May 27, 2019

Steinberg’s MMQB: Nine players to watch in 2019

Ticats.ca

The pre-season is officially underway and the 2019 campaign is just weeks away. In last week’s MMQB, we came up with one question for every team in training camp. We’re going to kick this week’s column off in a similar vain, selecting one player to watch for every team this season.

Some are obvious choices, some are new faces, and some are returnees with something to prove.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers: Chris Streveler

A lot of Bombers fans are excited about Streveler’s ceiling if given the opportunity to start games regularly. While I don’t think Matt Nichols is in immediate danger of losing his spot atop the depth chart, Streveler has shown enough to give Head Coach Mike O’Shea an option if his incumbent struggles. Even without a changing of the guard, Streveler will get plenty of action in 2019, as Winnipeg uses him in a unique “change of pace” fashion in short yardage and beyond.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats: Brandon Banks

It has been quite the rapid evolution from Banks over the last few years. From a talented returner used sparingly in Hamilton’s offence, Banks exploded as the league’s most dominant receiver in 2018 under June Jones. Banks has two things to prove this season, though. First, he’s out to confirm his status as an elite receiver without Jones as offensive coordinator. And, after suffering a broken clavicle in Week 19, Banks also wants to confirm he’s none the worse for wear.

Edmonton Eskimos: Larry Dean

With the retirement of longtime middle linebacker J.C. Sherritt over the off-season, Dean has enormous shoes to fill. Much like they did in replacing Mike Reilly with Trevor Harris, the Esks have once again filled a hole as good as you possibly can in free agency by signing Dean. Over his three CFL seasons with Hamilton, Dean has established himself as an elite MIKE linebacker culminating in 105 tackles last season, good for third in the league. As such, fans in Edmonton won’t notice much going from Sherritt to Dean.

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Toronto Argonauts: James Franklin

Franklin might top my list of most interesting players to watch on any team this season. Yes, 2018 didn’t go as planned for Franklin in his first opportunity to start regularly, but that wasn’t an ideal circumstance. This season sees Franklin installed as Toronto’s starter from the start of camp, which is a much different scenario than unexpectedly taking over from Ricky Ray early on. Franklin finished 2018 strong and also led the league with 14 rushing touchdowns, so this season shapes up to be fascinating.

Calgary Stampeders: Reggie Begelton

When Begelton got the opportunity to start games at receiver last season, the guy absolutely went off. After Kamar Jorden suffered a season-ending injury in Week 12, Begelton stepped in and ensured Calgary’s offence didn’t miss a beat. Unforunately, Begelton suffered a season-ending injury of his own in Week 16, but he’ll be starting from the get-go this season, which could lead to some big time production.

Montreal Alouettes: Ciante Evans

Due to a stint in the AAF, the Alouettes added Evans very late in free agency, but they’ve landed a bona fide stud in their defensive backfield. Montreal has a lot of questions entering 2019, but uniting Evans and Tommie Campbell is still a massive coup. The pair were dominant together in Calgary and could give the Als the best lockdown corner duo in the CFL in 2019.

BC Lions: Duron Carter

We’ve known for years Carter is one of the league’s most talented receivers. Partly of his own doing and partly due to circumstance, though, Carter has never put it all together for a truly dominant season. Joining Mike Reilly in BC for this season, though, presents Carter with the best opportunity he’s ever had to do just that. If Carter can stay healthy, I see a career year ahead.

Ottawa REDBLACKS: Brad Sinopoli

It’s not a stretch to say Sinopli is the one impact playmaker the REDBLACKS did not lose this off-season. As such, Sinopoli is going to be more in the spotlight than he’s ever been entering his ninth CFL season. Ottawa’s quarterback situation is very much up in the air and they’re without a multitude of proven targets at receiver. That’s why Sinopoli will need to be at his consistent and dominant self over the middle in 2019.

Saskatchewan Roughriders: Solomon Elimimian

I know he missed the majority of 2018 due to injury and I know he ended up being released by the Lions, but that doesn’t mean Elimimian isn’t still an elite linebacker. Remember, BC released the four-time league all-star for salary cap reasons, not for performance issues. With an opportunity to fit him in, the Riders pounced a week later and it was the right choice. Elimimian was on pace for another 100-plus tackle season in 2018, which would have been his third straight. I think he can still play.

 

Quick hits

It was nice to see some pre-season highlights on my television screen Sunday night as the Eskimos beat the BC Lions 22-7 at Commonwealth to open the exhibition season. The game wasn’t televised, so I wasn’t able to take much from the showdown, but one thing did stick out.

Even in limited action, Trevor Harris attempted four passes to Greg Ellingson, completing a pair. Former teammates in Ottawa, Harris and Ellingson signed with Edmonton during free agency and you can expect that to be a regular connection all season long. Harris has a few other interesting targets as a member of the Eskimos, but expect Ellingson to be his most frequent in the early stages.

Speaking of the Esks, they’ve suffered another devastating training camp injury and I feel awful for them and the player involved. High profile free agent signing SirVincent Rogers is out indefinitely with a torn triceps suffered late last week. That’s a major setback for one of the CFL’s elite left tackles before playing even one down with his new team.

Edmonton has suffered a lot of bad luck in the early stages of the season in recent years. From JC Sherritt and Cory Greenwood in 2017 to John White in both 2015 and 2017, these are things this team has dealt with and overcome in the past. It’s a shame it happened to Rogers, however, knowing how crucial he looked to be for the coming year.