CFL Training Camp Power Rankings

CFL Training Camp Power Rankings

Published: Saturday, May 18th 2019, 4:05pm

By Alex Dormuth (@RealAlexD)

 

It’s finally here! Training Camps get underway on Sunday and the CFL season is just a few weeks away! Steve normally does power rankings, but he’s bestowed this pressure on me to kick things off for the 2019 season. Let’s get to it!

 

1. Calgary Stampeders – REALLY considered dropping them to #2, but Grey Cup champs and all… They lost 11 of their 24 starters from last year, so hopefully this is FINALLY the year we see them drop a bit (I know better than to bet against that though…)

2. Saskatchewan Roughriders – Sure, BC and Edmonton spent a TON of money in free agency and no doubt got better, but the Riders got better too. William Powell and Manny Arceneaux on offense, Micah Johnson and Solomon Elimimian on defense… this is practically the same team as last year, but with some key additions. Much like last year though, the season pretty much relies on the health of QB Zach Collaros.

3. Winnipeg Blue Bombers – I’m still not sold on Matt Nichols being a championship caliber QB, but the rest of the team around him is pretty damn good. They’ll win their fair share of games (Labour Day not included, of course)

4. BC Lions – They got the biggest fish in the free agency pond in QB Mike Reilly and upgraded a bunch elsewhere, mainly on defense, but at what cost? I expect a few big name cuts announced soon since the salary cap isn’t going up all that much in year 1 of the new CBA.

5. Hamilton Tiger-Cats – I feel bad putting them this low because no doubt they will finish with a better record than at least 1 or 2 western division teams, but given the fact they practically have a bye to the Grey Cup thanks to being in a terrible east division, they’re simply just an average team to me.

6. Edmonton Eskimos – While losing Reilly, they still got Trevor Harris and Greg Ellingson in free agency. But as long as the ticking time bomb Jason Maas is around, the team will have zero discipline and won’t make the playoffs. They couldn’t do it with the best player in the CFL and a star studded receiving group last year, they aren’t going to do it now when they downgraded.

7. Toronto Argonauts – They could be the surprise team this year because of Head Coach Corey Chamblin, but massive question marks around the QB situation keeps them pretty low. That said, enjoy your home playoff game hosting the west crossover team.

8. Montreal Alouettes – Rising from the ashes of the bottom of the league, the Als rid themselves of the media distraction that was Johnny Manziel and move up to #8. That’s not so much a compliment to the team getting better, it’s just that Ottawa got incredibly worse.

9. Ottawa REDBLACKS – No one had a worse offseason than Ottawa. Their 3 best offensive players are gone (Harris, Ellingson and Powell) and basically no one was brought in that improved the team. Originally I had nothing against Ottawa, but I want them to suffer a bit. Sorry guys, the honeymoon stage is over. Time for you to learn some growning pains.