Monday Morning Sentimonies: Dreaming of the Stands

Since the whole pandemic thing started last year, I have been actively refusing to let myself get excited about the prospects of CFL football. In 2020 those instincts served me well as anyone who was waiting on CFL football to return was like a kid waiting on their dead beat dad to return from the convenience store with cigarettes. And throughout most of this year I have kept a pretty even keel and refused to let myself get excited. Don’t get me wrong I fully expect CFL football in 2021 but for now I have ben refusing to let myself get excited until it was officially official. I realize that years of devotion to the Riders have adequately prepared me for all kinds of heartbreak but I just prefer to not go actively looking for it.

But on Saturday I allowed myself a moment of hope…

You see I’m a Canadiens fan. So in addition to faithfully watching to see if my team could add another chapter in the Maple Leafs history of failure (spoiler alert, they did), I was riveted by a sight we hadn’t witnessed in 15 months… fan at a sports game in Canada. And whether you are a Canadiens fan or have terrible choices in hockey teams (I’m kidding, at this point if you cheer for any hockey team in Canada you make terrible choices, they all have their own unique ways of disappointing you), I think we can all agree that was a sight to behold. It was only 2500 and it was loud! Cheers, jeers, excitement, disappointed Leafs fans, it had everything.

Since then I’m sure you have been connecting the dots like me. If they can have 2500 fans at an indoor game in May… then surely the odds of fans being allowed at outdoor CFL games in August have to be high. Like so high that those odds will soon be developing the munchies and trying to bum a ride to 7-11 for Doritos.

So Mosaic Stadium (which has sat deathly silent since a Fajardo pass doinked off the uprights in November of 2019) could soon be rocking once again. And I don’t think it will matter how many fans are allowed in: 10000, 5000, 2500. It will be loud. It didn’t take a sold out crowd for old Mosaic to shake with noise during the Thunder Bowl… and we have way more pent up energy than we did then.

It’s been too long since my rye fueled vocal chords screamed until I lost my voice. Too long since I blamed a section of Mosaic for a bad play on the field because they didn’t know how to shut up on offense. Too long since uttered curses towards Al Bradbury (or curse words to those cursing Andre Proulx… the man is a national treasure!). It’s suddenly not just a pipe dream… but entirely plausible. That fills me with the kind of excitement usually reserved for my wife and some questionable sections of internet (too much info, I know).

With each passing day the CFL becomes more and more likely… and I’ve missed it so much that would happily watch two bottom feeding East division teams play each other in a contest of who is more futile just to get my fix again.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Defensive Backs

Today we conclude our positional previews for the 2021 Riders with a look at the secondary. Admittedly it has been a long a winding road to get here as I started this preview in March and the last one of these was a month ago. Words like consistency and punctuality tend to be replaced with eventually and procrastination around here. To show how serious am about this matter and my desire to resolve it I am imposing a 20% pay reduction on the writing staff here at Rider Prophet. Pay decreases will increase 10% until the matter is resolved.

On to the matter at hand.

The defensive backfield could either be the most boring or exciting battle to watch come training camp. On one hand we have all 5 starters back. Given the advantages of continuity at a position that relies heavily on them playing as a unit, the starters spots could be locked down and the only thing left to sort out is the back-ups and practice roster.

On the other hand, we currently have more DBs on the roster than any other position so we will be taking a look at a lot of guys. Add in the potential to adjust the ratio by starting a Canadian at corner and the chance that some of these DBs will likely be auditioned at the vacant Cover LB spot and there could suddenly be a lot of change. 

Projected Starters: Nick Marshall, Ed Gainey, Mike Edem, Louchiez Purifoy, LJ McCray

In the Mix: Godfrey Oneyka, Elie Bouka, Blace Brown, Nelson Lokombo

The Rest: Tony Lippett, Jacob Dearborn (cdn), Zack Sanchez, AJ Hendy, Jeremy Clark, Hamp Cheevers, Deiondre Hall, DQ Thomas, Christian Campbell, Vincent Dethier (cdn), Kenneth Ackers, Damon Webb, Kentrell Brice

Lots to love about this group. Marshall and Purifoy are studs. I honestly don’t think people appreciate how good Purifoy is. I think he’s our best DB even before you factor in how good he is on returns. Edem is a solid starting Canadian. McCray emerged as an impact player in 2019. Need I remind you that we started 2019 with Solomon Means out there just wandering around aimlessly while allowing opponents to pass at will? McCray solidified that unit. Gainey is no longer the guy who put up 10 INTs in 2017 but he still routinely covers the opponents best WRs and can still hold his own… for now (this is called foreshadowing).

