalen Philpot back will boost Maier’s numbers as he will be more of a downfield passer this season. Veteran Matthew Shiltz is a potential Plan B if Maier staggers out of the gate.
Jake Maier will look to carry his Calgary Stampeders to the Grey Cup in November (Jamie Douglas/CFL.ca)
Running Back: Dedrick Mills led the team with 802 rushing yards, and might have hit the 1,000-yard mark had he not missed four games. With Ka’Deem Carey departed, Mills becomes a reliable fantasy option who will benefit from the addition of Tate and a healthier receiving unit. The ground game is helped further by a healthy Peyton Logan, who averaged an eye-popping 9.9 yards per carry in the four games he played.
Receivers: This is an underrated fantasy gold mine if everyone stays intact. Reggie Begelton keeps doing Reggie Begelton things, finishing with an 86-1,115-5 line despite missing three games. The sky is the limit for Philpot after he missed the entire 2023 season with a torn hamstring. Tre Odoms-Dukes has shown flashes of brilliance in his first two seasons, and six-foot-seven Rysen John presents a plethora of upside. The unit also has Clark Barnes and Cole Tucker, both of whom can develop into staples in the lineup if given the opportunity.
Defence: There wasn’t much change to the D, but the addition of Houston (seven interceptions last season) gives the Stampeders a ballhawk that will help improve the unit’s turnover numbers. DL Mike Rose had 11 sacks in 2023, while DL James Vaughters is primed for a big season. The weekly consistency of LBs Micah Awe and Cameron Judge helps longtime defensive coordinator Brent Monson build upon a unit that is much better than what last season’s numbers showed.
Fantasy Nugget: Trust Begelton’s hands. Though he saw the second most-catchable passes in the league last season, Begelton had a paltry 4.1 percent drop rate.
EDMONTON ELKS
2023 Record: 4-14-0, Missed Playoffs
New Faces: QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson, WR Kurleigh Gittens, Jr., WR Hergy Mayala, DL Robert Nkemdiche, LB Joel Dublanko, FB/LS Bradley Hladik, K/P Boris Bede, RB/RS Javon Leake
Quarterback: Bethel-Thompson instantly makes a talented receiving corps better. He returns to the CFL after spending 2023 in the then-United States Football League after leading the Argonauts to the 2022 Grey Cup title. McBeth has two 4,000-yard passing seasons and a pair of 20-TD pass seasons under his belt and will thrive with the best group of receivers he’s had in his career. The Elks still believe Tre Ford is the franchise’s future at pivot. Ford led the league with a 9.4 yards per carry average last season but still has plenty to learn as a passer. He’ll still factor in the offence (don’t be shocked if Ford ends up with 8-10 rushing majors), but for now, he’ll play the understudy.
Can McLeod Bethel-Thompson help the Elks make the playoffs this year? (GoElks.com)
Running Back: Kevin Brown looked like the best back in the league at times last season. Following an impressive 2022 debut, Brown finished with 1,141 rushing yards and four majors and averaged a solid 6.1 yards per carry. Few backs possess the ability to break a long run like Brown, who tied then-Argos back AJ Ouellette with 10 carries at least 20 yards. An improved passing game will open the field for Brown to have a bigger season. The Elks added Leake to upgrade a dormant return game; Leake scored four times on punt returns last season and averaged 15 yards per return and 20.9 yards per kickoff return.
Receivers: Having Bethel-Thompson heaving it downfield will make this a very lethal unit. Former All-Star Eugene Lewis averaged 17.3 yards per catch yet managed only three touchdowns on 48 receptions last season. Bank on Lewis to easily surpass those totals. Expect a strong rebound for Dillon Mitchell, who disappeared at times as he finished with just 37 catches. Kyran Moore led the team with 69 catches, while the addition of Gittens gives Bethel-Thompson his favourite target when the pair lead Toronto to the 2022 Grey Cup title. Newcomer Mayala is a former first-round pick who has yet to tap into his limitless upside while Gavin Cobb averaged 19.5 yards per catch on his 11 receptions last season. Both will see considerable time while Gittens is sidelined and could develop into low-end fantasy options.
Defence: Losing DL Jake Ceresna to Toronto stung a defence that gave up 28.7 points per game last season. The addition of Dublanko, the first overall pick of this year’s CFL Draft, is a step in the right direction as he is projected to be a Week 1 starter. The Elks will get another season of the versatile Loucheiz Purifoy at LB, while Kai Gray appears to be the one constant in a secondary that started training camp with 21 candidates.
Fantasy Nugget: Even though Lewis averaged a modest 11.4 yards per catch, he still finished fifth in the CFL with 10 receptions of better than 30 yards.
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
2023 Record: 6-12-0, Missed Playoffs
New Faces: RB AJ Ouellette, LB Jameer Thurman, DE Malik Carney
Quarterback: The Roughriders’ season went sideways after Trevor Harris was lost with a season-ending leg/knee injury in Week 5. The team went with Jake Dolegala, Mason Fine, and Shea Patterson the rest of the way, with Dolegala being the most effective. With Harris back, the offence will be able to improve upon last season’s 20.4 points per game and a time of possession of 28:01, both of which were eighth overall.
