The Canadian Press
Rest assured; we will get plenty of scoring to kick off Week 3 as the BC Lions visit a Winnipeg Blue Bombers team that has averaged 43.5 points in their first two games. Scoring certainly wasn’t an issue for the Toronto Argonauts and new starting pivot Chad Kelly, who rushed for three majors while leading the defending Grey Cup champs to a resounding win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in Toronto’s 2023 lid lifter.
Week 3 could also see some changes at quarterback, so keep a close eye on the happenings in both Edmonton and (perhaps) Hamilton, both of which are 0-2 behind underachieving pivots.
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BC (2-0-0) at Winnipeg (2-0-0), Thursday, 8:30pm (Eastern)
Line: Winnipeg (-6.5)
Over/Under: 49.5
Start: Zach Collaros, QB, Blue Bombers, $15,000 Salary
Quality pivot play has been few and far in between during the first two weeks. That is, except Collaros, who has averaged 26.6 fantasy points per game. Collaros has thrown for 642 yards and six touchdowns along with a rushing major in the Week 2 win over the Roughriders. The BC defence has allowed just one touchdown in their first two games, an impressive feat that will be greatly altered the way the Bombers offence has clicked. Anchor your fantasy lineup around Collaros and watch him easily clear the 17.2 fantasy points he’s projected to have this week.
Sit: Winnipeg Defence, $10,700 Salary
The Bombers feasted off a turnover prone Ticats team in Week 1 (12.0 fantasy points) but were riddled by Trevor Harris and the Saskatchewan passing attack in Week 2, managing just 3 FP as the Riders put up 437 yards while averaging a healthy 7.9 yards per snap. Lions QB Vernon Adams, Jr. has thrown for 579 yards and three touchdowns in the first two games, and if the Riders unheralded receiving corps can find holes in the Winnipeg secondary, imagine what BC’s group of pass catchers, led by Dominique Rhymes ($15,000) and a potential return of both Keon Hatcher ($9,807) and Lucky Whitehead ($12,5000) could do.
Montreal (1-0-0) at Hamilton (0-2-0), Friday, 7:30pm
Line: Hamilton (-3)
O/U: 44.5
Start: Austin Mack, WR, Alouettes, $4,900 Salary
The former Ohio State standout had an impressive CFL debut with four receptions for 120 yards on six targets in the Als’ Week 1 win over the REDBLACKS. Montreal is in need of a featured receiver in the wake of losing All-Star Eugene Lewis to Edmonton in the offseason, and Mack is well positioned to become the latest former Buckeyes wideout to thrive up North, joining the likes of former CFL All-Star Duron Carter and Ken-Yon Rambo and 2017 Grey Cup Most Outstanding Player DeVier Posey. Mack is a strong value play whose salary will continue to climb if his rapport with quarterback Cody Fajardo ($14,000) continues to grow.
WR Austin Mack had a great debut with the Als in Week 1 with four catches for 120 yards (David Kirouac/CFL.ca)
Sit: Tim White, WR, Tiger-Cats, $15,000 Salary
White’s lofty salary and the instability at pivot in Hamilton makes for a bad fantasy mix. White was held to just five catches for 41 yards on seven targets in the Week 2 loss to Toronto as his 9.1 FP were eight points lower than his Week 1 totals. Bo Levi Mitchell ($10,100) left Sunday’s loss with a lower body injury and while Matthew Shiltz ($7,500) completed 13 of his 14 attempts for 113 yards, much of his focus went to Duke Williams ($12,900) with Shiltz’s touchdown pass landed in the hands of Tyler Ternowski ($5,900). White is projected at 15.2 fantasy points this week, yet the current state of affairs with the Ticats passing game makes that a daunting task.
Saskatchewan (1-1-0) at Calgary (1-1-0), Saturday, 7:00pm
Line: Calgary (-5)
O/U: 45.5
Start: Shawn Bane, Jr., WR, Roughriders, $10,000 Salary
We had Bane as our Week 2 sleeper receiver, and man, he did not disappoint. Bane caught all six of his targets for 125 yards in Friday’s loss at Winnipeg, giving him 12 receptions for 176 yards on 16 targets in his first two games. Although it might be too much to expect Trevor Harris to throw for 405 yards a second straight week, the early trend in Saskatchewan has shown that Harris does have a liking to the former Stampeder, who is projected at just 4.7 fantasy points. He’ll be extra motivated to take on his former teammates, so take the value play that Bane presents and watch him continue to establish himself as a go-to option.
Sit: Jamal Morrow, RB, Roughriders, $10,300 Salary
Similar to Hamilton’s Tim White, Morrow’s lack of production in the early going is not conducive to the salary fantasy users are paying for him. Morrow has just 12.7 fantasy points in his first two games combined and has yet to become a factor in the passing game with just one reception in the first eight quarters. This game could be a track meet, yet it might be wise to let Morrow stew on the fantasy bench for a week as the Roughriders figure out how well to utilize the talented back, who is projected for 12.3 fantasy points this week.
Toronto (1-0-0) at Edmonton (0-2-0), Sunday, 7:00pm
Line: Toronto (-6)
O/U: 44.0
Start: Damonte Coxie, WR, Argonauts, $9,500 Salary
Only 0.5 per cent of fantasy users had Coxie in their Week 2 lineups and were rewarded handsomely with the tune of 19.1 fantasy points. Coxie caught six of his seven targets for 131 yards in Sunday’s season-opening win over Hamilton, accounting for more than half of Chad Kelly’s ($12,300) 213 passing yards. The former University of Memphis star showed flashes of potential in seven games last season, catching 15 passes for 210 yards, and is now in position to provide the Argonauts with a solid compliment to East Division All-Star Kurleigh Gittens, Jr. ($12,100). Coxie is projected with a modest 8.0 fantasy points this week and should have no problem exceeding expectations.
Sit: Taylor Cornelius, QB, Elks, $12,100 Salary
Thus far, the expected breakout of Cornelius as a top-tier pivot has run into significant turbulence. Cornelius has a combined 13.2 fantasy points in his first two starts with 293 yards and one touchdown in the air along with a mere 20 yards on the ground. The Elks were shut out for the first time since 1976 in the 22-0 loss to BC on Saturday as Edmonton generated only 160 yards of offence. There’s still time for Cornelius to turn things around, but even his projected total of 12.2 FP feels like a long shot. Until he gets his act together, it’s best that fantasy users put some distance between themselves and Cornelius.
