CFL Fantasy Podcast, Ep. 35: Have the Riders found ‘the next one’?
Arthur Ward/CFL.ca
TORONTO — Are the Saskatchewan Roughriders going from afterthought to juggernaut in TSN CFL Fantasy presented by LeoVegas?
The Riders had two of the league’s top performers in Week 6, as Cody Fajardo and Shaq Evans led them to a 38-25 victory over the BC Lions. Fajardo threw for 278 yards and totaled three touchdowns, while Evans had a game-high 158 receiving yards and a touchdown on five catches.
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The focus, naturally, turned to the quarterback as soon as the game ended, a position that has plagued the Riders ever since the departure of Darian Durant. For Pat Steinberg, Hannah Nordman and Jeff Krever, quarterback play has been the driving force behind the Riders’ offensive outbursts early this season.
“Not only did we not know Cody Fajardo would be the quarterback, we didn’t know he was going to be this effective — that’s what’s changed,” said Nordman. “He’s put up good totals in the majority of his games and he’s passing those along to his receivers. I’m definitely looking at this Sask team a lot more than I was three or four weeks ago.”
“He has surprised everyone with the way he has played,” added Steinberg. “The way he bounced back against BC was a really good sign because he was not great his last outing against Calgary, and a lot of people even in Regina were wondering whether the bloom had come off the rose. He bounced back really well against BC. That’s changed everything to me.”
You can hear the entire debate in this week’s CFL Fantasy Podcast presented by LeoVegas:
Coming into the year the Riders were not popular targets in CFL Fantasy, as starting quarterback Zach Collaros was considered an unknown along with a young group of pass-catchers at his disposal. While Collaros never got his shot after being injured on the first drive of the season, Fajardo has made the most of his opportunity, one he may never let go of.
“Right now this is Cody Fajardo‘s team, and while it’s his team and while he’s playing this well, I think they’re a completely different team from our perspective than they were at any point last year,” said Steinberg.
For Krever, Fajardo’s play might be the biggest surprise of the 2019 season so far.
“You talk about the BC Lions and their slow start, the Montreal Alouettes and their hot start. But for me, a big surprise, possibly the most pleasant surprise, is Cody Fajardo, because he’s been terrific. Zach Collaros is not getting the job back at this rate.
“Yeah, the consistency’s not there yet where I’m ready to say he’s a lock every week, but the upside is obvious. If I’m the Saskatchewan Roughriders, a team that’s been looking for ‘the next guy’ at quarterback ever since Darian Durant left, I’ve got to be really excited about the prospects of Cody Fajardo moving forward.”
Part of what has made Fajardo so effective in Fantasy is his ability to inflict damage on the ground and through the air. His 10.2 yards per passing attempt put him in elite territory, while his exploits in the run game are well known among Fantasy players.
“He has a rushing touchdown in every single game he’s played this year,” said Steinberg, “and for our purposes, if you have a quarterback getting a rushing touchdown every week, he becomes a whole lot more interesting, so that’s just an added element as to why Fajardo has suddenly turned into one of the more interesting guys in the game that we play.”
“One hundred per cent he makes this team relevant from a Fantasy perspective moving forward,” added Krever.
Along with Fajardo, other hot topics were Nick Arbuckle and Bo Levi Mitchell, a much-hyped Winnipeg/Hamilton matchup, the emergence of Derel Walker and the struggles of the Ottawa REDBLACKS.
