July 10, 2018

CFL Fantasy Podcast, Week 5: Nichols and diming

Trevor Hagan/CFL.ca

TORONTO — Matt Nichols is back on the field, but is the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ franchise quarterback a trustworthy option in CFL Fantasy?

The veteran pivot returned right on schedule in Week 4, leading the Bombers to a convincing 41-19 win over the BC Lions. But while Nichols rewarded Winnipeg fans with ‘the W’, the same couldn’t be said in Fantasy. In the end it was athletic rookie quarterback Chris Streveler and his two touchdowns off the bench enjoying the better outing, with Nichols ranking seventh among quarterbacks in Week 4 with 10.5 points.

Pat Steinberg, Jeff Krever and Hannah Nordman debated Nichols’ appeal in a Week 5 rematch against BC, with the temperature on the returning quarterback ranging from hot to cold:

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“I know that coming off the injury he was a little rusty, but now that he has got one week under his belt I think he’s a really intriguing buy this week. Going against a BC team I like the matchup a lot, and I wonder if we don’t see the playbook opened up a little bit more for Nichols in his second start, allowing him to be more like the guy we’re used to him being, really one of the better starting quarterbacks in this league.

“It was a dialed back approach in his first start, I think things open up a little bit in Week 5. There’s some real value there.”

This week, the podcast crew tackled the challenge of a smaller player pool with three teams on the bye week, as well as the three rematches on tap across the league. In the end, though, the attention fell right back on Nichols.

While Krever continues to lean on Franklin, who accumulated nearly 20 points last week and provided value at a cost of $6,000, Steinberg is feeling pretty confident in what Nichols brings to the table in a favourable matchup against a struggling BC secondary.

“If I’m going off value here, I’m going Franklin #1, Reilly #2, Bo #3 and Harris #4, and those are the four guys I’d consider starting this week.

“I want my quarterback to be involved with goal line carries and that’s what Reilly, Franklin and Jeremiah Masoli give you. I like those guys week in and week out going forward, and they’re probably going to be my Fantasy quarterbacks going forward unless one of them goes off the tracks.”

You can set your lineup for Week 5 at CFLFantasy.TSN.ca.