Start vs. Sit: Opportunity for a reliable veteran

Brandon C. Williams

CFL.ca

With almost a third of the regular season in the books, CFL fantasy players have discovered a new wave of talented pass catchers carrying lineups. If it feels like another face emerges weekly, you’d be right.

Week 7 gives us our first Thursday without football (sadness), but a Friday doubleheader that includes a resurgent Winnipeg against a Saskatchewan squad coming off its first loss of the season more than makes up for that.

Prize alert: Week 7’s top CFL Fantasy point scorer will win a pair of 2025 season seats to a team of their choice plus two sideline passes.

Edmonton (0-5-0) at Ottawa (3-2-0), Friday, 8:00 PM (Eastern)

Line: Ottawa (-1.5)
O/U: 48.5 (-120)

Start: Dru Brown, QB, REDBLACKS, $10,800 Salary

No, we’re not relying on Brown duplicating Sunday’s 480-yard masterpiece. However, we feel Brown can approach his 12.6 yards per pass in the rematch against the Elks. Sunday’s win showed the REDBLACKS’ receiving corps is more than Justin Hardy ($11,200) and Jaelon Acklin ($8,000) as Dominique Rhymes ($10,000) broke out of his early season malaise while newcomer Kaili Pimpleton ($4,000) emerged from obscurity with four catches for 138 yards and a major.

Edmonton’s pass defence will be wary of containing Brown, but Sunday’s 25 fantasy points indicate his potential is being realized. The Elks are eighth in scoring defence (30.4) and last in yards allowed per game (417.8), so fantasy players should consider playing Brown, who is a solid value play at pivot.

Sit: Kevin Brown, RB, Elks, $10,500 Salary

Edmonton attempted to re-establish Brown early in Sunday’s slugfest yet was forced to change their tune after falling behind in the second half. Brown finished with just 53 yards from scrimmage on 12 touches and finished with 9.3 fantasy points.

Still without hitting double digits in fantasy production, Brown remains a difficult option for fantasy players to invest in. The Brown who rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2023 has only one carry of at least 20 yards and five carries at least 10 yards. Game flow has hampered Brown but even when the Elks have been positioned to feed him, he has been unable to deliver. There’s plenty of season left for Brown to get on track but wait until that happens before adding him to your lineup.

Winnipeg (2-3-0) at Saskatchewan (4-1-0), Friday, 9:30 PM

Line: Saskatchewan (-1.5)
O/U: 47.5 (-115)

Start: Nic Demski, WR, Blue Bombers, $9,800 Salary

Zach Collaros’ ($11,500) return to form in Week 6 wasn’t all about breakout performer Ontaria Wilson ($5,000). Demski found the end zone for the first time this season while catching seven of his nine targets for 60 yards, finishing with 21 FP. Friday marked the third time in the last four games the West Division All-Star has recorded at least 11.7 FP and with the Blue Bombers’ offence finally flashing its firepower, adding Demski at a still-bargain salary sets up well.

Saskatchewan allowed BC’s Vernon Adams Jr. ($15,000) to average 10.7 yards per pass in their Week 6 loss at BC Place. With Wilson showing that he can be the receiver to stretch the field, the middle of the field should be open for Demski to do what he does best: carve up defences.

Sit: Brady Oliveira, RB, Blue Bombers, $11,000 Salary

Opposing running backs have discovered going against the Roughriders’ defence has been futile. Lions running back William Stanback ($12,000) was held to 14 yards on 12 carries in Saturday’s win over Saskatchewan, averaging 1.2 yards per carry and failed to record a rush of more than five yards.

Oliveira has at least 10.9 FP in three straight games. A fourth may be in doubt considering Saskatchewan has allowed just 47.2 yards per game on the ground. The Blue Bombers will not hesitate to allow Oliveira to dispel the dominance of the Riders’ run defence, but don’t count on him showing the dominance he displayed in Week 5 when Oliveira put up a season-best 21.6 FP.

Toronto (3-2-0) at Hamilton (0-5-0), Saturday, 7:00 PM

Line: Toronto (-5.5)
O/U: 52.5 (-112)

Start: Bo Levi Mitchell, QB, Tiger-Cats, $11,500 Salary

Fantasy players were left without the option to use Mitchell in Week 6. With the Ticats off, Mitchell’s 21 FP per game were missed, especially his four-game streak of at least two touchdown passes and reaching the 300-yard mark in four of his five starts (finishing with “only” 295 yards in the Week 3 loss to the Roughriders).

Facing a Toronto defence allowing 28.2 points and 283.8 passing yards per game set up Mitchell for another productive outing. The winless Tiger-Cats throw the ball more than 70 per cent of the time, so a high-volume rate can be counted upon. With the highest O/U of Week 7, we’re counting on Mitchell to continue to be an anchor for fantasy players.

Sit: Cameron Dukes, QB, Argonauts, $8,000 Salary

Dukes’ 25.7 FP outburst in Week 3 feels like a distant memory. Over his last three starts, Dukes has scored a combined 25.7 FP, with 13.6 of those coming in the Week 6 win over the previously undefeated Alouettes.

The Argos have relied on the running of Ka’Deem Carey ($10,700), defence and special teams, and that trend should continue, even against a Tiger-Cats defence allowing a league-high 33.8 points per game. Dukes averaged just 6.6 yards per pass in Week 6 and has a middling 6-5 TD: INT margin, making him unlikely to be the quarterback to ignite a fantasy lineup.

BC (5-1-0) at Calgary (2-3-0), Sunday, 7:00 PM

Line: BC (-4.5)

O/U: 51.5 (-110)

Start: Dedrick Mills, RB, Stampeders, $11,100 Salary

Mills is one of a handful of backs who can be counted on to provide solid fantasy production. He’s scored at least 12.6 FP in three of his four appearances this season, scoring 16 FP in last week’s loss at Winnipeg. Mills rushed for 131 yards on just 15 carries and added two receptions for nine yards. His fantasy production would be higher, yet Mills has not reached the end zone this season as short-yardage pivot Tommy Stevens ($5,000) has taken the bulk of the touches near the goal line.

BC is third in run defence at 83.7 yards per game but will be challenged by Mills, who is averaging 5.7 yards per carry and leads the league with four rushes of at least 20 yards. He’s recorded at least 17 touches from scrimmage in three straight games, so expect the Stampeders to continue building their game plan around their elusive standout.

Sit: Reggie Begelton, WR, Stampeders, $10,000 Salary

Entering Week 6, there are 28 players with more receiving yards than Begelton’s total of 200, placing him third among Calgary receivers. He has yet to eclipse 62 receiving yards and has not scored more than 12.1 FP while failing to reach double-digit fantasy production twice.

Begelton has been targeted at least five times each start. He’s too good a talent to continue his sluggish beginning, and a matchup against the Lions could easily turn into a scoring festival that sees him heavily involved. However, there are a lot of factors we’re adding to the equation. For now, simple math suggests keeping Begelton out of your fantasy lineup for the time being.

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