Graham Hughes/CFL.ca
With a quarter of the season complete, the picture is becoming clear for Fantasy players. We know Jeremiah Johnson always finds his way into the end zone and that run plays are rare in Toronto. Greg Ellingson has established himself as one of the league’s premier receivers and Brandon Zylstra is in the beginning stages of reaching that status soon.
The league’s older pivots (Toronto’s Ricky Ray and Kevin Glenn of Saskatchewan) still have plenty left in the tank, while the revival of Travis Lulay has brought life to the BC offence. On the other side of the coin, the potential breakout season for Zach Collaros has been stalled while the Alouettes offence still can’t generate points despite a full-blown makeover.
It’s these nuggets of knowledge that will make setting the Week 6 lineup easier, yet it never hurts to have added insight.
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Montreal at Winnipeg
Thursday | 8:30 p.m. ET
Three Als’ defenders rank in the top 10 in league-leading tackles (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)
Start: The Alouettes’ defence is fourth in salary ($4,507) yet is playing like a more expensive unit. Montreal leads the league in fewest points per game allowed (21.8) and only the Eskimos (eight) have allowed fewer offensive majors than the nine the Als have given up. While Winnipeg is second in scoring at 32 points per game, the Bombers are only eighth in offensive yards per game (344) and will be facing an Alouettes D that is second in run defence. It’s hard to envision Blue Bombers pivot Matt Nichols ($10,240) doing what the likes of Mike Reilly ($13,518) and Bo Levi Mitchell ($11,687) couldn’t do against Montreal: move the ball effectively.
Sit: Bombers running back Andrew Harris ($7,792) has just one game of over 57 yards rushing and while he has been effective as a receiver, investing such a high salary on a back going against a Montreal defence that allows just 3.5 yards per carry and only one run of over 20 yards is a risky proposition. Harris had just 2.9 Fantasy points on the ground in last week’s loss at BC, the second time in the last three weeks he’s recorded 3.2 FP or lower via the run. Harris will eventually get hot, but Thursday night doesn’t appear the ideal evening for him to break out.
BC at Edmonton
Friday | 9:30 p.m. ET
Zylstra has quickly developed into Mike Reilly’s go-to guy in the Esks’ offence (The Canadian Press)
Start: Zylstra ($5,403) sparked the Eskimos’ comeback victory against the Tiger-Cats last week, catching five passes for 74 yards after returning to the field from a first half injury. He finished the night with eight receptions for 112 yards, the third 100-yard game he’s recorded this season. The Lions are fifth in passing yards allowed per game, but are vulnerable to the big play, as the 11 passes of over 30 yards they have given up will attest. With Adarius Bowman out for at least the next five games, Zylstra has become the go-to receiver for Reilly and should thrive in an offence that has yet to put its full potential on display.
Sit: Lulay, whose salary has rocketed to $9,214, has averaged 420 yards in his two starts, but has also thrown four interceptions. The Lions offence is averaging 43 points with Lulay at the trigger, yet BC gets a rugged Eskimos defence ($4,342) that has allowed a league-low three passing majors (two coming from Winnipeg’s Nichols last week) while also topping the pack by limiting opponents to just 240.8 passing yards per game. Make no mistake: Lulay’s 95.8 QBR is no fluke, but Edmonton can limit the big play and will also take advantage of a Lions offensive line that has given up a league-high 13 sacks.
Toronto at Saskatchewan
Saturday | 6:30 p.m. ET
Green is second in receiving yards and targets entering Week 6, trailing only to Ottawa’s Greg Ellingson (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Start: No matter what, Ray ($9,901) will find slot S.J. Green, who comes into the week with 53 targets, second only to Ottawa’s Ellingson (56). Green ($5,134) has a pair of 100-yard games thus far and will bid for a third against a Roughriders ($3,200) pass defence that leads the league with a 62.8 percent completion rate. Ray will bid for a sixth straight game of at least 300 yards and the best chance for him to achieve that goal comes from establishing an early connection with Green, which could open the field for Armanti Edwards ($3,714), Jeff Fuller ($3,000) and the red-hot Anthony Coombs ($3,239).
Sit: There is a certain level of temptation in playing Argonauts running back James Wilder ($3,000), especially against a Roughriders run defence that is eighth with 90.3 yards allowed per game. With Brandon Whitaker out for at least the next six games, Wilder is expected to get the bulk of the carries, but the Argos are also expected to use the explosive Martese Jackson ($2,500) more often as well. However, Toronto is still last in rushing yards per game and average yards per carry, and it’s unlikely the offence will make a drastic change to the run, so neither Wilder nor Jackson should be strongly considered.
Hamilton at Calgary
Saturday | 9:30 p.m. ET
Expect Jorden and the rest of the Stamps to rack up the fantasy points against Hamilton’s struggling defence (The Canadian Press)
Start: Mitchell had a season-low 16.3 Fantasy points in last week’s win over Saskatchewan that was due in part to the Stampeders committing to get running back Jerome Messam ($6,965) on track. Expect Mitchell to have a big Saturday night against a Ticats pass defence that is giving up 418 yards per game. Hamilton has also allowed 11 pass plays of over 30 yards, which should also entice Fantasy players to consider receivers Kamar Jorden ($6,224), DaVaris Daniels ($5,321) and Marquay McDaniel ($5,194). Don’t be shocked if Mitchell exceeds last week’s FP total by halftime.
Sit: Like the rest of the Hamilton roster, receiver/return specialist Brandon Banks ($4,857) has yet to get on track. Banks has just four catches for 38 yards this season and has only a combined 19 FP via return yards. The struggles of the Tiger-Cats defence has presented Banks ample opportunities in the return game, but the usually-explosive performer hasn’t been able to make things happen in the open field.