As mentioned, there is a chance we go Canadian at wide side CB with either Oneyka or Bouka (would require one of McCray or Purifoy bumping up to LB) but its looking more like we go with 2 Cdn WRs so I think we opt for continuity. Depth wise I think that leaves us in good shape as Bouka and Oneyka both have starting experience and Lokombo can back up multiple positions. I’m also a fan of Blace Brown. He got one start in 2019 and looked pretty good. He’s still super young too.

Prophet’s Players to Watch: Already spoke about Blace Brown who I really like. Of the new recruits, a couple I will be keeping an eye on are Tony Lippett (at 6’3 I’m just curious if he can move quick enough to cover because that kind of height would be a boost to any secondary) and Damon Webb (stellar career at Ohio St, still just 25 yrs old after a cup of coffee in the NFL).

Wild Possibility (something that may not be likely to happen but is not outside the realm of possibility): Whether it happens in training camp or during the season, it's not a certainty that Ed Gainey holds onto his starter spot. We were clearly ready to move from him this offseason and I think the only reason he’s back is that he dropped his asking price so low we couldn’t say no. There’s no denying how important Gainey has been to this defense since arriving in 2016 but DB’s tend to have a short shelf life and like Lance Frazier before him, Gainey’s stellar career could be headed for an abrupt end.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Assessing the 2021 Draft Class

CFL Draft went down on Thursday. Its sad that our only tastes of CFL football since 2019 have been the CFL Drafts. But we are so desperate that we will certainly take it. It was certainly nice to be talking CFL football again. Many people are declaring the Riders the winners of the draft… which is kinda like declaring it the world’s greatest love making session before your pants are even off. Let’s maybe hold off on that talk until someone at least touches the field. History is littered with 1^st round picks who never lived up to their hype and late round picks that unexpectedly become impact players.

I overall like what the Riders did with their picks. There wasn’t one pick that made the TSN panel give that awkward pause while they frantically think of some positive way to spin it (see Edmonton taking Nelson Cole at pick 6) so that’s generally a good sign as well.

Let’s take a look at each pick.

Round 1 – DB Nelson Lokombo

This was the logical pick. In a perfect world we wanted a D-lineman. But there were no top end DL that would be available right away. In terms of defensive players who were available right away, what’s not to love about Lokombo? He was the best defensive player in U Sports in 2019 for a reason… he’s a playmaker. He’s a guy that can immediately contribute on teams and provide depth at every position in the secondary plus SAM linebacker. And I also think he has the talent to develop into a starter in the near future. Feels a need, available day 1, talent to start at some point. Ticks all the boxes for a second overall pick.

Round 2 – WR Terrell Jana

I’m very torn on this pick and it was truthfully the one pick that I disagreed with. For me, the pick here should have been DL Mohammed Diallo (who went 2 picks later to the Ti-Cats). We had a chance to use a futures pick on a potential impact player at a position of need and passed. But while I disagree, I get it and don’t think Jana was a bad pick. He slipped further in the draft than most were expecting so using a late second round pick on the top receiver in the draft (excluding Josh Palmer obviously) is not a bad use of a pick. Jana is a talented player and as of right now we don’t have any proven Cdn receivers (just a lot of potential).

My one concern with this pick is that we don’t make it unless there is concern amongst management over 1 or more of McInnis, Lenius and Harty. Granted 2 are unproven and one is hasn’t played since 2017 due to injury but you would like to think that when you use 2 top 15 picks on WRs just 2 years ago that it’s not a position of need so soon. The upside it that this potentially allows us to start 2 Canadian WRs (the ratio flexibility O’Day has created across the board is impressive) and as a prospect there is a lot to like about Jana (not just his physical attributes but his character comes highly regarded from his college career). So I would have preferred going in a different direction but there isn’t much to criticize about this pick all things considered.

Round 3 – TE Bruno Labelle

It was later than I had expected but I do like that the Riders made a futures pick. Labelle signed an undrafted free agent deal with Arizona so we will be waiting on him for a bit. My comparison for him Patrick Lavoie (and not just because both their last names happen to start with La). Great blocker but also has decent enough hands and speed to contribute in the pass game.

