Arthur Ward/CFL.ca
Once in a while, sports can capture your imagination in strange and enjoyable ways. Watching Duron Carter weave and bob through a Calgary traffic jam Friday night with the ball in his hands as a defensive back, not as a receiver, led me to ponder so many questions.
Could Duron stay at defensive back?
Are there other CFL receivers that could make that switch and seem as comfortable as Carter did in that moment?
Is there an advantage to having a player used to playing the ball in the air even if their pure coverage skills might be lacking?
All of these are great hypothetical questions that I’ve enjoyed bouncing around over the last couple days but one question rose above all others following the mind-opening experience that was a Duron Carter pick-six on the road in a hostile environment.
If you could have one CFL player cloned to play every position on the field, who would that player be and why?
After jokingly putting out a ‘leaked’ depth chart Thursday of Carter everywhere, I started to wonder Friday night what a team full of 89s would look like? What style of offence would they play? Would they be able to tackle anyone?
These questions become even more intriguing – or idiotic depending on your ability to enjoy wandering away from reality – when you imagine a team of Duron Carters playing against a team full of Solomon Elimimians or Kyries Heberts.
Each positional skill set lends itself to certain strengths and weaknesses. That’s one of the many beautiful parts of football. There is something for everyone and every body type from the earliest of ages.
On my short list of eligible candidates to field a competitive all-24 team I picked a variety of players from differing positional groups and playing styles in order to explore how these cartoon matchups would unfold.
BC LIONS | SOLOMON ELIMIMIAN
Solomon Elimimian has been the face of the Lions’ defence under Wally Buono (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Elimimian continues to be one of the CFL’s most consistent and effective players at his position. A team full of Solomons would feature an incredible front seven and good enough ball skills to compete anywhere defensively.
On offence the Elimimian’s would be a run-first team capable of embracing contact better than most teams they’d face.
EDMONTON ESKIMOS | KENNY LADLER
Eskimos linebacker Kenny Ladler is earning a reputation as an unheralded defensive player (Jason Halstead/CFL.ca)
Ladler has become the defensive Swiss Army knife for an Edmonton team with a dominant pass rush. Defensive Coordinator Mike Benevides has used Ladler all over the field in ways that suggest a team full of them would be able to use Ladler’s trademark decisiveness and athleticism to keep any game close.
CALGARY STAMPEDERS | ALEX SINGLETON
The league’s second-leading tackle, Alex Singleton is in the running for a bevy of awards (The Canadian Press)
This guy..
I honestly don’t know how to assess a Singleton-filled team because I feel as though we’re still all learning how well-rounded his skill-set is.
Singleton is your classic downhill tackling middle linebacker with a penchant for covering ground quickly and a combination of hands and agility typical of a smaller player.
Singleton has been a true gamer through his first two seasons in the CFL and it’s hard to imagine any of the 24 Singletons being embarrassed regardless of assigned position.
SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS | DURON CARTER
Duron Carter is the conversation starter when it comes to playing multiple positions (Matt Smith/CFL.ca)
The catalyst for this conversation has already shown the ability to play defensive back and receiver at a high level. He can carry the football and claimed this past week to be capable of playing quarterback.
The only question surrounding the success of team Carter is how they’d get around the physicality brought by team Singleton or team Elimimian?
I’d bet against Carter’s ability to succeed in this theoretical setting but he’d just prove me wrong like he did so many people last Friday night in Calgary.
WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS | ANDREW HARRIS
Bombers running back Andrew Harris is still threatening the 1,000/1,000 milestone (Jason Halstead/CFL.ca)
Harris has a real chance to be the most applicable player in this imaginary scenario. His body type is universal, his athleticism is unique and his understanding of the Canadian game could be a game-changer.
Harris has been on pace for a special season since late June aiming for 1,000 yards both receiving and rushing. Imagine how well balanced the team Harris offensive attack would be, especially if Paul LaPolice were their offensive coordinator.
Does Harris have to also be the whole coaching staff? Not sure, I’m making up the rules of fantasy football as we go.
HAMILTON TIGER-CATS | SIMONI LAWRENCE
A team of Simoni Lawrences would certainly cause opponents plenty of headaches (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
This team will be loud, brash, fast and physical.
Simoni regularly messes around before games playing pitch and catch with anyone willing to match his high energy, which leaves little doubt the team Lawrence offence could survive.
I’d pay good money to watch 24 Simoni Lawrence‘s play 24.
TORONTO ARGONAUTS | DECLAN CROSS
Argos fullback Declan Cross has proven his versatility this season under Marc Trestman (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
There is perhaps no more versatile position in football than fullback.
While it was tempting to imagine a team full of Ricky Ray clones, it just didn’t seem feasible and a team of SJ Greens seemed a little one dimensional. The linebacker base was already covered by Solomon Elimimian and Alex Singleton so why not shed some light on an up and coming part of a playoff team’s offence?
Declan Cross has hands, can run and plays with a physicality required between the tackles. While team Cross’ offence and defence might not be overwhelming, I promise you their special teams would be.
OTTAWA REDBLACKS | GREG ELLINGSON
In his time in the nation’s capital, Greg Ellingson has proven to be one of the CFL’s most gifted players (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
For the REDBLACKS I wanted to pick the best pure athlete regardless of position. It was a toss up between Antoine Pruneau, who was a valid option, Taylor Reed, who would bruise and bump any opponent, or Greg Ellingson.
I settled on Ellingson because the Canadian game favours the fast and brave. Ellingson has been both this season while staying healthy in an up and down Ottawa football season that recently claimed his bud Brad Sinopoli.
I have no clue what Greg Ellingson would look like at linebacker or defensive back, but could it be that far behind Duron Carter?
MONTREAL ALOUETTES | KYRIES HEBERT
Kyries Hebert has talent, athleticism and experience on his side (Johany Jutras/CFL.ca)
Kyries Hebert is an angry dude. He has size, he’s fast, and most important of all, he doesn’t quit on many, if any, plays.
Hebert might not be able to stretch the field as a receiver or drop a dime as a quarterback but he would wear down many an opponent at many other positions and have a chance to win any given day.
The Canadian game lends itself to traditionally undersized quicker players, which leads me to believe in this theoretical situation, the players most likely to have success are receivers and defensive backs. BUT, it’s hard to argue against linebackers, fullbacks and running backs creating a style of play that could be incredibly difficult to play against.
I believe Alex Singleton and Andrew Harris could grind out wins in an all-24 setting with an old school mentality but players such as Kenny Ladler, Duron Carter and Greg Ellingson juts have too much speed to be touched on a long bomb down the sideline or an outside run which I believe would give them the upper hand.
It’s amazing how one player’s positional change can make you appreciate the strengths and weaknesses of so many talented players in the CFL. All that’s left to wonder now is what’s next for Duron and will any other CFL teams see Carter’s success as a chance to open the door for future outside the box positional thoughts.
