Off-Season Fantasy Roundup: A team-by-team look

There was plenty of movement across the CFL this off-season, with some trades, a coaching change and several big names finding new homes.

How does it all impact the Fantasy landscape?

Here’s your CFL Fantasy off-season roundup to get you primed and ready to go for the 2018 season.

All stats are from 2017 unless otherwise noted.

BC Lions

The loss of three key starters in the secondary could impact the Lions’ defence (The Canadian Press)

Key Losses

Chris Williams was the big splash signing of the 2017 off-season in BC, but he began the season on IR and never really seemed to get in sync with the offence. It didn’t help that there was no consistency at quarterback. It’s possible a new start in Montreal will be helpful along with an extra off-season for recovery, but it’s hard to believe his new quarterback will be more consistent than Jonathon Jennings. His running mate Nick Moore is also out the door after announcing his retirement.

On the defensive side of the ball, none of Purifoy, Fenner or Yell were dominant players, but any time a team loses an entire half of its starting defensive secondary, there is bound to be uncertainty as the team adjusts. Given that the Lions ranked seventh in yards per reception allowed last season at 11.9, it may be for the better for them.

Key Additions

In 2016, the Lions used a unique running back by committee approach in alternately deactivating Anthony Allen and Jeremiah Johnson throughout the season. They had quite a bit of success with the formula, although it was a headache for Fantasy players. Last season saw Johnson take over the full workload and his efficiency dwindled as the season progressed. The signings of Van and Rutley may well lead them back in the committee direction. Unfortunately, it also means that we are unlikely to see the Lions “Release the Kraken” and let Chris Rainey have his due. His performance in Week 19 last season versus Winnipeg (195 yards from scrimmage, two touchdowns) was something to behold.

On the other side of the ball, both Foster and Knapton should be significant upgrades for the Lions. Foster plays fast and can be a valuable run stuffer along with having significant ball skills in coverage. The Riders’ loss is BC’s gain. Both he and Knapton are coming off limited action in 2017 but their career marks certainly show there’s significant upside in both these acquisitions. Knapton’s 2016 campaign saw him compile 10 sacks to go along with 46 tackles. Unlike last season, the Lions defence becomes a playable option for fantasy this season.

Calgary Stampeders

Sophomore Terry Williams is in line to pick up more carries in the Stamps’ backfield (The Canadian Press)

Key Losses

After losing in the Grey Cup for the second straight season, the Stampeders continued to pile up the losses in the off-season, parting ways with a host of important players on both sides of the ball.

Messam appeared to be a shell of his former self by the end of last season. Terry Williams seemed to inject a lot more life into the running game in his absence, but Messam’s consistency as a pass blocker will be missed. The Stamps also lost both McDaniel and Finch to retirement, leaving 105 targets to be redistributed at the slot back position and taking the league’s Most Outstanding Special Teams Player out of the equation.

The loss of Finch, coupled with the departures of Hughes, Campbell, and Burnett means the Calgary D/ST unit that dominated the last season will have a significantly different look. Tunde Adeleke is a talented returner and will do his best to replace Finch, but it’s a significant transition in process for a defence losing two starting corners and their top pass rusher from the opening week of 2017.

Key Additions

If you are looking for reasons for optimism in Cowtown, there is always the hope that Derek Dennis can return to his 2016 Offensive Lineman of the Year form that landed him a big contract in Saskatchewan a year ago. Unfortunately for him, he wound up as a reserve for most of the second half of the season. Given that not much has changed in the Stampeders offence since he left, there is good reason to believe he should slot in as a solid protector of Bo Levi Mitchell’s blind side.

Edmonton Eskimos

A move to the slot would pay dividends for sophomore receiver Duke Williams (Esks.com)

Key Losses

That is an awful lot of talent to ship out of the best offence in the league. It’s not often a team can lose its top two WRs from the depth chart in one off-season and still seem packed with talent. Fortunately for the Eskimos, their injury-riddled 2017 season revealed the depth of their offensive talent and leaves little worry that Mike Reilly and company should be fine again in 2018.