Round 4 – DL Alain Cimankinda

This is the pick that intrigues me the most. I have repeatedly said we have a need at DL. Cimankinda was one of the top pass rushers in U Sports with 16.5 sacks over 3 seasons in Guelf. I’m not ready to anoint him as the next Kwaku Boateng (who in hindsight seems ridiculous to have dropped to round 5) but this is a good use of a 4^th round pick. He’s athletic and showed a knack for finding the QB in college. With some time to develop as a pro he could be a contributor down the line.

Round 5 – OL Logan Bandy

Lots being made about this pick as Bandy was “a projected first”. Let me drop some truth on you, each year GMs will say that “I can’t believe they dropped this low in the draft” this of course ignores the fact that they themselves had to repeatedly pass on that player for them to drop that low. No team (Riders included) thought Bandy was worth a 4^th round pick or higher so that tells you something about his perceived value. Now I’m not saying I don’t like the pick. I think this was a great use of a 5^th rounder. OL depth is always important and Bandy certainly has high potential. But I just don’t buy into the notion that the Riders are the winners of the draft because they got a player in the 5^th round that obviously was not viewed by anyone as among the top 37 players in the draft.

Now as a 2 time second team all-star at left tackle, I am happy to have Bandy coming into to camp. But I’m treating him like any other late round pick and not placing unfounded 1^st round pick expectations on him. He has some things to work on if he wants to make the jump to the pros and hope he can.

Round 6 – DB Matt Watson

Watson is a physical DB and I wish him all the best but in a normal year a 6^th round DB is in tough to make a team. With a double draft class and a potentially shortened training/preseason… I wouldn’t put great odds on his tenure being long.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: CFL Draft 2021

The CFL Draft goes down tomorrow. After watching the spectacle that is the NFL draft, it will seem like a sketchy Asian massage parlour as compered to a swanky Vegas strip joint (or so I’m told) but who cares. Anything that gets us talking about tangible football things makes me happy.

What also makes me happy is how many other people are also talking about the draft. I started this blog in 2007 and at that time I legitimately may have been the second leading media person on the CFL Draft outside of Duane Ford (which was the equivalent of being the 3^rd best Manning brother at football). But these days there are a variety of podcasts and mock drafts out there. It really takes the pressure off me. I’m still convinced that no one outside Duane Forde knows anything (including most GMs) but at least others are taking interest.

The format of the draft this year is a bit different. Just 6 rounds and a snake draft format. We could also see a very different approach to the draft. Teams will essentially have a double draft class this year as the 2020 class will be coming to training camp as rookies in addition to the 2021. If I were a GM that would make me way more willing to take a risky high pick on a guy who may be in the NFL for a bit or someone who may be going back to school than in other years. It would actually be a detriment to have too many top end rookies because unless they can be day 1 starters, finding roster spots to keep all of them may be difficult. Thus guys like Chuba Hubbard, Alaric Johnson and Amen Ogbongbemiga may go higher than they otherwise would have.  

Picks: 6 picks, first selection is 2^nd Overall

Potential Pipeline: DL David Oneymata (New Orleans), TE Anthony Auclair (Houston), DL Neville Gallimore (Dallas)

Current Strengths:

Heading into the season I would have put money on us taking an OL at number 2. But the free agent addition of Evan Johnson and Brett Boyko suddenly gives us solid OL depth to go with Clark, Labatte, Schram and 2020 top pick Mattland Riley. At WR we have 2019 top picks Justin McInnis and Brayden Lenius. We may have a healthy Jake Harty with Mitch Picton and Kian Schaefer-Baker for depth. We also have Awachie and LeFrance as Cdn role players. Offensively I think we are in good shape.

Defensively we have loads of potential and options. In the secondary we have Edem, Bouka, and G Oneyka (all who have CFL starts), at LB we have Tietz and the Herdman brothers. At D-line we have Dabire (who you know I am very high on) with Mak Henry who is a solid depth/rotation guy. That’s 9 guys to cover 3 Canadian spots on defense and isn’t a complete list of all our Canadians.

One thing we also have is a wealth of solid special teamers: Kevin Francis, Blair Smith, Teitz, Reaves, LeFrance, the Herdmans and the Oneykas (which sounds like the football equivalent of the Hatfields and McCoys).

