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| Photo: Stampeders.com/David Moll |
The first week of training camp is in the books across the CFL and teams are starting their first live action. We won’t get into player battles or who does and doesn’t look good because with only one or two hitting practices it’s tough to get a real feel of what’s happening. We’ll leave that to the pre-season games.
This gives us a little time to take a 10,000-foot look at the league with the Out of the Tunnel top ten players in the CFL. Three players that we would have put in the top ten are currently giving the NFL a shot; receiver Duke Williams (Buffalo), returner/receiver Diontae Spencer (Pittsburgh) and linebacker Alex Singleton (Philadelphia).
2018 saw four quarterbacks top the 5,000-yard passing mark for the first time since 2004 so they dominate the list with four names in the top ten:
10. Charleston Hughes (DE) Saskatchewan
The ageless wonder continues to amaze at 35-years-old. Hughes continued to dominate the league at defensive end leading the CFL with 15 sacks. He is a five-time CFL all-star including the last three straight seasons after entering his 30’s. Willie Jefferson is gone at the other end, but another top ten player replaced him so Hughes will get his shots in one-on-one battles and not get double teamed.
9. Jeremiah Masoli (QB) Hamilton
2018 was a breakout season for the veteran CFL quarterback. Masoli entered camp in a battle with former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel and he played so well, Manziel was traded to Montreal and is now history.
Masoli threw for over 5,000-yards and 28 touchdowns but needs to cut down the interceptions with 18 last season. He has the tools around him to get the Ti-Cats to the Grey Cup.
8. Brad Sinopoli (REC) Ottawa
The first Canadian on the list. Sinopoli led the CFL with 116 receptions and third in the league with 1,376 yards receiving. He won his second CFL Most Outstanding Canadian award and received his first CFL all-star nod in 2018 to go along with his third East Division all-star nomination.
The former Ottawa Gee Gee quarterback has four straight 1,000-yard receiving seasons.
7. Micah Johnson (DT) Saskatchewan
Johnson has dominated the middle of the Stampeder defence for the last five seasons. He has now made his home in Saskatchewan who made him one of the top paid defensive players in the CFL.
He was second in the CFL with 14 sacks in 2018 and this is a defensive tackle! Johnson has won three straight CFL and West Division all-star awards.
6. Willie Jefferson (DE) Winnipeg
If anyone can dominate at any position along the defensive line, it’s Willie Jefferson.
The former Saskatchewan Roughrider has joined their biggest rival in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in free agency and is looking to continue his dominance. Jefferson has 18 sacks over the past two seasons, but he does more to disrupt a defence than get to the quarterback.
He is a big-play defender who had two touchdown returns in 2018.
5. Trevor Harris (QB) Edmonton
Another quarterback who seemed to find his stride in 2018. Harris threw for over 5,000-yards, but he did it in an efficient rate completing 70% of his passes helping lead the Redblacks to the 2018 Grey Cup.
Now in Edmonton it will be interesting to see if the soon to be 33-year-old can continue in his new home and facing better West Division foes week in and week out.
4. Brandon Banks (Returner/REC) Hamilton
“Speedy B" was primarily known as a dynamic returner early in his CFL career but has now matured into one of the best deep-threat receivers in the league.
Banks led the CFL in 30+ yard receptions (13), 100-yard receiving games (10), yards receiving per game (101.6) and was second in the league in receiving with 1,423 yards. All of this in spite of breaking his collarbone late in the season which had a big hand in Hamilton not making it to the Grey Cup.
3. Andrew Harris (RB) Winnipeg
The CFL’s king of running backs, Harris can gobble up yards on the ground and through the air.
The top-ranked Canadian on our list is a prototypical bell-cow running back. Harris averages over 280 touches (carries and receptions) a season over the last four years while only missing three games.
The miles are starting to pile up on the 32-year-old running back so let’s hope Winnipeg can find him some help during the season, so Harris can be fresh for a possible playoff run.
2. Mike Reilly (QB) B.C.
The CFL’s resident gunslinger now finds a new home in Vancouver. Reilly’s signing with the B.C. Lions placed the league on its ear and started the dominoes to fall during free agency.
He has three straight 5,000-yard passing seasons and even with Reilly’s rough and tumble playing style, has only missed one game over the past three seasons. Reilly is so entertaining, he has actually created a little buzz in what has become a ho-hum CFL city.
1. Bo Levi Mitchell (QB) Calgary
The king of the hill in the CFL. Since taking over the starting quarterback position with Calgary in 2014, Mitchell has: two Grey Cups (to which he was the game’s MOP), played in four Grey Cup games (including the past three), is the fastest quarterback to 60 wins (72 games), a two-time CFL MOP (2016, 2018), two-time CFL all-star and three-time CFL West Division all-star.
In a flurry of players changing cities during the off-season, Mitchell decided to stay in Calgary even though he could have signed a big money deal elsewhere.
(RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF)
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