Minas Panagiotakis/CFL.ca
As we near the closing stages of a 2024 CFL regular season filled with drama, intrigue and more than a few surprises, it’s officially that time of year to start thinking about who has been the very best at each position across the league.
For All-CFL running back, the answer is never straightforward. Much like many of the major awards this season, any player who deserves the title can also have a strong argument fashioned against them. These aren’t just doubters and haters from your favourite running back’s rival team, these are legitimate questions as to who really is the top dog in the backfield.
Here are my top five contenders for the title of All-CFL running back in 2024 as it stands right now.
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5. DEDRICK MILLS | CALGARY STAMPEDERS
The Stamps’ offence has struggled at times this season, but rarely when Dedrick Mills is a focal point of the attack. Despite missing a handful of games, Mills has been able to stay in the flow of the Calgary offence to the tune of 74.1 rushing yards per game over his nine contests, a number only beaten by Winnipeg’s Brady Oliveira.
Mills’ 123 carries put him fifth in the CFL for workload, with five less games played than all those who have more touches. When you expand Mills’ numbers from a per game basis to understand what his full season could have looked like, he has to get consideration as one of the CFL’s best backs.
4. KA’DEEM CAREY | TORONTO ARGONAUTS
SPIN, JUMP, TOUCHDOWN KA’DEEM CAREY. 👌#CFLGameDay: LIVE on TSN
📲: Stream on CFL+ pic.twitter.com/TQ2ecxFIiP— CFL (@CFL) August 10, 2024
When free agency hit and Ka’Deem Carey wasn’t expected to return with the Stampeders, it felt as though the only place that made true sense was Toronto. The Argonauts had a vacancy after Andrew Harris retired and AJ Ouellette went to the Riders, in an offence built perfectly for Carey’s running style.
Through quarterback uncertainty, Carey has been the one constant in a Toronto attack which has struggled to find rhythm. While he’s lacked the streamline of major performances (only one game above 100 yards) he currently sits third in the CFL at 876 rushing yards while averaging 5.5 yards per carry.
3. WALTER FLETCHER | MONTREAL ALOUETTES
No running back has been more influential when combining run and pass this season than Walter Fletcher.
With 77 targets and 63 catches, he is far and away the most utilized and effective back when catching the ball out of the backfield. If All-CFL voters lean Fletcher’s way, it will be due to his overall impact and unquestionable playmaking in multiple facets of the Alouettes offence.
2. WILLIAM STANBACK | BC LIONS
The William Stanback resurrection tour has been a sight to behold this season. Standing on the Tim Hortons Field turf watching his teammates celebrate a stunning Grey Cup championship in Hamilton last fall, Stanback had a sense his days in rouge, blanc et bleu might be through, but who saw this coming?!
Stanback leads the CFL in carries for a BC club who has leaned heavy pass play call percentages over the past couple of seasons and should cross the 1,000 yard mark this week against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, just the third time he’s pulled off the four digit season in his CFL career.
1. BRADY OLIVEIRA | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
In my mind, Brady Oliveira is still the lead horse in this race for All-CFL. Yes, Stanback might have a trendier story and Fletcher has more catches out of the back field but Brady continues to pound away game after game to the tune of a CFL leading 1,021 rushing yards including a whopping 10 rushes of 20 yards or more, which is double the nearest comparable back.
Above all else, the Oliveira ascension to All-CFL has to be due to the simple fact that I believe Winnipeg does not recover their season after a horrific start unless No. 20 is leading the charge. Yes, quarterback Zach Collaros is the most important piece in that offence as the one who touches the ball every play and makes all the tough pre-snap decisions, but Oliveira has been, and remains, the engine which drives the Blue and Gold forward.
If Brady and the Bombers secure top spot in the West, the discussion will veer towards which on-field protagonists deserve the credit, I have to believe much of it will lean to Oliveira.