Current Needs:

Defense we have quantity but not necessarily quality. Edem is an established starter who can make an impact. But with the loss of Judge we really don’t have any other players who fit that mold. Guys like Dabire, G Oneyka, Bouka and the Herdmans have potential but if I’m being honest, are more likely to be solid rather than impact starters (think reliable Mike McCullough vs. playmaker Cam Judge). So we should certainly be looking to boost our talent pool at all defensive positions focusing mostly on DL (where we are the thinnest) and LB.

The other thing I would be looking at is a Canadian RB. I know the league is largely biased against them but when you look at the success guys like Sean-Thomas Erlington, Alex Milanovic-Litre and Johnny Augustine have had when given a chance, a 4^th or 5^th round pick on an RB when ours is the wrong side of 30 and you have no established back-up might be worth it on the off chance you land the next Erlington.

Prediction:

With a #2 overall pick and a late second rounder, the goal should be to land one player who can contribute this year and one player we may need to wait a year on. Which order you do that in becomes the question. Logic says you use your #2 pick to land an impact player now and use the second rounder on a futures pick. But with so many of the top prospects heading back to school (OL Liam Dobson and Sage Doxater, DL Mohamed Diallo, Daniel Joseph, Deshawn Stevens, DB Alonzo Addae) you could make a case for securing the rights to a top end player you need to wait on at 2 and then finding a player for this year in the second round (given that we don’t have massive needs). Also with our second pick coming late I expect a run on futures players so the top ones might not be left by #17.

I tend to lean toward getting a sure thing at #2 and taking a risk in round 2. Ideally I think we target a D-lineman but with the top options all heading back to school I think any of the immediately available options (Olivier Charles-Pierre, Alain Cimankinda) would be a reach at #2. Nelson Lokombo (a familiar name in this province) would be an option if you go DB. Though they are saying this is a pretty deep draft for DBs unlike some other positions. Or Ben Hladik if you go LB. You could also just play it safe and take an OL like Logan Bandy or Pier-Oliver Lestage. When in doubt draft an OL is not a bad strategy.

In the second round I’m swinging for the fences on a defensive prospect that is either NFL bound or going back to school. If LB Amen Ogbonbemiga drops that low I think you have to take him. Other options would be DL Mohamed Diallo, DL Daniel Joseph, LB Deshawn Stevens or even OL Alaric Johnson.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Linebackers

Our ongoing preview of the 2021 Riders moves to by far the most interesting position for the team. In 2019, we had arguably the best linebacking ground in the league. Moncrief was a league all-star at cover LB. Elimiman was a division all-star in the middle. Judge was an impact Canadian starter. All are now gone. Moncrief to the NFL, Judge to Toronto, Elimimian to retirement.

That leaves a massive hole in what was a solid defensive front in 2019. Our ability to replace those 3 positions will have a big impact on how far the Riders go in 2021.

Projected Starters: Seun Idowu, Larry Dean, Lorenzo Jerome

In the mix: Gary Johnson, Justin/Jordan Herdman-Reed, Louchiez Purifoy, LJ McCray, Micah Teitz

The Rest: DeMarquis Gates, Jacob Janke, Nakas Oneyka, Matthew Thomas, Deshaun Davis, Blair Smith, AJ Allen, Kevin Francis, Nigel Harris

The arrival of Larry Dean was extremely important. All the top defenses have a steady rock manning the middle and we needed one more than ever with a complete change of all starters here. He’s the one sure thing. Beyond that there is nothing but options and questions. I have Idowu and Jerome pencilled in but that’s based on nothing more than gut and the fact they both have game experience.

I think there are 3 viable options at Cover LB. Jerome has starting experience at the position in Calgary. It’s limited but beggars can’t be choosers at this point. The other options would be move one of Purifoy or McCray up. Both play their DB spots so well that you’d hate to move them but the need for a solid cover LB is huge. Outside shot you play Edem here but that leaves a hole at safety we can’t really fill.

At outside LB, a lot depends on the ratio. I have a feeling we are going Canadian at wide-side corner (with G Oneyka/Bouka) which would allow us to plan an American here. But if keep McCray there then you need to go Canadian with some combination of the Herdman’s and Teitz. Teitz did get a start at the spot last year and didn’t look out of place. Still “didn’t look out of place” is a far cry from fulltime starter.  

