THE CANADIAN PRESS
TORONTO — Free agency hours away and while some of the top players are off the board, the market remains strong.
Elite free agents reside at the most critical positions, from offensive and defensive tackle to receiver and halfback. And it’s still a toss-up as to who should be ranked number one.
On one of the biggest days on the CFL off-season calendar, The Waggle‘s Davis Sanchez and James Cybulski check in with their top 10 free agents on Feb. 14.
(Click here for the latest from The Waggle, including a look into 2017 CFL Free Agency).
RELATED:
View Pending Free Agents | CFL.ca’s Top 30 Pending FA List | FA Rumour Mill
FREE AGENCY LIVE
Beginning at 11:30am ET on Tuesday, Free Agency Live will stream on CFL.ca every hour on the half hour. Host Brodie Lawson and former all-star defensive back and CFL.ca contributor Davis Sanchez will lead the charge with up-to-the minute analysis, updates and extensive breakdowns of the annual sweepstakes … Learn More.
|
|
|
|
The Waggle Says: “He’s a nightmare match-up. He’s big, he runs nice routes and when he gets the ball in his hands and there’s open field, good luck guy bringing him down. That’s what he brings: that size, that toughness, that grit and that dependability that he can catch it — and don’t sleep on his speed. Ernest can run, too. He’s a total package.” |
|
|
|
|
The Waggle Says: “Calgary has to have him back. He was obviously a key to that offensive line. Dan Federkeil looks like he’s going to be free too and he’s getting up there in age and I don’t think he’s going to be signing back in Calgary so you have to have Dennis.” |
|
|
|
|
The Waggle Says: “If you’re starting a team, he’s the guy you start off with in your secondary. You can put him in the slot and he can basically lock down anybody. He’s confident, he tackles . . . as you saw, he had the famous game-saving tackle on Andrew Buckley in the Grey Cup. Abdul Kanneh is arguably the best defensive back in the league and he’s available.” |
|
|
|
|
The Waggle Says: “Nolan MacMillan is like the last beer. You look in the fridge, there’s one beer left and that thing is golden. He’s a very good young lineman, one of the best linemen regardless of nationality so when you pair that with the fact that he’s a national and he can play numerous positions . . . he’s young, he’s got upside – he’s got it all. He’s a monster, he’s huge. I could argue he’s number one on this list in terms of what kind of dollar figure he’ll command on the open market.” |
|
|
|
|
The Waggle Says: “These guys are invaluable. Every team could use them. He’s going to have a big price tag and also a big market for him if he becomes free, which I would expect he would get re-signed. He’s just too important.” |
|
|
|
|
The Waggle Says: “One of the best, arguably the best cover-guy available. He’s been a back-to-back all star and he played in a secondary that had a ton of injuries and he managed to be the lone bright spot in that secondary.” |
|
|
|
|
The Waggle Says: “When he’s at the top of his game, there is no tougher defender to deal with in the Canadian Football League than Mic’hael Brooks. This coming from a defence that included Soloman Elimimian, Adam Bighill and the list goes on with (Alex) Bazzie, (Anthony) Gaitor — yet Mic’hael Brooks is deemed to be the toughest to contain.” |
|
|
|
|
The Waggle Says: “Chris, coming off of this injury, has something that may debilitate what he does best and that’s run. You’re not going to know until July exactly where he’s at once he’s on the field in competitive situations. Somebody is going to take a risk. He’s probably been putting in a lot of work, he’s probably getting that knee ready and someone is going to take a shot.” |
