Duke takes league’s top honour — again
Eskimos receiver in elite company as he fills the big shoes of departed Zylstra
A couple of months into the 2018 Canadian Football League season, a couple of Player of the Month awards for Duke Williams.
The Edmonton Eskimos receiver, who leads the league with 672 yards and five touchdowns on 35 receptions, earned his second monthly nod while pushing his streak of games with 100-plus receiving yards to five in a row.
That ties him with Brian Kelly for the club record in the category, set back in 1983, while becoming just the ninth player in league history to achieve the feat.
“Man, it’s a blessing to be on that list,” said Williams, a six-footthree, 225-pound Auburn product playing in his second CFL season. “I couldn’t do it without my O -linemen, C.J. (Gable), Mike throwing the ball. D-Walk (Derel Walker) and the receivers helping me out.
“So that’s a blessing, but I’m definitely thankful to be with those guys who have already held that record. It’s all work from here.”
At this point in the season, Williams isn’t surprising any opposing defences. Which begs the question: How do you stop him?
“I don’t know,” Williams said. “Maybe the game plan?”
His role has evolved over the first six games.
“He was a downfield-catch guy for us for the first part of this year, and then all of a sudden, now we’re doing different things with him,” Edmonton head coach Jason Maas said. “He’s taken to some coaching, things that we’d like him to do differently on his route-running to utilize his big body.
“His body has changed, too. His ability to run and play the whole game is probably what’s helped his mental capacity, because he’s not as tired and doesn’t have to think when he’s out there as much. Fatigue slows everybody down, and I don’t think that’s happening to him as much.”
The problem for opposing defences is, two of Williams’ teammates aren’t far behind him on the leaderboard, with Walker sitting fifth in the CFL with 31 catches for 463 yards and four touchdowns, followed by Kenny Stafford in sixth with 26 catches for 425 yards and a touchdown.
If your plan focuses on taking one or two of them out, the third can expect to have a field day.
What it comes down to is the Eskimos haven’t missed a beat, so far, after an off-season that saw them lose Brandon Zylstra and Adarius Bowman from their receiving corps. That says a lot, considering those are the last two players to finish a season atop the CFL in receiving yards.
“All that hard work that I put in over the off-season is paying off for me right now. I took the off-season very seriously,” said Williams. “The coaches were dependant on me to take over Zylstra’s spot, because that’s a hell of a player.
“So I just had to step up and be a man and make plays whenever the ball comes my way.”
Which is a lot. More than any other receiver in the league, in fact, with 61 targets in six games to go with those 35 receptions.
But it was never the focus coming into the season to send the majority of balls his way.
“It hasn’t morphed towards him,” said Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly. “We also have two other guys that are pretty high up there as well.
“That’s not to say that anybody else has under-performed or that we try to feed Duke more often, it’s just that he’s excelled more than I expected him to and I had high expectations, so that says a lot about him. We have weapons all over the board, Duke’s just one that’s really made the most of his opportunities and that’s been great for us.”
It’s the friendly completion that continues to push the entire Eskimos receiving corps to improve.
“I’m definitely surrounded by some great receivers, so their play wears off on me,” Williams said. “I just apply my game and whatever they do better than me, I apply it to my game and learn how to get better from that.
“This is the most fun I’ve been having in a long time. I’m enjoying the game, I’m enjoying the grind. When you’re enjoying the grind and enjoying practice, game day is supposed to be fun. I’m just trying to get better. I’m not where I want to be right now, I’ve still got a lot to learn.”
All that hard work that I put in over the off-season is paying off for me right now. I took the off-season very seriously.