Note: I get the anger over losing Judge but I’m pretty OK with how O’Day handled it. He was in a no win situation. When free agency opened we didn’t not know if Judge was coming back. So O’Day either had to wait and risk getting nothing (which you all would have vilified him for) or move on and use the money to get what he could for sure (which you are vilifying him for). Even if we had waited, I’m not convinced we would have kept Judge. Maybe, but if I’m a GM I take the sure thing (like using the money to get Micah, Dean and E Johnson) rather than risk having money and nothing to spend it on but another ivory back scratcher.

Of the Americans we got a mixture of prospects. Idowu played 15 games for us in 2019. Johnson spent the year on the PR and dressed in 3 games. Thomas and Harris both have a few games of NFL experience. Gates just seems like a guy looking to play football as he has played in the NFL, XFL and AAFL over the past couple years. Davis (who is confusingly is not the DeShawn Davis we had last season) was a 6^th Rd NFL pick.

We do have a number of solid Canadian special teamers like Kevin Francis, Blair Smith and Nakas Oneyka. How/if they fit into the roster remains to be seen.  

Prophet’s Players to Watch: Gary Johnson. The Riders are very high on him. He dressed in 2 regular season games and the playoff game. He’s just 24 and will have a huge leg up this time having spent all of last year with the team. Look for him to push for a starting spot.

Wild Possibility (something that may not be likely to happen but is not outside the realm of possibility): I see this a group with bi-polar potential. Chances are equally good that the combo of a new weakside LB, Larry Dean and McCray/Jerome/Purifoy make this a rock solid group that remains among the best the division. There is honestly equal chances that outside of Dean, this group struggles and is the achilles heel of an otherwise solid defense.

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Defensive Line

We move now to the defensive side of the ball as we continue our preview of the 2021 Riders. I guess I could have written about the Global Draft that’s happening this Thursday (the Riders pick 5^th incidentally) but it would have been the world’s shortest preview. Something like this: I know nothing of about the prospects nor who the Riders are targeting.

So I’ll stick to what I actually know.

Projected Starters: AC Leonard, Micah Johnson, Charbel Dabire, Freddie Bishop

In the mix: Chad Geter, Mak Henry

The Rest: Mathieu Breton, Sterling Shippy, Corey Thomas, Demetrius Harris, Jordan Reaves, Markus Jones, Keion Adams, Pete Robertson, Garrett Marino, Trenton Thompson, Tim Williams, Anthony Lanier, Chris Livings

Its been a bit of a roller coaster for the status of our front 4 since our last game in 2019. We lost Micah but he came back. We thought we were keeping Charleston but he left. And we mercifully decided that maybe Zach Evans’ best days are behind him. I do like the pairing of Leonard and Bishop. Leonard has 5 sacks or more in 4 straight seasons and Bishop had an 11 sack season before going to the NFL and 6 last season playing on a not very good Argo DL. But I was still worried about them until we added Micah back. He’s a game changer and should allow those 2 more space to work.  The stats may have been down in 2019 but the tape doesn’t lie, he was an impact player even if it didn’t translate into a ton of sacks. You’ll note that I have Dabire ahead of Mak Henry and I stand by that. Henry is a good rotation guy but is not a fulltime starter. Dabire should me enough is limited reps last season to make me believe he can play. Even if I’m wrong about his potential (I’m sure you’ll agree that’s doubtful) at worst he can be a Canadian who occupies the space beside Micah… and thus seamlessly take over for 2019 Zach Evans.

Chad Geter is a guy who does not get enough love. First and foremost, he is a key special teams player. Go back and look at how bad our coverage was at the start of 2019 and how it seemed to coincidentally improve around the time Geter returned to us from Montreal. But he also had 3 sacks in 6 games as a rotation guy. He needs to be in that D-line rotation. Henry will rotate with Dabire and Reaves will be in the mix primarily on special teams.

But what about the new recruits?

I would love for us to find a stud D-end. You pretty much have to go back to John Chick for the last time we did that. We have had good D-ends over the years but we find them on the free agent market (Jefferson, Hughes, Bishop). Mixture of guys here. Some straight from college (Harris, Livings), some who have bounced around NFL practice rosters (Jones, Adams, Robertson). Biggest name in the mix is Tim Williams, a 3^rd Rd NFL pick in 2017 out of Alabama with 20 NFL games under his belt. 