Running Back: Adding Ouellette was a change in direction for the Saskatchewan offence, which will be more run-oriented after averaging just 84.2 yards per game last season. Ouellette will help the offence better control the clock, but he’s also a more elusive runner than advertised, evidenced by the 10 runs of at least 20 yards he recorded last season, tying him with Edmonton’s Kevin Brown. He is also productive as a receiver, and with a bigger role ahead of him, Ouellette could easily top the 1,172 yards from scrimmage he generated with the Argonauts on the way to the Eastern Final. Injuries plagued Frankie Hickson, who missed eight games and had just 30 carries. However, he has shown big-play skills in the past and will be a good change of pace back.
AJ Ouellette joined the Roughriders this off-season after having a career year in Toronto in 2023 (Riderville.com)
Receivers: A healthy Kian Schaffer-Baker will go a long way toward this offence regaining the groove it expected to have entering last season. KSB missed half the season and finished with 38-430-3; he’s a 1,000-yard receiver if he can stay on the field. Shawn Bane, Jr. and Samuel Emilus each had breakout campaigns in 2023, finishing with over 1,000 receiving yards. Both can see better numbers with a healthy Harris and Tevin Jones‘ departure opening 103 targets. Jerreth Sterns showed intriguing potential during his rookie season (44 receptions) and has fantasy upside if he earns a starting job at slotback. Mitch Picton provides solid depth and has shown he can be a productive starter when given the chance.
Defence: The first step toward improving the unit came when Anthony Lanier II returned to DT after a failed conversion to DE last season. Rolan Milligan’s return from injury is also a boost in the right direction as he has shown signs of becoming an elite defensive back. The Roughriders added LB Adam Auclair from Ottawa after he recorded a combined 119 tackles the prior two seasons. He joins the promising C.J. Reavis to help Saskatchewan improve a defence that allowed 122.7 yards per game on the ground. The Riders pilfered Carney and Thurman from Hamilton and are banking on them to keep the unit from repeating last season when they allowed a league-high 30.6 points per game.
Fantasy Nugget: A healthy Harris has recorded five seasons of at least 4,000 passing yards and has averaged at least eight yards per pass in each of the past seven seasons.
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
2023 Record: 14-4-0, Lost 110th Grey Cup
New Faces: QB Chris Streveler, OL Liam Dotson, DE Ali Fayad,
Quarterback: Zach Collaros has thrown 90 touchdown passes the past three seasons. There are no signs of decline in the 35-year-old, who is bidding for a third consecutive campaign of at least 4,000 passing yards and 30 passing majors. Fantasy-wise, he remains as elite as it gets. The Bombers welcomed the return of the popular Streveler, who returned North after spending the past four seasons bouncing around the NFL. He was one of the league’s top short-yardage specialists in his two years with Winnipeg, scoring a combined 22 rushing majors. If Streveler is needed to start, expect the offence to continue to light up scoreboards.
Running Back: Brady Oliveira spent the off-season building a trophy room after recording one of the best seasons in recent memory by a running back. Oliveira rushed for 1,534 yards, the second-highest total in league history by a National, and produced 2,016 yards and 13 majors. The reigning Most Outstanding Canadian is bidding to become the first back since Hall of Famer Jon Cornish to rack up consecutive 1,500-yard rushing seasons. It will be worth every penny of his fantasy salary. The ever-available Johnny Augustine is entrenched as the backup, but if he’s needed to start, the veteran with the career 5.8 yards per carry can also be a solid fantasy asset.
Dalton Schoen has proven to be an excellent CFL Fantasy choice in years past, will it remain this same this year? (Jason Halstead/CFL.ca)
Receivers: The most potent receiving corps in the CFL begins with the dangerous Dalton Schoen, who has 26 touchdown receptions in his first two seasons while earning All-CFL honours in each campaign. Kenny Lawler has missed 12 games the past two years. But when he’s on the field, he and Schoen present a frightening combo that excels at reeling in the deep ball. Their presence opens the field for West Division All-Star Nic Demski to create havoc as either a receiver or runner, while the steady Drew Wolitarsky comes off a 2023 that saw him catch a career-best 47 receptions. Rasheed Bailey left over the winter, leaving an opening that several players, including Jalen Hall, Jeremy Murphy, and Josh Vann, are competing for.
Defence: Change has come to the D, who lost DE Jackson Jeffcoat to retirement while DT Ricky Walker left for free agency and DB Demerio Houston landed to the rival Stampeders. Still, the unit will remain one of, if not, the league’s best defence as DE Willie Jefferson continues to play at an All-Star level.
Fantasy Nugget: Schoen has averaged a receiving major every 5.53 times he has caught the ball in his first two seasons.