August 19, 2016

On Pace: Bowman, Walker remain in line for 2,000

THE CANADIAN PRESS

EDMONTON — A pair of Edmonton Eskimos receivers is raising the bar for Canadian Football League pass-catchers.

In a league where 1,000 yards has often been the gold standard for those catching footballs, Derel Walker and Adarius Bowman have a different milestone in their sights. Both are on pace to do something only three receivers in CFL history have ever accomplished: record 2,000-plus receiving yards in a single season.

Doing so would also give both a chance to break a record that was once thought unbreakable — the single-season receiving yards record of 2,036 set by Calgary Stampeders great Allen Pitts in 1994.

ON PACE: DEREL WALKER AND ADARIUS BOWMAN

PLAYER TEAM GAMES YARDS AVG ON PACE
Derel Walker EDM 7 800 114.3 2,057
Adarius Bowman EDM 7 789 112.7 2,029

» RELATED: Can the Argos stop Reilly, Esks’ receivers?

The caveat with Walker and Bowman’s projections is that passing is on the up, and more receivers are putting up bigger numbers than seen in recent years.

Consider that only two years ago (2014), only three receivers finished with more than 1,000 yards through the air (Clarence Denmark, Duron Carter and the league-leader, Adarius Bowman). While passing has been the primary offensive tool this season — 80.4 per cent of total yards have been gained via the completion — a total of 18 players are on pace for 1,000-yard seasons compared to 12 just a year ago and three in 2014.

That shouldn’t make what the Esks’ duo has accomplished so far any less impressive, however. So far Walker and Bowman are pacing the league’s second-ranked offence overall (409.3 yards per game) and second-ranked passing offence (354.3 passing yards per game).

And while there are as many as 18 receivers on pace for the 1,000-yard milestone, none of the 16 others come within 1,000 yards of Walker and Bowman thus far. What’s remarkable is that the two Eskimos receivers play for the same team, and both are truly on an island all of their own so far in 2016.

Neither of them appear to have a shot at breaking Derrell Mitchell’s single-season receptions record (160 set in 1998), but consider this: there’s a chance the all-time single-season receiving yards record could be broken twice in the same season, by two players on the same team.

ALL-TIME SINGLE-SEASON RECEIVING LEADERS

PLAYER YEAR TEAM GAMES YARDS AVG
Allen Pitts 1994 CGY 18 2,036 113.1
Terry Greer 1983 TOR 16 2,003 125.2
Derrell Mitchell 1997 TOR 18 2,000 111.1

 

Both Eskimos will look to increase their totals on Saturday with a visit to BMO Field to take on the Toronto Argonauts, a team that so far ranks fourth in the league with 295.1 passing yards allowed per game. Of course, the Esks’ passing offence has a tendency of dropping its opponents in the ranking.

In a win over Montreal last week, both Walker and Bowman eclipsed 100 receiving yards in the same game, a common occurrence this season as Walker has reached at least 130 receiving yards in five out of seven games while Bowman has reached 100 in five out of seven.

Against the Als, Walker caught 10 passes for 132 yards while Bowman registered 107 yards on nine receptions.

Fan Poll
Will Bowman or Walker break the 2,000-yard mark in 2016?
Derel Walker will
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Adarius Bowman will
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Both will
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Neither will
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