The competition at D-tackle is important. Clearly Micah is the guy but it would be nice to find someone who could step in if he gets hurt or at least spell him off when he is nicked up (like he was for a chunk of 2019). Competition here in includes Thomas (the biggest of the bunch at 312), Lanier (who spent 5 seasons in the NFL), Thompson (who has time in the NFL, XFL and AAF), Marino (who I will just assume is Dan’s brother) and Shippy (who spent 2019 on our practice roster)

Prophet’s Players to Watch: At D- End I like Demetrius Harris undersized guy from a Div 2 college. We are the first pro team to let him show his stuff. At Tackle I like Sterling Shippy. He was on our neg list while he was with the Colts and spent last year learning the game.  Could be a guy who is worth the wait.

Wild Possibility (something that may not be likely to happen but is not outside the realm of possibility): Chad Geter has a breakout year and gets 8-9 sacks. Consider this, he’s just 26 and has been primarily a rotational d-end. He notched 3 sacks a rookie and 3 more in 6 games last year. While Bishop will primarily fill in for Charleston, Geter could see an increase in playing time. 

Monday Morning Sentimonies: Receivers

Not sure about you guys but I need a break from all the XFL talk. So let’s get back to talking Rider football. We’ve already previewed the O-line, QBs and RBs. So let’s finish off the offense by looking at the receivers.

Projected Starters: Shaq Evans, Kyran Moore, Jordan Williams-Lambert, Paul McRoberts, Justin McInnis.

In the mix: Carlos Henderson, Jake Harty, Brayden Lenius

The Rest: Rashad Greene, Xavier Ubosi, Randy Satterfield, Sammie Coates, Charone Peake, Demarcus Ayers, Kermit Whitfield, Kian Shaeffer-Baker, Mitch Picton, Max Zimmerman

The good news here is that we retained our top 2. Shaq Evans blossomed into a true #1 receiver/deep threat in 2019 with over 1300 yards and 5 TDs. It’s clear that Fajardo trusts him both on those short slants and on the deep bomb. Kyran Moore also took a huge step forward, coming up just 4 yards short of 1000 and notching 6 TDs. I still think there is another level to this guys’ game. Not saying he’s on par with Brandon Banks yet but the parallel’s are there.

Williams-Lambert will be the number 3 assuming he can regain anything close to the form he had in 2018 when he had 4 TDs and 700 yards. I don’t get the concern over him. He has a full year to prepare for the CFL game (instead of trying for the NFL like 2019). He’s a big bodied guy who will do well in the space created by Moore and Evans.

The 4 spot is wide open at this point and the spot to watch. I would give Paul McRoberts and Carlos Henderson (who actually suited up for one game in 2019) the edge given that they spent a year with the team. But the Riders have brought in a wide range of guys to compete. Big name guys like Sammie Coates. Literally big guys like Ubosi (6’3), Satterfield (6’3) and Peake (6’2). Speedsters like Whitfield. It will be interesting to see who wins out.

At Canadian, the biggest thing to watch is Jake Harty. We signed him in 2018 with much fanfare but his knees apparently did no share the enthusiasm for the move west as he never played a game do to injuries. He’s a guy that can have an impact on special teams and be a reliable receiver when called on… IF he’s healthy. We are still in good shape with McInnis and Lenius if not. I do feel for Mitch Picton who despite what seems like 10 years on the practice roster, seems doomed to once again not get his shot. The one thing that may be different about a Maas offense is that he’s not afraid to use Canadian WRs as just token 1 catch a game guys. Natey Adjei caught 58 passes despite competing for touches with Ellingson, Collins, Daniels and Tevaughn Smith (also a Canadian but on a different tier talent-wise than our Cdns).

Prophet’s Players to Watch: Two guys are on my radar. I normally shy away from big name NFL guys (because they tend to succeed about as often as Bart Andrus). But Sammie Coates is super intriguing to me. Pittsburgh has a pretty good history when it comes to WRs. He wasn't a big name guys there but certainly showed flashes. The other guy I’m watching is Whitfield. He was a prolific returner in college (7^th all-time in NCAA history). At 5’8 he did not fit the NFL mould. The CFL has a history of being kind to undersized fast guys who do well in space.    

Wild Possibility (something that may not be likely to happen but is not outside the realm of possibility): I think there is a chance that Shaq Evans doesn’t lead the team in receiving yards and could finish as low as third. Its nothing to do with his skill. He’s still a true #1 in my opinion and our best receiver (something that 2018 me wouldn’t have fathomed being possible). But #1’s get game planned for as its no secret that slowing him down is key to slowing down our offense. Spread the ball around to Moore and JWL and Shaq’s numbers could drop.