A couple of notes before diving into Week 11 CFL Fantasy. The Winnipeg Blue Bombers have placed Matt Nichols on their injured reserve. He had been serviceable to this point for Winnipeg. Now that he’s out it will be Chris Steveler under centre. Streveler has shown flashes and also possesses a solid rushing floor. It’s food for thought when considering Andrew Harris this week.
Toronto and Montreal will face off for the first time this season on Sunday. I would expect a lot of offence in this game. In the NFL it has been noted that the first matchup between a set of teams, in particular, divisional opponents, tends to be a higher scoring game than the second contest between the same teams. Although it may not apply directly, it is an interesting thought exercise. We always have to turn every stone when making our decisions, especially in the latter part of the year.
QUARTERBACK
Vernon Adams Jr.
DraftKings = $10,400$50,000
TSN = $9,545/$40,000
Up until last week, the Argonauts had actually begun to tighten up against the pass. They had gone five straight weeks without allowing a 300-yard passer They even kept the opponent under 200 twice during that span. This still isn’t stopping me from having Vernon Adams Jr. as my top quarterback play this week.
Usually, I am a bit averse to paying up for my signal-caller. Quite frankly, the price discrepancy between him and a guy like McLeod Bethel Thompson (we’ll get to him later) doesn’t really justify the strategy here. Adams Jr. went nuclear last week, as he sliced and diced through Calgary. I don’t see him having much trouble when the Als take on Toronto either. It was also encouraging to see him get the ancillary receivers involved in the absence of B.J. Cunningham.
Other Notes
Feel like there a bunch of other good spots here that you can make a case for about four quarterbacks if you really wanted to. Cody Fajardo gets Ottawa for the second time this season in Week 11. He eclipsed 30 CFL fantasy points last time out against this squad. McLeod Bethel-Thompson is also in play here. Aside from a couple of duds this season, Bethel-Thompson has been a pretty consistent CFL fantasy producer. If the Argos find themselves behind, Bethel-Thompson will have a heavy dose of pass attempts. I have reason to believe Toronto may be able to keep this somewhat close, which is good for both Bethel-Thompson and the guy we mentioned above.
RUNNING BACK
Cameron Marshall
DraftKings = $5,900/$50,000
TSN = $5,505/$40,000
I will never argue with anybody if they decide to just plug and play Andrew Harris. We have discussed the reasons at nausea. Therefore, I figured we talk about someone who seems to be getting a better grip on his respective backfield over the past two weeks. Cameron Marshall has been the main ball carrier for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats recently. He has been hyper-efficient with his touches as well. He’s seen seven and 12 carries to go along with one catch apiece in each of his past two games. Fantasy owners can only hope Hamilton smartens up, and lets Marshall get the full complement of work this week.
Anthony Coombs has threatened the passing game work which is worrisome. With that said, Marshall still stands out as a solid value this week if you want to build an all-star team. The Lions have also been bleeding rushing yards over the past four weeks.
Other Notes
At the time of writing this article, Williams Stanback is questionable. The Als don’t play until Sunday which could be good news for his return. If he is to miss here though, Jeremiah Johnson is in play again. He has been rock solid in Stanback’s stead, and I wouldn’t blame you if you went back to well here. The James Wilder Jr. trade rumours have given way to Chris Rainey and Brandon Burks in the Argos’ backfield. Apparently, Wilder Jr. was back at practice this week so maybe that ends here. Still, something to monitor leading up to kickoff.
WIDE RECEIVER
Bralon Addison
DraftKings = $8,800/$50,000
TSN = $6,376/$40,000
Bralon Addison appears to have become the apple of Dane Evans’ eye since he has taken over for Jeremiah Masoli. While Brandon Banks is still the de facto number one, Addison has served as more of a 1B over the past three weeks instead of a distant number two. Not to mention he is $1,500 cheaper than Banks on DraftKings and is entirely mispriced on TSN. When both the Lions and Tiger-Cats squared off a couple of weeks back, they almost combined for 70 total points. If the game happens to be anywhere near that this time around, Addison should have no problems hitting value.
DEFENCE
Edmonton Eskimos
DraftKings = $5,100/$50,000
TSN = $4,680/$40,000
Eskimos seem like a no-brainer play here. New quarterback for the Blue Bombers. Check. Playing at home. Check. Third priced defence on both sites. Check. Hoping Chris Streveler takes a week to knock off the rust and the Eskimos are able to reap the benefits. CFL Fantasy players, take note.
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