White and Van were both lost to injuries early on last year, but the mid-season acquisition of C.J. Gable improved the offence’s running efficiency. Similarly, Bowman and Zylstra both missed time to injuries, opening up space for other players like Bryant Mitchell, Vidal Hazelton, and Duke Williams to shine. Even with the loss of Zylstra and Bowman, Edmonton still has one of the top receiving corps in the league with Derel Walker, Williams, Hazelton, and Mitchell catching bombs from the league’s Most Outstanding Player.

If Williams moves inside to SB this season, or to boundary WR, he may well become a carbon copy of Zylstra. Stack up the Eskimos passing game with confidence again in 2018.

Key Additions

Saskatchewan Roughriders

The addition of Zach Collaros changes the dynamic of the Riders’ offence (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

Key Losses

It’s hard to call any of these losses a stunning blow to the Roughriders, but the transition to a new starting QB can be tricky for any team. Glenn is finally bringing the full CFL circle to closure in signing with the Eskimos this off-season; he has now been signed by every team in the league at some point in his career. Marshall has shown his talents in short bursts in the league because of health issues. In his brief stint as the Riders starting RB last season, he showed great hands and burst. Foster may have been the most talented member of the Riders secondary last season but he spent only a couple games in uniform after returning from the NFL in mid-season before he also lost the remainder of 2017 to injury. These are certainly holes to fill, but ones that were expected for the Riders.

Key Additions

The Riders have one of the busiest front offices in the league in terms of total transactions and this off-season was no exception, as they stole Hughes and Messam away from division rival Calgary, brought Evans back into the fold after his departure to Ottawa in the 2013 expansion draft and traded for what they hope is their new franchise QB in Collaros.

It’s hard to understand what their plans for Messam are given their crowded backfield of Marcus Thigpen and newcomers Zac Stacy and Tre Mason. It will be interesting to see what Messam’s role may be this year. Collaros was benched in favour of Jeremiah Masoli in Hamilton. If Collaros can regain his 2016 form, it will be a huge upgrade, otherwise the Riders will likely be riding the QB carousel again by mid-season.

On defence, the Riders are going to be a terrifying defensive front for opposing QBs to contend with. Evans is a very strong run stopper with some pass rush skills and having pressure from Hughes and Willie Jefferson on the ends will make his job that much easier. The Riders emerged as a strong DST play last year and the 2018 version of the unit should be even better.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Expectations will be tempered early on for Adarius Bowman with his new team (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

Key Losses

Other than the tumultuous tenure of Darian Durant in Winnipeg, the Bombers had a quiet off-season. Westerman was their one significant departure of note, which will hurt their pass rush, while playmaking halfback T.J. Heath is also out. The nature of their defensive scheme continues to be to give up yards and go for turnovers, so it’s unlikely this hurts them too much.

The Bombers will continue to be a volatile option in Fantasy contests as they are capable of high scores when they create turnovers and score touchdowns on special teams, but when they do not, their yards and points allowed also leave them with a low floor.

Key Additions

The Bombers did add a piece on each side of the ball that they hope can push them over the top into a Grey Cup for the first time in 28 years. Bowman has been a dominant Fantasy football force for the better part of this decade before 2017 saw him decline significantly both statistically and in his role in the Eskimos offence. It may well be that injury was fully to blame there, but at age 32 he’s not likely to reach his previous All-Star form.

The Bombers now have three very talented targets in their receiving corps in Darvin Adams, Weston Dressler and Bowman, but the depth beyond them is questionable. They’ll have to rely on the receiving prowess out of the backfield from Andrew Harris and Timothy Flanders to have significant success in the passing game.

On defence, the signing of Bighill after his return from the New Orleans Saints is exactly what they have been searching for in Winnipeg. Bighill may have been the best middle linebacker in the league during his time in BC and a strong presence in the middle is certainly what they Bombers needed.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Johnny Manziel (middle) will be an intriguing option should he get the chance to start (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca)

Key Additions

The biggest story of the Ticats’ off-season was certainly the signing of Manziel, but the most impactful signings were the ones that kept their core intact. The re-signing of Jeremiah Masoli, Brandon Banks, Luke Tasker, Larry Dean and Ted Laurent gives stability to this team that really seemed to find an identity to build on after June Jones was made head coach.

