WHO THE F*CK ARE
THESE GUYS???
I am assuming many who play CFL DFS this year won’t know
much about the players they are laying their money on in a given week. “Hey – I
cashed this week thanks to Cris Carters kid hauling in 2 TDs” is a scenario
that could definitely play out, but it is equally likely you cash thanks to a
player you’ve barely heard of having the game of the week. Let’s look at some
players who should find their way onto your rosters throughout the year. As I
hope to do throughout the year, I’ll add in an NFL comparable to each player I
write up to give NFL players a different viewpoint on who they are playing and
why.
QBs
Texas Born Bo Levi Mitchell plays for the Calgary Stampeders
and is as safe as its going to get for cash games. On two separate occasions he
went at least five games in a row with 300 yards through the air. He leads last
years top offense and shows no signs of slowing down this year. Think Tom Brady
– his teams will run the ball late but it will be thanks to his arm giving them
a sizeable lead.
Mike Reilly of the Edmonton Eskimos scored 9 rushing
touchdowns over an 11 week stretch to give him the overall fantasy points per
game lead for the season. While these numbers are likely to regress, he still
has a solid rushing floor and the ability to pass for multiple TDs any given
game. Slower than Marcus Mariota, but similar from a fantasy floor/ceiling
standpoint.
RBs
Winnipeg’s Andrew Harris finished 3rd in the
league in rushing and also led the position in receiving yards. As the
unquestioned feature back in the offense, his role is much more secure than
most backs in the league. The only thing lacking is touchdown upside as he only
hit paydirt 5 times last season. With his dual role he could be considered a
(very, very, very) poor mans David Johnson, but I think a more apt comparison
would be DeMarco Murray.
CJ Gable of the Hamilton Tiger Cats is one of the most
talented backs in the league, but never gets the rushing attempts you want to
pay off his mid-tier RB salary. Hamilton ran the pass heaviest offense in the
league last year and has brought in a couple of young backs to pressure Gable
throughout the season. He looks to have a very similar path as Ty Montgomery -
they both will struggle to get enough attempts to win any GPPs and both have
young talent breathing down their necks.
WRs
Adarius Bowman of the Edmonton Eskimos is the most talented
receiver in the league, and likely to be the most expensive every week as well.
Like Julio Jones, he has the potential to win you a GPP every time you roster
him, no matter the matchup. Doesn’t get quite enough targets to reach Antonio
Brown levels, but without question has the same potential as Julio to put up a
160 yard, 2 touchdown game. Just be prepared to be disappointed with the occasional
4 catch, 50 yard performance.
The Calgary Stampeders have offensive weapons across the
board, but the one most likely to find the endzone is DaVaris Daniels. He plays
on a high-powered offense ran by one of the top QBs in the league. He won’t
usually get you 10 catches, but he’ll almost never dip below 5 either. One of
the rare players in the league who is as much of a deep threat as he is a red
zone weapon for his QB, his usage and consistency, and the way he scores his
points is almost identical to Jordy Nelson, and like Jordy he should firmly sit
at the top of the second-tier price range for much of the season, making him
hard to pass up in cash games.
Chris Williams of the BC Lions is the DFS version of a more
consistent Desean Jackson. Probably the fastest receiver in the league, he will
get the chance to return a punt or kick every now and then if his team needs a
spark, but will do most of his damage via the deep ball. He may miss a game or
two to start the season as he recovers from a torn ACL, but once is he is full
speed he is a game-changer. He signed with BC as a free agent in the offseason
and his new QB had more completions of 30+ yards than anyone else in the league
so his stats could climb to new heights.
Not everyone can be fun to roster, and plugging Brandon
Banks of the Tiger Cats could feel like playing Tyreek Hill this past season.
He has the ability to take the ball to the house every time he touches it, but
doesn’t get quite enough offensive touches to be a consistent option and you
will find yourself relying on his special teams contributions to pay off his
salary. The highest upside play with Banks, as it was with Hill last season, is
to stack him with his teams defense on a GPP lineup to hope for the ‘double dip’
through a return touchdown.
The CFL doesn’t employ a traditional TE position but if they
did Nik Lewis would line up there for the Montreal Alouettes. As it stands he plays
the CFL’s ‘slotback’ and is a high floor player with almost no TD upside. He
consistently catches a minimum of 5 balls with the upside for more, but only
scores 3-4 times a year. DFS wise he aligns almost perfectly with fellow old
man Jason Witten.
As far as diving into the players goes, this is just the tip
of the iceberg but I think it’s a good start towards familiarizing yourself
with some of these athletes. As I preview matchups throughout the year I will
continue to draw comparisons to NFL situations to better explain why you are
playing a player in a certain matchup or avoiding him in others, hopefully it
brings a unique view to the process and lets you feel like you’re more in
control when you’re putting your roster together. The start of week one is fast
approaching – look for my week 1 preview article coming out soon!
No comments:
Post a Comment