Landry: 5 red hot offensive players to watch
09/27/2024 12:00 PM
At this time of year the games get bigger, the stakes going ever higher.
In a crucible of must-win scenarios, there are players who find another gear, who step it up to do everything in their power to provide their team with inspirational performances throughout the stretch drive.
With that in mind, here are five red-hot offensive players to keep an eye on as the pressure mounts. They have each been raising their game over the last few weeks.
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JUSTIN HARDY, OTTAWA REDBLACKS
MASOLI FINDS HARDY WIDE OPEN#CFLGameday on CTV & RDS
Stream on CFL+ pic.twitter.com/NVW1gukgYQ— CFL (@CFL) September 21, 2024
Hardy has been great all year long, opening the season with back-to-back 100-plus-yard games (he has six of those all totalled in 2024). In his last five games he has half of those 100-plus-yarders to his credit, with 38 catches (50 targets) for 440 yards altogether. In his last two? Eight receptions for 103 yards followed by a nine-reception performance against Montreal in Week 16, for 117 yards and a touchdown. In those last two games Hardy has hauled in a total of 17 passes on 23 targets.
JUSTIN RANKIN, EDMONTON ELKS
The first-year running back burst onto the scene back in Week 9 when he ran the ball six times for 60 yards, following up the next week with 77 on seven totes. Since then, in his last five games, the 27-year-old Ohio native has rolled up 395 rushing yards on 48 carries for an average of 8.2 yards per. Those numbers include a game in the five (Labour Day) where he didn't have a single touch. Despite that, Rankin's last five games include two 100-plus-yarders.
KEESEAN JOHNSON, SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
KeeSean Johnson with the catch, and then some for @sskroughriders! #CFLGameday on @TSN_Sports
: Stream on CFL+ pic.twitter.com/bLknLrvbEa— CFL (@CFL) September 21, 2024
The 27-year-old Californian pulled in six receptions against Calgary last week for 90 yards, making that his second 90-yard game in his last five. All in all in those five, Johnson has 318 receiving yards and has caught 25 of 32 balls thrown his way. That's the bulk of his season totals, which sit at 484 yards on 40 receptions. He's caught four touchdown passes for the Roughriders this season and all of them have come in the last five games.
BRADY OLIVEIRA, WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
Well, of course I was gonna include Brady Oliveira on this list. Last week's tour de force against Edmonton (18 rushes for 127 yards and two trips to the "chicken box") gave him a second 100-plus-yard game in his last five. He's averaged 5.9 per carry in those five games, totalling 410 yards. 2023's Most Outstanding Player runner-up is barging into the conversation for this year's MOP and if he ends the season by continuing what he's been up to lately, he might emerge as the favourite.
BO LEVI MITCHELL, HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
Speaking of the MOP race and a guy getting himself back into it, may I present Hamilton quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell. The 34-year-old veteran was pulled early in a Week 10 game against Montreal in favour of Taylor Powell, who was then pronounced the team's starter going forward. Powell was injured early in the Week 11 game, though and Mitchell was back in, beginning a five-game run that has seen him throw 108 completions in 159 attempts for 1,522 yards, an average of 304 yards a game. Mitchell's five-pack of games sees his QB Efficiency Rating at 103.3 and includes six touchdown passes and three interceptions. If you shave the sample to just the last four, it's five touchdown throws and just one interception.
SOME HONOURABLE MENTIONS…
BC running back William Stanback was stymied in his last appearance when the Lions played Toronto, held to just 21 yards on six carries. Even with that game factored in, his last five have been just sensational, averaging 5.8 yards per carry on a total of 441 yards, including two 100-plus-yard games and a 99-yarder. Yup, maybe he ought to have been in my five.
Toronto receiver Makai Polk has two 100-plus-yard games in his last five and has hauled in 19 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns over that stretch.
Montreal receiver Charleston Rambo has 20 catches for 348 yards in his last five.
Calgary's Reggie Begelton has 30 receptions on 44 targets for 444 yards, including two 100-plus-yard games and a 93-yarder.