The defence still struggled giving up the deep ball, but the Masoli-led offence featuring Banks at WR rather than just as a return specialist was second only to Edmonton in the second half of the season in terms of Fantasy impact. If Terrence Toliver can return to health, there may not be a deeper receiving corps in the league. They had three 1,000-yard receivers last season, and Toliver could certainly make that four. Manziel has a ton of potential in this league with his ability to create plays in space, but Jones has to go with Masoli at QB at this point given the roll he was on to finish 2017.

Toronto Argonauts

The Argos’ biggest off-season acquisition may not even have a Fantasy impact this year (Argonauts.ca)

Key Losses

Posey’s numbers may not jump off the page, but his impact in the Argos offence as a deep threat and red zone target will be missed. Much of the offence centered around RB James Wilder Jr. in the latter half of the season, but they will have to find contributors at the receiver position outside aging veterans S.J. Green and Armanti Edwards if they hope to contend for another Grey Cup. There will certainly be opportunities here for new faces to emerge as Fantasy-relevant in the Argos offence.

Key Additions

The biggest addition to the Toronto offence this off-season may not play a down this year if everything goes according to plan. Ricky Ray will still certainly be the starting QB in Marc Trestman’s offence so long as he can stay healthy. If, however, he goes down to injury again, don’t hesitate to get Franklin in your lineups. Scouts and fans alike expect big things from him as the future of the Argos offence. It may be a small sample size for Franklin’s pro career statistics, but what a sample it is.

The big defensive addition for the Argonauts comes at LB with the signing of Reed. Reed is a fleet-footed playmaker with the ability to create sacks and turnovers. Pairing him with Bear Woods makes the Toronto defence Fantasy relevant.

Ottawa REDBLACKS

Diontae Spencer leads a REDBLACKS offence that returns mostly intact in 2018 (Arthur Ward/CFL.ca)

Key Losses

Ottawa managed to keep most of its offence intact this off-season, but did lose two significant contributors on defence. Evans is a physically-dominant DT and his departure will hurt an already-struggling REDBLACKS rush defence. Add the loss of sideline-to-sideline LB Reed, and it’s a recipe for a mediocre defence getting worse. The Ottawa DST was already largely unplayable in 2017, so I wouldn’t expect them to be in Fantasy lineups this season either.

Montreal Alouettes

Chris Williams’ speed could open things up vertically for the Alouette offence (Dominick Gravel/Montreal Alouettes)

Key Losses

It was another tumultuous off-season for the Alouettes. Last season’s savior, Darian Durant, was released and signed with Winnipeg before retiring. The league’s all-time leading receiver, Nik Lewis, retired. They parted ways with top lineman Jovan Olafioye over a contract dispute. They lost top their top pass defender (Mincy) to the NFL and traded their top defensive lineman (Knapton) to the Lions. It can’t be all doom and gloom but losing this much talent on a team that already lacked talent at most positions makes them that much less Fantasy viable.

Key Additions

After a 2017 off-season in which the Als spent all their money on offensive acquisitions including Ernest Jackson and the now-departed Durant and Olafioye, GM Kavis Reed decided to do the opposite this time and focus their funds on defensive free agents. The additions of Campbell and Burnett are hoped to shore up a poor secondary, while Westerman has been brought in to replace the hole left by Knapton. This defence has shown the ability to play well in the past, but much will fall on the offence to help them out by keeping them off the field.

Former NFL head coach Mike Sherman has been brought in to attempt to turn around the franchise while the team has added another playmaking WR in Williams to the receiving corps. Significant questions remain about the health and abilities of Williams coming off injuries. The case for Williams’ success is largely based on a three-game explosion in 2016 in which he had 25 receptions for 493 yards and six touchdowns. Since then, he’s posted only two-100 yard receiving games. There are still a lot of concerns regarding the Fantasy prospects for Alouettes on both sides of the ball.