Mike Reilly led the league in passing yards, but there is little question most Fantasy owners will place their fortunes on the arm of Stampeders field general Bo Levi Mitchell. Reilly’s fanbase shouldn’t feel slighted, as the Eskimos star joins Mitchell and 2016 breakout star Jonathon Jennings in the Fantasy penthouse of quarterbacks.
Top Tier
One can’t say Mitchell had a career year last season because it’s quite possible he can exceed his 2016 totals of 5,385 yards passing and 32 scoring strikes. Going into his sixth season in the league, Mitchell makes opposing secondaries cringe at his presence. If you include his post-season numbers, Mitchell had 13 games of at least two touchdown passes and crossed the 300-yard barrier 13 times.
After throwing for 233 yards in the season-opener, Mitchell never failed to toss for at least 258 yards the remainder of the 2016 campaign. That kind of consistency will make Fantasy owners willingly pay the price for Mitchell and do so with a smile. He no longer runs as he did early in his career, but no one’s complaining.
Fantasy players are expecting an encore performance from Bo Levi Mitchell in 2017 (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
After showing flashes of his potential during his rookie season, Jennings demolished any prospects of a sophomore jinx in a run that saw the Lions’ pivot connect for 5,226 yards and 27 touchdowns while also showing his running prowess with 363 rushing yards and four scores. There is reasonable cause to put Jennings over Mitchell due to his scrambling skills, yet the question of whether Jennings can further establish himself as a reliable Fantasy presence looms in the air.
He did have a four-week stretch in mid-season during which he threw just two touchdown passes and twice failed to go over the 200-yard mark, but most Fantasy owners will feel confident in a signal caller who had nine games of 300-plus yards that included a pair of 400-yard outings. Jennings could flirt with the 30-TD plateau, as the addition of speed-burner Chris Williams gives him another big-play weapon to team up with Emmanuel Arcenaux and Bryan Burnham.
Reilly’s 5,554 yards and 28 touchdowns was a huge rebound from his previous two seasons. He should be able to continue firing away at will even with the loss of wideout Derel Walker, who took his 109 catches and 10 touchdowns to the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The consistency will be there, as Reilly had a combined 13 games of 300 yards if you include the post-season. He also had a stretch of six games of over 300 yards in a seven-game span. He only failed to throw at least one touchdown pass twice during the regular season, and he enhanced his Fantasy value with rushing yards and a career-best nine touchdowns on the ground. With the likes of Adarius Bowman and Chris Getzlaf at wideout, Reilly will be a great play on a weekly basis.
Second Tier
With the job solely his, Trevor Harris should be in line to reward Fantasy players who put their trust in him. A topsy-turvey first season with the REDBLACKS saw Harris play in just 12 games, and while his numbers (3,301 yards, 16 touchdowns) were solid, they were nowhere near what he produced in 2015, when he hit career highs in both passing yards (4,354) and touchdowns (33) with the Argonauts.
Harris was on pace to eclipse those marks when he started the season with nine touchdowns in his first three games, but he had just two games with multiple TD passes over his remaining nine. The defending Grey Cup Champions have a bevy of firepower for Harris to work with, so expect him to be more consistent in his second year in Ottawa.
After celebrating a Grey Cup in November, Trevor Harris has a chance to be an elite fantasy QB (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Matt Nichols finally proved he could be a starting quarterback to rely on, as he set new highs in yards (3,666) and touchdown passes (18) for the Blue Bombers. From Week 14 through the playoff loss to the Lions, Nichols had five games of two touchdown passes while throwing for at least 287 yards in all but one game during that span. Never the most elusive of runners, Nichols served as his own goal line back by scoring six touchdowns despite rushing for just 90 yards on 35 carries. A 4,000-yard, 25-touchdown pass season is a reasonable projection for Nichols, but don’t be shocked if he exceeds those totals.
