Steinberg’s MMQB: No surprises with best receiver, running back

We’ve gradually been putting together our 2020 Money List every Monday over the last few weeks and this week we’re at the “skill positions” of receiver and running back.

Neither selection here is going to be overly surprising or controversial, but it’s still fun to put this group together. Here’s what we’ve got so far:

Our list consists of a player at each area on the field to build a championship winning team this season. Let’s add two more.

Receiver: Brandon Banks, Hamilton Tiger-Cats

A guy who was once looked at primarily as a return threat is now the league’s most dynamic receiver and possibly most exciting player, period. Banks has put together two straight dominant seasons in Hamilton and is showing no signs of slowing down. With his combination of speed, shiftiness, and explosiveness, Banks was the clear choice for me.

2019 saw Banks finish as the CFL’s leading receiver for the first time in his career with 1,550 yards. He would have done the same thing in 2018 had it not been for a season-ending shoulder injury that saw him limited to 14 games. That year Banks was on pace for more than 1,800 yards prior to going down. Banks also led the 2019 class with 13 receiving touchdowns after racking up 11 the year before.

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Since his switch to receiver full time, Brandon Banks has become one of the best in the league (Dave Chidley CFL.ca)

Knowing what we do now, it’s fair to say Banks was being held back when used primarily as returner. For whatever reason, giving Banks an extended run at receiver wasn’t something former head coach Kent Austin was prepared to do. June Jones made that change midway through 2017 and new head coach Orlondo Steinauer had no reason to alter course. Banks has been scorching opposing defences ever since.

Running back: Andrew Harris, Winnipeg Blue Bombers

The defending Grey Cup Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Canadian is also the CFL’s best tailback. Knowing what he did in November against Hamilton, and knowing the last number of seasons he’s put together, I couldn’t think of another direction to go at tailback other than Harris. No one does what he does and, much like Banks, Harris is showing zero signs of letting up.

Andrew Harris was named the 107th Grey Cup’s Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Canadian (Dave Chidley/CFL.ca)

The quarterback is the focal point of most offences. That hasn’t been the case since Harris joined his hometown Bombers for the 2016 season, though. Because of his dominance, Harris has and will continue to be the most important player offensive piece in Winnipeg.

Harris is a factor for a game-breaking play on every single down, regardless of the score, yardage, or position on the field. That’s what happens when you have a dangerous receiver mixed with a devastating running back; Harris’s 1,909 combined offensive yards in 2019 will speak to that. Harris has led the league in rushing yards the last three seasons and was simply devastating in the Grey Cup. He is what this list is made for.

Good head on his shoulders

The Calgary Stampeders, along with their trade partners in BC, made the first big move of the 2020 CFL Draft late last month. After acquiring the first overall selection in their Nick Arbuckle trade with Ottawa, the Stamps opted to move down to number three, while moving up to 12 in the second round. Despite not picking first, Calgary still got their guy in Southeastern Louisiana defensive end Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund. They also got one of the most fascinating stories of this year’s draft class.

Adeyemi-Berglund’s football path is an interesting one. After finishing his high school career in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Adeyemi-Berglund got scarce scholarship offers, even in his home province. So, instead at jumping at the only bite he got (a $1,000 scholarship from Acadia), Adeyemi-Berglund went to play ball at Champlain Regional College in Quebec. It was a move somewhat akin to the junior college route south of the border, and it paid off for Adeyemi-Berglund.

After one season in Quebec, Southeastern Louisiana came calling with a scholarship and off to Hammond he went. Adeyemi-Berglund spent four years at his new school, including three full years on the field, which prepared him for the next step in his football career. It also prepared him arguably as well for what happens after that.

Adeyemi-Berglund looks like a pass-rushing machine and was dominant as a senior in the NCAA. But those four years in college also earned him a pre-med undergrad degree in integrated biology. Yep, when football is done, there’s a good chance we’ll be talking about Dr. Adeyemi-Berglund.

“That was always my deal,” Adeyemi-Berglund told me last week. “I always took a lot of pride in the classroom and as well as with my teammates, getting them right in the classroom. That was something I always thought about, you know. Football comes down to a lot of tangible factors, you know, height, weight, speed, strength. It doesn’t always come down to how good you are. Sometimes it comes down to being in the right place at the right time or who you know.

“I feel like, you know, with a doctor and being in the classroom, that’s something that I can control 100%. Nobody can say I’m too slow to be a doctor (or) I’m not strong enough to be a doctor. That was always something I wanted to do and be kind of the professional athlete of the real world and be able to help people with real world problems. That’s something I’m looking forward to when my football career comes to an end.”

Maybe Adeyemi-Berglund becomes a doctor right after football. Maybe he follows in the footsteps of Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman and fellow Canadian Laurent Duvernay-Tardif who graduated from McGill Medical school two years ago while still an active player. Regardless, Adeyemi-Berglund is fired up to be playing football in Calgary and, for the first time in five years, back in Canada.

“That’s my thing, that’s what I wanted to make known,” he said. “It’s different, every kid (in the States) has the dream of going to the NFL, that’s just how it is. But coming from Canada, and I’ve been removed from home for so long, to be able to be here as a Canadian in the Canadian Football League, playing for one of the premiere organizations in the CFL, man it is such a crazy feeling.

“I can’t even explain it, so being able to represent not only Calgary but the Maritimes whenever I step on the field. The first time I’m seeing a CFL game, I’m going to be playing in one. I feel like it’s going to be an amazing feeling, man, I’m ready to go, I’m ready to get started on this journey.”

Adeyemi-Berglund has never attended a CFL game in his life. It feels like he’s got a lot of them in his future, and then maybe a few more from the stands after that. Doctors are allowed to watch football games, after all.