Start or Sit: Who are this week's must-starts?

Brandon C. Williams

CFL.ca

Week 11 marks the first time in nearly a month that Edmonton’s Mike Reilly isn’t the automatic must-start stat stuffer he was prior to last week’s loss to Saskatchewan, while DaVaris Daniels’ performance against Toronto may signal the start of a mid-season run for the Stamps’ receiver. It won’t help to invest in the Argos’ ground game, yet this might be a great week to plug Hamilton’s Luke Tasker into the lineup.

It’s Labour Day Weekend, so there are no games on Friday or Saturday for the first (and only) time this season.

Ottawa at Montreal
Thursday | 7:30 p.m. ET

Start: Alouettes receiver B.J. Cunningham ($4,971) will make the REDBLACKS’ secondary as uneasy as he did when he caught five passes for 101 yards in Montreal’s Week 5 loss to Ottawa. Cunningham has five games of double-digit Fantasy scoring, including last week’s 12.9 in the loss to Winnipeg, and he’s tied for fourth in catches over 30 yards with six along with fellow Als receiver Ernest Jackson ($6,215).

Ottawa is eighth in the league in pass defence, allowing 333 yards per game and they’ve allowed 19 passes of 30-plus yards while giving up a league-high 19 touchdowns via the skies. Keep in mind that Darian Durant ($9,277) threw for a career-high 452 yards against the REDBLACKS in the previous matchup and if he gets into an early groove, a good night for a Durant translates into a good night for Cunningham.

Sit: Remember, that’s if Durant gets into a groove. The yardage totals aren’t a concern as much as the lack of passing majors from him. Durant is eighth in the league in touchdown passes, and the three he tossed last week marked the first time this season Durant tossed more than two in a game. He’s thrown a league-high 10 interceptions and has avoided the pickoff bug just twice this year. While he is productive throwing the ball downfield (eight of his 10 TDs have been beyond 20 yards), it’s the short and intermediate stuff that makes him a risky play.

Winnipeg at Saskatchewan
Sunday | 4:00 p.m. ET

Duron Carter continues to score touchdowns at an alarming rate for Fantasy players (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)

Start: Good luck keeping Duron Carter out of the end zone. The Roughriders receiver ($6,012) has scored majors in four straight games and has double-digit Fantasy production in five of his last six. Winnipeg’s defence won’t see the same Carter who looked out of sync when the teams met in Week 2, a game that saw him catch five passes for 69 yards. He has caught five of Kevin Glenn’s ($10,209) nine majors in the last four weeks and his return of a missed extra point in last week’s victory over Edmonton adds another facet of Carter’s scoring potential.

The Blue Bombers have given up 17 touchdown passes and 17 big plays in the air and if Christion Jones ($2500) isn’t able to suit up, Carter could also see time as Saskatchewan’s punt returner. This is the Labour Day Weekend contest that could evolve into a shootout like the 43-40 track meet the Bombers won in their first meeting, and Carter can be a major contributor to the fun.

Sit: The potential return of Winnipeg receiver Weston Dressler ($5,292) from the injured list will cut into the targets of Clarence Denmark ($4,774), who comes off a two-touchdown performance in the win over Montreal. Denmark has 23 catches in his last four games and last week marked his first game with double-digit Fantasy numbers. Dressler will be the third option for Matt Nichols ($11,743) as Darvin Adams ($6,710) and Andrew Harris ($7,970) are in front of him. With those three in play, Denmark and (to a lesser extent) T.J. Thorpe ($3,250) will be among those splitting the rest of the targets.

Edmonton at Calgary
Monday | 3:00 p.m. ET

DaVaris Daniels broke out of his slump in a big way in Week 10 vs. the Argos (The Canadian Press)

Start: You had to sense that Daniels ($5,911) just needed one good game to ignite a WR1-caliber run. That outing came last Saturday night, when he had his first 100-yard game of the season as he caught eight passes for 114 yards and two majors. His breakout might also be the trigger for Bo Levi Mitchell ($9,833) to hit his stride, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect for the combo. Edmonton has allowed 87 points the last two games, while the Calgary offence is second only to Winnipeg at 33.1 points per game. Daniels tagged the Eskimos with 113 yards and two touchdowns the last time the teams played in Week 13 last year and looks in position to amass impressive numbers during the second half of the regular season.

Sit: LaDarius Perkins ($4,760) recorded 105 yards rushing in his first start in Week 7, yet hasn’t eclipsed 51 yards in his last three games. He has touchdowns in two of those games, but Perkins has not given the Eskimos’ ground game the needed playmaking it lost when both John White and Kendial Lawrence were each lost with season-ending injuries. Edmonton is last in the league at 4.3 yards per carry and must contend with a Stampeders defence that has allowed the fewest rushing yards in the league while conceding only three rushes of over 20 yards. He could be a non-factor again if Edmonton falls into another early deficit like last week against Saskatchewan.

Toronto at Hamilton
Monday | 6:30 p.m. ET

Luke Tasker continues to rake in targets and could be a must-play on Monday vs. the Argos (The Canadian Press)

Start: June Jones’ ascension to head coach could mean good things for Luke Tasker ($4,800), who had a season-high 93 yards receiving in the Week 9 loss to Ottawa. Jones’ version of the run and shoot should make things easier for Jeremiah Masoli ($5,485), who gets his first career Labour Day start in place of Zach Collaros. Tasker has caught at least five passes in five straight games and is seventh in the league with 67 targets. He should also see an improvement in his 9.8 yards per catch as the open week should sharpen a Ticats offence that has only 12 total touchdowns this season.

Sit: After rushing for a combined 185 yards in consecutive games against Montreal, Argos back Brandon Whitaker ($4,878) had 15 yards on six carries in last week’s loss at the Stampeders. Take away the Alouettes’ defence and Whitaker has rushed for 106 yards on 33 attempts. The veteran back has yet to score a touchdown this season and while the Ticats allow 102 yards per game on the ground, there is no reason to feel confident that Whitaker can be a viable Fantasy option this week.

Follow CFL