DailyRoto: Week 4 Fantasy Rankings

When you score 105 points over the past eight quarters, chances are very, very good your offence is doing splendid things. Such is life for the Tiger-Cats, who — not surprisingly — dominate the Week 4 TSN CFL Fantasy Football Presented by Leo Vegas rankings, highlighted by a near clean-sweep at each position.

Hamilton’s abundance of offensive production means Fantasy users will have to pay dearly for pivot Jeremiah Masoli ($11,743) or receiver Brandon Banks ($14,000). Running back Sean Thomas Erlington remains a value at $6,589, yet another strong performance or two will place him in the high rent district with the likes of William Powell ($8,940) and Andrew Harris ($8,872).

Week 4 also presents the opportunity for Fantasy users to determine if Cody Fajardo ($7,793) and the suddenly-explosive Roughriders passing game is legit. Perhaps the biggest question is whether the Stampeders will have to adjust to Nick Arbuckle at pivot as the city of Calgary awoke on Tuesday waiting for the most important MRI in the nation.

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QUARTERBACKS

If Calgary is without Bo Levi Mitchell ($9,311) at Saskatchewan, the addition of Arbuckle ($5,000) will provide Fantasy users the element of a running threat. Arkbuckle was perfect in relief of Mitchell in Saturday’s stirring comeback against BC and would face a Riders pass defence that has allowed a 70.1 per cent completion rate to opposing passers. Toronto is even worse (75.7 per cent), so expect a revival for Mike Reilly users after he strafed the Stamps for 357 yards and accounted for three majors.

Both Fajardo and Ottawa’s Dominique Davis ($8,016) offer dual threat value; the Bombers are allowing 8.3 yards per pass, which would give the edge to Davis in a coin flip. Masoli had 29.7 Fantasy points in the win over Montreal, making Fantasy users imagine how much more he could produce in the rematch if he didn’t throw three interceptions.

Matt Nichols ($7,843) averages just 194 passing yards per game but his six passing majors and faces a REDBLACKS defence that has allowed five completions of better than 30 yards, adding intrigue. At this point, trusting in James Franklin ($7,261) becomes riskier each week.

RUNNING BACKS

Sean Thomas-Erlington is second in rushing yards and 16th in receiving yards. There’s every reason to believe he’ll eclipse 100 yards from scrimmage a fourth straight week against Montreal and its league-worst defence (607 yards allowed per game). If Calgary focuses too much on Saskatchewan’s passing game, look for a big evening from Powell. The Stamps are allowing 125 yards per game on the ground and have already given up three rushing majors.

James Wilder Jr. ($8,300) will get a high volume of touches yet his (and Toronto’s) inability to find the end zone tempers expectations from him. The Argos are being mauled on the ground, making this a good time to consider John White ($5,800) now that the Lions have finally shown they can at least be average running the ball. The Riders are third against the run, which makes the prospect of a rebound from Don Jackson ($5,626) unlikely, at least for this week.

It’s a wild guess to project which back end running back can maximize their value as return specialists. The money could be on Christion Jones ($2,806), who nearly broke a kickoff for a score in Monday’s win over the Argos. Stefan Logan ($2,729) is off to a slow start; it would be interesting to see if the Alouettes give Ryder Stone ($2,500) an extensive look in a return role.

WIDE RECEIVERS

It’s Bryan Burnham’s ($7,385) turn to face the Argos, who have allowed 443 passing yards per game. That also means BC’s Lemar Durant ($5,159) could extend his season-opening streak of touchdown catches to four straight games. Dominique Rhymes ($4,078) should see his share of targets as both he and R.J. Harris ($5,584) continue to develop as solid complements to Brad Sinopoli ($8,438).

Even with the expected return of Luke Tasker ($8,984) to the Tiger-Cats offence, the best alternative to Banks remains Bralon Addison ($4,962). Kyran Moore ($5,500) is the big play element the Roughriders passing game had been looking for, although Shaquelle Evans ($5,482) also has consecutive 100-yard outings. Count on Eric Rogers ($7,366) to be the top target for Arbuckle should Mitchell miss Saturday’s game. Markeith Ambles ($5,682) may have overtaken Reginald Begelton ($5,202) and Juwan Brescacin ($3,092) as the Stamps’ top option behind Rogers.

Llevi Noel ($4,911) has quietly outperformed Derel Walker ($7,310) and S.J. Green ($6,763) in the Toronto passing game. The Argos’ slow start has impacted the value of Armanti Edwards ($6,883). Likewise, Eugene Lewis ($5,751) and DeVier Posey ($6,033) have suffered in Montreal as the lack of plays from scrimmage has left everyone playing for scraps after Stanback and B.J. Cunningham ($5,903) get fed. Look for Darvin Adams ($7,336) to rebound after a sluggish Week 3 outing. Keep Nic Demski ($5,449) in mind as a second option in a Winnipeg passing game that will need more productive to keep pace with Ottawa.

TEAM DEFENCES

The Tiger-Cats ($4,471) get a favorable matchup against the Alouettes, although Winnipeg ($5,928) is a potential steal if they can force Ottawa’s offence to revert to its error-prone ways in Week 1. The Roughriders ($5,317) will see a boost if they’re facing Arbuckle instead of Mitchell.

Week 4 might feel like a six-defence week as few will be willing to risk playing the units of either the Alouettes ($3,970) or Argonauts ($3,200).