Third Tier
With 43 touchdown passes in his last 22 games, Zach Collaros belongs in the second tier, but his durability issues knock him into the third tier of quarterbacks. Collaros completed nearly 67 per cent of his passes for the Tiger-Cats last season for 2,938 yards and 18 touchdowns in just 10 games that included a 439-yard, three-TD outing against the Stampeders and a 381-yard, five-TD effort against the Roughriders. After throwing 14 touchdowns in his first four games, Collaros cooled off significantly, connecting on just one scoring strike in his last four games. The presence of Jeremiah Masoli looms, so if Collaros looks more like the struggling passer he was in October and November, he could end up on the Fantasy bench.
Rumors of Darian Durant’s decline were silenced as he had his best season since 2013. The 3,839 yards and 14 touchdowns for an offence-challenged Roughriders squad led the Alouettes to trade for the 12-year veteran during the off-season in hopes of reviving a Montreal attack that has struggled in recent years. The legs also looked fresh, as Durant put up 308 yards and six rushing scores, his best overall totals on the ground since 2010. There is some risk playing Durant that goes beyond his age, especially when you consider the fact that Alouettes lack a true runner. It will also take some time for him to adjust to slotback Nik Lewis and newcomer Ernest Jackson at wideout.
Ricky Ray played in just nine games last season, yet he still hit on 74 per cent of his passes and threw for 15 touchdowns. The seemingly ageless Argonauts field general still has the drive to lead the troops on the field, and the addition of veteran slotback S.J. Green from the Alouettes gives Ray a needed big play threat. If the facelift of the Toronto offence pays dividends, Ray just might have enough to record his 12th season of at least 20 touchdown passes and an 11th of over 3,000 yards.
Ricky Ray will look for an injection of youth in his new offence this season in Toronto (The Canadian Press)
Like the aforementioned Durant and Ray, Kevin Glenn also looks to keep Father Time on the sidelines for at least one more season. Glenn pulled away from early training camp competition to win the Roughriders starting job. The lowest-scoring offence in the league added some punch in the off-season with the addition of wideouts Duron Carter and Chad Owens to go along with Naaman Roosevelt, who led the team with 76 catches.
If Collaros goes down, the Ticats know they have perhaps the best backup in the league with Masoli, who threw for 2,695 yards and 16 touchdowns in his eight starts. He’s interception-prone (12 INTs), but he’s accurate (69.3 per cent completion rate) and can deliver as a runner (six rushing touchdowns). The entertainment value would rise if Masoli were to get another extended run as a starter.
Fourth Tier
Andrew Buckley may have the edge over Ricky Stanzi and Mitchell Gale for the backup quarterback job to Mitchell. Either way, Buckley still has limited value considering he is the short yardage/goal line quarterback. Buckley scored eight rushing touchdowns last season, tying the record for running touchdowns by a Canadian-born quarterback.
If the Roughriders begin looking at the future, they will do so with Bryan Bennett. With one of the strongest arms in the league, Bennett has outperformed former NFL Pro Bowler Vince Young and the promising Brandon Bridge in training camp. Bennett’s time could arrive sooner rather than later.
The Lions are in good hands with Travis Lulay, who serves as the backup and mentor to Jennings. With 104 career touchdown passes and a pair of 4,000-yard seasons to his credit, Lulay may not be the runner Jennings is, but would be a good Fantasy choice if the situation arises.
If anything happens to Jonathon Jennings, Travis Lulay would make an immediate fantasy impact (The Canadian Press)
Vernon Adams did well in his three starts for the Alouettes at the end of the season and would be first in line if Durant goes down. However, the Als see Jacory Harris as their future quarterback, and while Harris has just 23 attempts in his brief time in the league, the former Miami (Fla.) starter has the upside that Montreal believes could lead to him running the offence for years to come.
Drew Willy has 76 games of experience and could be useful if Ray goes down. The savvy veteran backup started three games for the Argonauts last season and threw for 681 yards and three scores.
