The 2019 CFL Draft runs this coming Thursday, May 2, but unfortunately for CFL Fantasy players, the CFL draft doesn’t have nearly the fantasy appeal that its NFL counterpart does. The CFL draft includes only National players, and as such is primarily an exercise in drafting linemen and depth players at fantasy relevant positions rather than superstars. This is not to say that it’s not important for real CFL franchises – the National ratio certainly makes focusing on Canadian talent a necessity – but unfortunately the draft is nearly irrelevant for fantasy GMs. Just take a look at the list of RBs, WRs, and QBs taken in the first two rounds of the CFL draft over the past five seasons:
2018
Mark Chapman, WR – HAM
Rashaun Simonise, WR – WPG
Marco Dubois, WR – OTT
David Mackie, RB – BC
2017
Daniel Vandervoort, WR – BC
Nate Behar, WR – EDM
Julan Lynch, WR – CGY
Anthony Gosselin, RB – OTT
2016
Brian Jones, WR – TOR
Tevaun Smith, WR – EDM
Wayne Moore, RB – MTL
Mercer Timmis, RB – HAM
Juwan Brescacin, WR – CGY
2015
Nic Demski, WR – SSK
Jake Harty, WR – OTT
Addison Richards, WR – WPG
Lemar Durant, WR – CGY
2014
Anthony Coombs, RB – TOR
Devon Bailey, WR – EDM
Scott Macdonell, WR – OTT
Pascal Lochard, RB – BC
Aaron Milton, RB – EDM
Alex Pierzchalski, WR – SSK
There are certainly players here who have become fantasy relevant for brief periods of time as waiver wire pickups or cheap value punt plays, but there isn’t a player on this list that is the franchise player of anyone’s fantasy team or a consistent building block in weekly salary cap contests on CFL/TSN Fantasy. The real fantasy goldmine of incoming players each season comes through teams negotiating lists and offseason International signings. With that in mind, here are some of the new players CFL Fantasy players could get excited about going into the 2019 season:
BC Lions
Wilson, Marquess WR 6’4 205 lbs. Age 26
| Season | Team | Games | Targets | Receptions | Catch Rate | Receiving Yards | TD |
| 2011 (CFB) | Washington State | 12 | 82 | 1388 | 12 | ||
| 2015 (NFL) | Chicago | 6 | 51 | 28 | 54.9% | 464 | 1 |
Marquess Wilson put up astounding numbers for Washington State BEFORE the Mike Leach era began. He showed glimpses of that potential every season in Chicago, but injuries regularly kept him off the field and having to catch passes from the likes of Jay Cutler, Jimmy Claussen and David Fales, didn’t help matters. Wilson has good top end speed (4.51 – 40) and great leaping ability, but his relatively slight frame has led to durability issues. Bryan Burnham and Duron Carter should lead the Lions in targets in 2019, but Wilson certainly has the ability to fill Ricky Collins Jr. role as the boundary WR, stretching defences vertically and opening space for the rest of the receiving corps.
Edmonton Eskimos
Gibson, Torrance WR 6’5 225 lbs. Age 23
Gibson is a physical phenom, who was a five-star recruit out of high school. He’s physically capable of playing just about any position on the field. He began his collegiate career at QB for Ohio State, but quickly transitioned to WR. He eventually wound up at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, due to behavior issues, where he played five games at QB before transitioning to WR there as well. With the ability to run a 4.4 – 40, the Eskimos are certainly willing to give him a chance to prove that he’s matured, but he has a number of talented veterans ahead of him on the depth chart including Greg Ellingson, DaVaris Daniels, Ricky Collins Jr., and Kenny Stafford. If he has an exceptional training camp, or gets increased opportunity due to injury though, Gibson has the physical tools to be an immediate fantasy consideration.
Calgary Stampeders
Carey, Ka’Deem RB 5’10 215 lbs. Age 26
| Season | Team | Receptions | Receiving Yards | Carries | Rush Yards | TD |
| 2013 (CFB) | Arizona | 26 | 173 | 349 | 1885 | 24 |
| 2016 (NFL) | Chicago | 5 | 55 | 32 | 126 | 0 |
Holmes, Gerald RB 6’1 231 lbs. Age 24
| Season | Team | Receptions | Receiving Yards | Carries | Rush Yards | TD |
| 2017 (CFB) | Michigan State | 8 | 80 | 79 | 287 | 6 |
Going into the 2018 campaign, most folks figured the starting RB spot in Calgary was almost certainly going to Terry Williams after his late 2017 coming out party. However, over the course of training camp, Don Jackson emerged as the front runner and received the vast majority of the workload out of the backfield throughout the season relegating Williams primarily to special teams and receiving work. Jackson came hard out of the gate, but really struggled down the stretch, eclipsing 80 yards rushing only once in his final eight games of the season while being held out of the endzone completely after June 28. Given the lack of production and previous training camp moves, it’s entirely possible that another RB could steal the job in camp.
The Stampeders backfield was at its most effective during the Jerome Messam/Roy Finch era, in which each back carved out a very distinct role in the offence suited to their strengths. Ka’deem Carey is much more in the Roy Finch/Terry Williams mold as a small, shifty runner with good hands out of the backfield, while Gerald Holmes is more in the Jerome Messam class of RBs with a great deal of power between the tackles. Carey struggled to establish himself at the NFL level due to his lack of size and resulting durability issues but given the larger field to work with in Canada, he could certainly excel. Holmes on the other hand could certainly provide consistent power on the inside run game, especially on goal line packages.
