5 bold predictions for Week 10

Don Landry

CFL.ca

Hello and welcome to Week 10 in the CFL, where questions abound (as they usually do) and the canvas is blank, just waiting for splashes of paint.

Who will be this week’s artistes?

Tough to see into the future but let’s take a shot at it anyway.

Here are five bold predictions for Week 10.

VERNON THROWS ONE

Calgary quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. has that incredible streak of his intact, after a penalty wiped out an interception by Hamilton’s Jamal Peters in Week 9.

The only starter to maintain a goose egg in the interceptions department so far in 2026, Adams has thrown 234 passes without a single one being nabbed by an opponent.

This bold prediction has the Toronto Argonauts pulling it off in Week 10.

Why is that bold? Because the Argos have one of the lower-ranked pass defences in the league.

Ranked eighth in knockdowns and last in yardage per game given up (339.6), the Argo defence nonetheless sits mid-pack in interceptions with five, with corner Benjie Franklin (two interceptions in 2026) being the most likely guy to do it as he sits eighth in the CFL in coverage grading (75.3) according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).

But I’ll go even bolder: it’s a sneakily dropping and lurking linebacker Cameron Judge who gets the pick.

A DEFENSIVE PLAYER WILL BREAK THROUGH

It’s no secret that so far in 2026, the offences are pretty well having their way with the defences.

But are you aware that no defensive player has been named a Player of the Week since Week 1?

It’s true. In fact, there were two that week in Montreal’s Robert Kennedy III and Winnipeg’s Jake Ceresna.

Since then? Eight more weeks, 24 more Players of the Week, each and every one of them from the offences.

This is the week, though. Somebody from the D is getting on that list. That’s a bold assertion considering the trend and that some pretty decent defensive efforts have already gone unrewarded this season.

Bolder still: I’ll narrow it down to two guys. One of them: Calgary defensive end Clarence Hicks, the PFF leader — by a big margin — in quarterback pressures with 42, 11 better than second place holder Willie Jefferson of Winnipeg (31).

The other guy? Keep reading.

ALL SYSTEMS GO. LAUNCH SEQUENCE BEGINS

Dedmon coming up big when it matters! 😤

🗓️: Ticats vs. Alouettes LIVE NOW
📺: TSN, RDS, CBSSN and CFL+#CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/3qhZ5dWMOb

— CFL (@CFL) July 27, 2026

After spending the first six games of the season on the injured list, Montreal Alouettes’ returner DeVonte Dedmon got back into the line-up in Week 8.

He teased a little bit in his first game back, with a 40-yard kickoff return as well as a 23-yard punt return against the Hamilton Ticats, with the numbers winding up a lot more modest in his second game against the Ottawa REDBLACKS (two punt returns for 11 yards, one KO return for
19).

Two games in, the rust oughta be off.

And the visiting Edmonton Elks are sixth in kick-off coverage, seventh in punt coverage.

In Week 10, DeVonte Dedmon goes off.

ZANDER HORVATH ADDS SOMETHING NEW TO HIS STATS LINE

With the Hamilton Ticats dialled in to ensuring BC Lions’ running back Zander Horvath doesn’t treat them the way he treated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers last week, the going will be a little tougher for the big back when it comes to the rushing game.

The box will be jammed up and Ticats middle linebacker Wynton McManis has looked like he’s heating up. When he’s hot, McManis kinda takes rushing plays personally.

Don’t know if Hamilton’s sixth-ranked run defence (98.8 yards/game) is, overall, up for the challenge but I do think they’ll perform a far bit better than did the Blue Bombers run defence and that should lead to cloggier lanes.

With one of the league’s top pass defences (ranked second), the Ticats should feel comfortable in crowding up front and letting their fine secondary handle things mano a mano.

So here’s the prediction: The Lions inject some trickery and Horvath completes a bomb off a run look at some point.

THE OTHER GUY ON DEFENCE

Looking for more big things from Saskatchewan strong side linebacker Antoine Brooks Jr. when the Roughriders play host to the Ottawa REDBLACKS on Friday night.

So many big things that he’s my other bet to be that guy on defence who can break the offensive stranglehold on Player of the Week selections.

Currently, Brooks sits fifth in the CFL in total defensive plays with 50, just four plays off the league lead.

That stats line of his shows he has been all over the field again in 2026, with 41 defensive tackles, a forced fumble, a sack, couple of tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.

Bold prediction? He adds an interception to that line and has his usual dominant game at the SAM, ensuring that the Player of the Week selection committee has to seriously consider him for honours.

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