Johany Jutras/CFL.ca
TORONTO — In a league where teams throw the football roughly twice every three plays (69 per cent as of Week 10), it’s understood why the CFL is known as a ‘passing league’.
But while many fantasy players have leaned on the strategy of deploying three receivers (one in the flex spot), the results thus far tell us that a three RB system could be more conducive to success.
Supply and demand led to high-priced running backs early in the CFL season but the production at the position tells us it’s crucial to the makeup of your fantasy team.
Let’s look at the top 10 fantasy producers — non-quarterbacks — so far this season:
TOP 10 CFL FANTASY: NON-QB
| NAME | POSITION | TEAM | GAMES | PTS | AVG | CURRENT VALUE |
| Greg Ellingson | WR | OTT | 9 | 128.4 | 14.3 | $6,732 |
| Jeremiah Johnson | RB | BC | 9 | 122.0 | 13.6 | $6,532 |
| Andrew Harris | RB | WPG | 8 | 119.4 | 14.9 | $8,226 |
| S.J. Green | WR | TOR | 9 | 115.0 | 12.8 | $5,558 |
| Jerome Messam | RB | CGY | 8 | 109.2 | 13.7 | $7,745 |
| Chris Rainey | RB | BC | 9 | 99.5 | 11.1 | $6,575 |
| Brad Sinopoli | WR | OTT | 9 | 88.7 | 9.9 | $4,505 |
| Darvin Adams | WR | WPG | 8 | 86.3 | 10.8 | $6,174 |
| Ryan Lankford | WR | WPG | 8 | 82.8 | 10.35 | $4,144 |
| Vidal Hazelton | WR | EDM | 8 | 82.0 | 10.25 | $5,162 |
Four of the top six-ranked non-QBs are running backs, meaning fantasy players have gotten plenty of big points from the likes of Andrew Harris, Jerome Messam and Jeremiah Johnson this season.
The disadvantage for running backs is their raised floor: You won’t spend less than $4,000 on a starting running back as LaDarius Perkins ($4,500), Brandon Rutley ($4,806) and William Powell ($5,164) are the cheapest running backs potentially starting in Week 10 (Rutley may or may not get the ball for the Als).
Still, a closer look at the production among this week’s starting tailbacks begs for a closer look at the RB position on your fantasy team:
WEEK 10 PROJECTED STARTING RB
| NAME | TEAM | GAMES | PTS | AVG | CURRENT VALUE |
| Jeremiah Johnson | BC | 9 | 122.0 | 13.6 | $6,532 |
| Andrew Harris | WPG | 8 | 119.4 | 14.9 | $8,226 |
| Jerome Messam | CGY | 8 | 109.2 | 13.7 | $7,745 |
| Chris Rainey | BC | 9 | 99.5 | 11.1 | $6,575 |
| Cameron Marshall | SSK | 7 | 79.5 | 11.4 | $5,659 |
| William Powell | OTT | 6 | 69.8 | 11.6 | $5,164 |
| Tyrell Sutton | MTL | 6 | 65.7 | 11.0 | $6,054 |
| Brandon Whitaker | TOR | 6 | 41.8 | 7.0 | $4,843 |
| LaDarius Perkins | EDM | 4 | 39.9 | 10.0 | $4,500 |
| C.J. Gable | HAM | 5 | 27.3 | 5.5 | $3,873 |
Of this week’s eight projected starters (not including returners like Chris Rainey or the inactive C.J. Gable and assuming Tyrell Sutton starts for the Als), seven have averaged 10 or more points. That leaves Brandon Whitaker as the only projected starting running back this week averaging single-digit points.
What can we take from this? Mainly, running backs are a safe and reliable source of production for your fantasy team — without taking away possible upside (for instance, Andrew Harris dropped 20-plus last week without even scoring a touchdown).
The last set of numbers we’ll look at involves the biggest fantasy performances of the 2017 season.
TOP NON-QB PERFORMANCES OF 2017
| NAME | POSITION | TEAM | WEEK | PTS |
| Diontae Spencer | WR | OTT | 2 | 32.5 |
| Nick Moore | WR | BC | 4 | 28.0 |
| Jerome Messam | RB | CGY | 6 | 27.4 |
| S.J. Green | WR | TOR | 3 | 27.0 |
| Weston Dressler | WR | WPG | 2 | 26.6 |
| S.J. Green | WR | TOR | 9 | 26.5 |
| Duron Carter | WR | SSK | 6 | 26.5 |
| Marken Michel | WR | CGY | 6 | 25.7 |
| Chris Rainey | RB | BC | 5 | 25.6 |
| Andrew Harris | RB | WPG | 6 | 25.4 |
It makes sense that more receivers have enjoyed bigger performances in 2017 considering the higher volume of pass-catchers available. Still, three of the top 10 performances of the season (not including the QBs) belong to running backs. Meanwhile, 15 receivers have had 20-plus point games while eight running backs have hit the 20-point mark.
The numbers say that where economically feasible, lining up three running backs in CFL Fantasy can provide a mix of consistency and upside for your weekly roster.