Saskatchewan Roughriders
Davis, Kyle WR 6’3 218 lbs. Age 21
| Season | Team | Games | Receptions | Receiving Yards | TD |
| 2017 (CFB) | Auburn | 5 | 7 | 210 | 0 |
Kyle Davis statistics certainly don’t jump off the page initially but knowing some of the context provides a little more interest. The Auburn offence is well known to feature mobile quarterbacks, jet motion from WRs, and RPOs freeing up space for RBs. Rider fans are already well acquainted with the sheer athleticism that Nick Marshall and Tre Mason injected into the Riders attack in 2018. Davis was removed from the team early in 2017 due to disciplinary reasons and initially landed at Florida Atlantic University but didn’t play a down as a redshirt player. Rather than opting to transfer to another large NCAA program for 2019, he decided to turn pro with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Davis was a four-star recruit out of high school, so he certainly has the physical skills and size to excel if given the opportunity for playing time.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Lawler, Kenny WR 6’2 180 lbs. Age 24
| Season | Team | Games | Receptions | Receiving Yards | TD |
| 2015 (CFB) | California | 12 | 52 | 658 | 13 |
Williams, Dom WR 6’2 200 lbs. Age 26
| Season | Team | Games | Receptions | Receiving Yards | TD |
| 2015 (CFB) | Washington State | 13 | 75 | 1040 | 11 |
The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a fairly run heavy offence that spreads the targets out in the passing game with broadly, making it difficult to rely on any one receiver on a weekly basis. Darvin Adams is the clear top target, but the group of Kenbrell Thompkins, Cory Washington, Nic Demski, and Drew Wolitarsky aren’t really scaring anyone. Nichols could really use a second elite target to stretch defences other than relying on Andrew Harris to check down to. Lawler and Williams are very different players, but both have the physical tools to make an impact if given a shot.
Lawler was a part of a spread offence at Cal that similarly distributed targets among a large group of receivers. His 13 touchdowns in 2015 show a knack for understanding spacing in tight quarters, but his relatively small size doesn’t make him a natural redzone target. He doesn’t have amazing top end speed but is a great route runner with strong hands. Conversely, Williams is a scorching deep threat with 4.3 – 40 speed that can stretch defences vertically at will. He however struggles with drops and less than stellar route running. Both are interesting role players that could have an immediate impact on the offence if they earn playing time out of training camp.
Hamilton Tiger Cats
Garrett, Keyarris WR 6’4 221 lbs. Age 26
| Season | Team | Games | Receptions | Receiving Yards | TD |
| 2015 (CFB) | Tulsa | 13 | 96 | 1588 | 8 |
Current Ti-Cats backup QB Dane Evans was Garrett’s college teammate at Tulsa and may have had more than a little to do with his interest in resurrecting his football career north of the border. Garrett was a CFB fantasy all-star during the 2015 season and his size and top end speed made him a consistent downfield threat. Unfortunately, injuries and some issues with drops kept him from establishing himself in the NFL. If Garrett is back at full strength, the air raid offence in Hamilton could see him emerge as a viable weekly fantasy play with defences having to worry about Brandon Banks, Jalen Saunders, Luke Tasker, and Bralon Addison on a regular basis.
Toronto Argonauts
Carrington II, Darren WR 6’3 205 lbs. Age 24
| Season | Team | Games | Receptions | Receiving Yards | TD |
| 2016 (CFB) | Orgeon | 12 | 43 | 606 | 5 |
| 2017 (CFB) | Utah | 12 | 70 | 980 | 6 |
Carrington was a part of the high-powered but heavily diversified Oregon Ducks offence but was removed from the team due to disciplinary issues stemming from a DUI. He transferred to Utah for his Senior season and his receptions, yardage and touchdowns all saw an increase with the Utes, despite their more run based attack. Carrington makes good use of his size to create a large catch radius and has enough speed to be a threat downfield as well. As is the story with many International players coming to the CFL, one of the biggest challenges to a successful may be his need for growth in maturity and responsibility rather than simply as a football player.
Ottawa Red Blacks
Redding, Devine RB 5’8 205 lbs. Age 22
| Season | Team | Games | Receptions | Receiving Yards | Carries | Rush Yards | TD |
| 2016 (CFB) | Indiana | 12 | 27 | 146 | 253 | 1122 | 9 |
Williams, Taj WR 6’4 193 lbs. Age 26
| Season | Team | Games | Receptions | Receiving Yards | TD |
| 2016 (CFB) | TCU | 12 | 39 | 702 | 5 |
The past offseason was pretty devastating for the Redblacks and their fans as they lost nearly their entire offence in free agency. Gone are the days of Trevor Harris (EDM), William Powell (SSK), Greg Ellingson (EDM), and Diontae Spencer (PIT), leaving just Brad Sinopoli and R.J. Harris to pick up the pieces. It’s kind of sad to see that powerful offence be torn apart but it does leave ample opportunities for new faces to emerge from the rubble.
The remaining members of the Ottawa backfield are long time backups like Mossis Madu, Brendan Gillanders, and Greg Morris, all of whom have been unable to prove they are ready for a leading role in previous action. Devin Redding is a quick back that has a good feel for finding seams in a zone run scheme and has adequate hands as a receiver out of the backfield. He’s a little undersized for a lead back, but small backs have shown the ability to excel on the larger field in Canada before. Given that his predecessor, William Powell, is also on 5’8” and 210 lbs., his size shouldn’t be an issue.
Taj Williams has a lot of raw physical talent shown in his speed and ability to make difficult catches but has significant work to do as a route runner to become a more polished receiver. These weaknesses have held him back from fully realizing his potential but given the opportunity for playing time, he could emerge as a fantasy relevant receiver in Ottawa when the competition should be wide open for playing time in training camp.
While most CFL fans eyes are on the draft this weekend, spend your time getting acquainted with the new potential stars for your favourite team and potential sleepers for your Week 1 fantasy lineups.