1,000-yard Club: 5 receivers to watch in 2024

Jamie Nye

CFL.ca

@jamienye

Last year, I had my eye on Shawn Bane Jr.

He was my breakout candidate in 2023 as written right here on CFL.ca.

He came through as the top target for the Saskatchewan Roughriders with a revolving door of quarterbacks and hit his first 1,000-yard season his career.

Now I have my eye on a few receivers around the league to become the next 1,000-yard receivers in the CFL.

Here they are!

Rasheed Bailey – Toronto Argonauts

The only player on the list who actually changed teams in 2024. The veteran made the difficult decision to move on from the Bombers to make the move to the Argonauts.

The opportunity has always seemed to be there for Bailey when given a bigger chunk of an offence but in Winnipeg, he was fifth or sixth on the list of priorities with Brady Oliveira, Dalton Schoen, Nic Demski, and Kenny Lawler in front of him.

Bailey is a dedicated teammate, who is always the first downfield to make a block for one of his teammates. Maybe he won’t hit 1,000 and maybe I’m just rooting for him because of his hard work and determination but I feel he should be given a bigger piece of the targets and touches and with that, I think the 30-year old receiver is fit to have his breakout season in a different shade of blue.

Dillon Mitchell – Edmonton Elks

Mitchell probably would have been near the top of the list for me last year as well but we saw how the season went for the Elks at quarterback. They were all over the place. Now in comes McLeod Bethel-Thompson who led the league in passing 2022 before opting to play closer to home in the U.S. in 2023.

Now that MBT is back in the CFL, I’m sure the receivers in Edmonton are excited! Eugene Lewis and Kurleigh Gittens Jr. are the likely candidates to get a fair share of targets but Bethel-Thompson does spread the ball all over the field and Mitchell has already shown he has 1,000-yard potential. This could be the year he proves it.

Ayden Eberhardt – BC Lions

Who?

Well, go ask anybody who is around the BC Lions and they will be quick to tell you all about the young man out of the University of Wyoming. I saw it in person when the Lions played a preseason game in Regina when the rookie receiver grabbed six passes and had over 100 yards.

The issue was that he had to compete with Lucky Whitehead, Keon Hatcher, Alexander Hollins, and Dominique Rhymes to find his way on the field for their American receivers. Three of four are either gone or will miss the first part of the season so there are jobs to be won and he’s the front runner to win one of them.

He did get into two games and had a handful of catches for 69 yards.

But I love to watch what a player does in year two in the CFL once they see the game, the field, the waggle and how defenders set up.

Tyson Philpot – Montreal Alouettes

There are a few Alouettes who could make the list in Tyler Snead and Cole Spieker. The Alouettes will need a new weapon(s) to step up with Austin Mack getting an NFL opportunity.

However, I’m going to settle on the second half of the Grey Cup clinching play when Cody Fajardo looked Philpot’s way to win the game against the Bombers.

It’s those types of moments where you see a player go from good to great. As Philpot came back from injury and got into a bigger role in the offence we started to see his numbers climb with a set of four games where he had three touchdowns and over 300 yards.

Philpot is only going to get better in year three and not only could be a breakout player overall but putting his name in the Most Outstanding Canadian discussion too.

Terry Godwin II – Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Captain Obvious?

Maybe I am, but I’m going to go one bigger than just a 1,000-yard season.

How about 1,500?

We haven’t seen a player hit that mark since Brandon Banks did it in Hamilton on his way to the MOP award in 2019.

I know they have Tim White, who is their top receiver, but I just think with the attention White gets, Godwin will have a lot of room. The veteran is so dynamic that he and White are going to be a special one-two punch for the Tiger-Cats and Scott Milanovich this upcoming season.

I’m not guaranteeing a 1,500-yard season this year but I believe Godwin has the talent to get there eventually.

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