Stars that shine: The CFL’s top 10 highlight-reel players in 2016
There are many different reasons to attend CFL games this season.
Maybe it’s to see your favourite team win a football game on its way to, hopefully, a Grey Cup championship.
Others, however, zero in on individual performances, hoping to see first-hand some of the highlight-reel plays being made on a weekly basis.
Across the league, there are a handful of stars worth the price of admission all by themselves.
Here are 10 players worth paying to see in 2016:
10. LB SIMONI LAWRENCE, HAMILTON TIGER- CATS
He’s outspoken — both in real life and on Twitter (@Simoni_ Lawrence) — and it’s pretty clear the 27-year-old linebacker has fun playing football. Oh, and he also makes a whole lot of plays for a really good Ticats defence. Since arriving in Hamilton for the 2013 season, Lawrence has picked off seven passes, forced seven fumbles, and notched nine sacks. Everyone loves a game-changing turnover, and Lawrence is a good bet to provide one.
9. DE SHAWN LEMON, SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
Lemon is all about slapping footballs to the turf and making quarterbacks run for their lives. That’s entertainment. While there are many other edge-rushers around the league that deserve the same amount of attention for their get-to-the-QB skills, what sets Lemon apart is his knack for the forced fumble, something he’s done 11 times in his past 27 CFL games, including a league-record eight times in 2014. It doesn’t hurt that he has quite the Twitter presence (@SLemonator) in the CFL’s best football market.
8. SB RYAN SMITH, WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
He only has 72 career CFL receptions, but many of them are already residing on highlight tapes. Standing just 5-foot-7, Smith isn’t scared to go over the middle where the big boys reside, or go up and put his body on the line to make a tough catch. Quarterbacks love that the most, but fans love it just as much. Smith (@ryguy_4) is sure to be a fan favourite in Winnipeg.
7. WR DEREL WALKER, EDMONTON ESKIMOS
If Eric Rogers was still hanging out north of the border, the matchup between these two silky smooth receivers would highlight the Labour Day Classic battle. With Rogers now wearing No. 3 with the San Francisco 49ers, Walker (@Dee_Sky_Walker) will have the stage to himself. Putting up 89 receptions, 1,110 yards and six touchdowns in only 12 games propelled him to CFL rookie of the year honours.
6. RB JEROME MESSAM, CALGARY STAMPEDERS
When you’re 6-foot-3 and 245 pounds, you’re supposed to be the guy making the tackles, not the one trying to evade them. But Messam is as unique as it gets for a running back, and there aren’t many like him, even south of the border. Injuries have been the only thing holding him back during his CFL career, but he’s healthy and finds himself behind a solid offensive line. As you’ll notice if you follow him on Twitter (@JMessam), he’s a motivated individual, too.
5. QB MIKE REILLY, EDMONTON ESKIMOS
Reilly is that gutsy, blue-collar quarterback that hometown fans fall in love with and opposing fans try desperately to hate ... but can’t. Esks fans love his warrior ways — not to mention the Grey Cup triumph he brought them last year — and his winning attitude. Teammates take a page out of the Terrell Owens handbook when Reilly (@Rikester13) does his thing, and scream, ‘That’s my quarterback.’
4. QB BO LEVI MITCHELL, CALGARY STAMPEDERS
Mitchell, thanks to a whole lot of early success and TSN naming him the top player in the CFL prior to last season, has seen a whole lot of hate thrown his way. He’s too calm, too cool, too collected, they say. Perhaps, he’s just too good. Don’t be surprised to see Mitchell (@BoLeviMitchell) putting more on his shoulders and chucking it around a whole lot in his third season as the starter.
3. QB ZACH COLLAROS, HAMILTON TIGER- CATS
Until Collaros went down with a torn ACL last September, many fans around the league were clamouring for another Mitchell-Collaros clash in the Grey Cup. Individually, Collaros (@ZCollaros7) was likely on his way to his first MOP award, too, as his numbers were off the charts through 12 games. Fans might have to wait a few weeks to see him in 2016, as the Ticats will take it slow with his knee, but by the end of the season, he’ll be unleashed.
2. WR CHRIS WILLIAMS, OTTAWA REDBLACKS
He wasn’t his usual explosive self in the return game last season, but Williams’ return to the CFL went as planned. Despite a slow start and a loaded Redblacks receiver group, by the end of the season, Williams (@cwillkl80) was back to stretching — and then breaking — defences. His first receiving touchdown since he exited the CFL in 2012 was an 84-yard top-popper in a July win over the Stampeders, one that would define the Redblacks’ sensational second season.
1. KR BRANDON BANKS, HAMILTON TIGER- CATS
Two things happen when Banks touches the football: Fans hold their breath, and special-teams co-ordinators scream, ‘Why did you kick it to him?’ The Stampeders almost found out why you don’t in the 2014 Grey Cup. Then, in 2015, Money Banks (@speedybanks87) did this: One rushing touchdown, one receiving touchdown, four punt-return scores, and a whole lot of near misses. He’s a weapon, a playmaker, and a player worth paying to see.