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Backup pivots helped save Week 11 for several CFL fantasy users. Montreal’s Caleb Evans’ ($8,000) strong fourth quarter resulted in 27.9 fantasy points, while Saskatchewan’s Jake Dolegala ($8,500) delivered 23.7 FP. Even Ottawa’s Tyrrell Pigrome ($5,000) found his way to 15 fantasy points, showing that, despite the rash of injuries at the position, there’s always a Plan B.
Week 12 may not require a need for Plan B at quarterback, but this week’s Start vs. Sit will have fantasy users reallocating their resources when it comes to putting together a winning lineup.
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» Landry’s five takeaways from Week 11
Montreal (6-3-0) at Winnipeg (8-2-0), Thursday, 8:30pm (Eastern)
Start: Brady Oliveira, RB, Blue Bombers, $15,000 Salary
The league’s leading rusher has also been an impressive mark of consistency for fantasy users. Although he fell below projection with just 11.9 FP in Week 11, Oliveira has scored in double figures in seven straight games, with four of those eclipsing at least 15.4 fantasy points. Zach Collaros’ ($15,000) status for Thursday remains in question, but don’t let it keep you from adding Oliveira as your Week 12 anchor. Do keep in mind that one of Oliveira’s best outings this season came against the Alouettes when he rushed for 119 yards on 20 carries and caught a pair of passes for 19 yards in the 17-3 victory over the Als on July 1.
Sit: Tyson Philpot, WR, Alouettes, $6,600 Salary
Expectations for Philpot soared when his return coincided with the injury to Kaion Julien-Grant ($11,500). The second-year slot had a decent 2023 debut with 6.8 fantasy points in Week 9 yet has followed that with 4.6 FP in Week 10 and just 1.9 in the Week 11 thriller against the REDBLACKS. Montreal pivot Caleb Evans threw the ball 36 times on Saturday, but Philpot managed just one reception for nine yards on four targets. Of course, Austin Mack ($11,800) remains the top option in Montreal, yet it appears that Tyler Snead ($9,400) has established himself as the Als’ Plan B. For now, any hopes of Philpot looking like the first round pick he was in 2022 will have to wait.
Calgary (3-7-0) at Toronto (7-1-0), Friday, 7:30pm
Start: Cam Phillips, WR, Argonauts, $10,100 Salary
Suggesting QB Chad Kelly ($15,000) or RB AJ Ouellette ($14,200) would be too easy, so let’s go with, for now, the one receiver who appears to be the top option in Toronto’s passing attack. Phillips comes into Friday coming off a pair of games that has seen him total nine receptions for 209 yards, translating that to fantasy scores of 19.4 and 16.5. The Argos lead the league with an average gain of 10.6 yards per pass with Phillips (16 yards per catch) one of five Boatmen who are averaging at least 15 yards per connection. Calgary’s pass defence caught Winnipeg in a play-it-safe style of passing in Week 11; do not count on Toronto doing the same this week, even more reason to play Phillips.
Sit: Jake Maier, QB, Stampeders, $13,000 Salary
Maier has thrown for less than 200 yards in three straight games and four of his last seven starts. Needless to say, his fantasy production has tumbled, having gone four straight games with less than 6.2 fantasy points as Calgary’s postseason hopes slowly fade away. The Argos pass defence continues to be a source of fantasy production for opposing pivots; however, fantasy users should not feel guilty if they choose not to bet on Maier breaking out of his slump and getting the Stamps’ talented receiving corps on track.
Hamilton (3-6-0) at BC (7-3-0), Saturday, 7:00pm
Start: Alexander Hollins, WR, BC, $14,500 Salary
One could argue that Hollins has become the top receiving option for the Lions, although answering with Keon Hatcher ($13,500) would be just as solid. Hollins had a huge Week 11, scoring 29.1 fantasy points with seven catches for 161 yards and a major in the loss to the Roughriders. In his last two games, Hollins has caught 14 of his 17 targets for 241 yards and two touchdowns and has scored at least 14.4 FP in four of his last five games. Among league leaders with receptions of 30 or more yards, Hollins would be an excellent fantasy anchor against a Ticats pass defence that ranks eighth in average gain allowed per pass.
Sit: Taylor Powell, QB, Tiger-Cats, $6,000 Salary
The Week 11 loss to Edmonton offered some optimism for Powell, who averaged 8.4 yards per attempt and was able to get All-Star receiver Tim White ($13,000) back into the flow. However, the loss marked the third straight game in which Powell failed to throw a touchdown pass and the third time in four starts he has failed to score at least 10 fantasy points. To his credit, Powell does offer bonus production with his running skills, but it still won’t be enough to hope that the rookie can exceed the 9.1 FP projected for him this week.
Ottawa (3-7-0) at Edmonton (1-9-0), Sunday, 7:00pm
Start: Tre Ford, QB, Elks, $9,000 Salary
All signs are pointing toward a fantasy outburst from Ford, who has averaged 20 fantasy points in his first two starts. He has averaged just 181.5 passing yards thus far, but we’re looking for that to change significantly against a REDBLACKS pass defence that is last in the league in yards allowed per game. Ottawa has also yielded a league-high 26 completions of better than 30 yards, so it makes sense the Elks will let Ford take shots downfield with the likes of Eugene Lewis ($13,000) and Dillon Mitchell ($10,000). The running element with Ford is a given, so there’s a strong chance Ford could be closer to 30 FP by the end of Sunday evening.
Sit: Jaelon Acklin, WR, REDBLACKS, $8,500 Salary
Hopes that Acklin could come close to repeating his Week 10 numbers (27 FP) were dashed when he was held to just three catches for 30 yards on five targets in the Week 11 loss to Montreal. Ottawa pivot Dustin Crum ($10,100) averaged just 6.8 yards per attempt on his 19 passes, dampening any chance of the REDBLACKS aggressively attacking the Als’ pass defence. The Elks continue to own the league’s worst run defence, so expect fantasy users to look in the direction of Devonte Williams ($11,100) as the top source of fantasy production from the REDBLACKS.
