We arrived! The Labor Day Classic is upon us. As CFL teams set their eyes on creating a potential playoff push, the game intensity will likely turn up. Not that there has been any shortage of excitement during the Canadian Football year, especially for DFS. Of course with the Labor Day Classic comes the fact that there are two games on Labor Day Monday, while still having a Friday Night Football matchup. So this Daily Fantasy Sports slate will be extended over 4 days. Nonetheless, DraftKings offers a variety of full-slate contests. As always in this weekly article, I attempt to identify the best values at each position.
Quarterback
Trevor Harris (MTL) $8,400 vs OTT
After the Alouettes made a trade, this starting job now firmly belongs to Trevor Harris for the rest of the season. But the real appeal behind playing Haris this week is the matchup. The Ottawa defense has allowed the 2nd most fantasy points per game this season to opposing quarterbacks. Part of that is due to the RedBlacks surrendering the most yards per pass attempt (13.39) to opposing offenses.
In terms of fantasy production, Harris has been inconsistent for most of this year. There are only 2 games in 2022 where he scored more than 20 fantasy points. One of those matchups was against Ottawa and Harris produced 29.04 fantasy points. If he can come close to replicating that again against the RedBlacks, then Harris should certainly be one of the best QB plays on the slate. Due to his boom-bust nature, I would prefer to play Harris in GPP or tournament contests. I would probably focus most of my cash game lineups on the next QB.
Jake Maier (CGY) $7,200 vs EDM
After a Calgary legend was benched in favor of the young kid, things are certainly changing for the Stampeders. The Jake Maier era may have technically began last week, in an impressive effort against Winnipeg. While Calgary did lose to the two-time defending CFL champions, Maier played very well and led them close to victory. Ultimately, the Stampeders came up short in the 31-29 loss, but Maier produced some impressive numbers. Namely the 82.1% completion rate and the almost 300 passing yards. For fantasy, and DFS, we want the scoring upside, and Maier demonstrated just that by throwing 3 TD passes as well.
The main risk this week is the matchup. The last time Calgary faced their provincial rivals, they demolished Edmonton 49-6. Certainly not the ideal game script fantasy-wise for a QB, but the Stampeders still attempted 26 passes. That is less than ideal in terms of sheer volume, but the starting QB still produced close to 20 fantasy points in that blowout. If Maier can replicate, or even better that, then he should pay off his cost. While he is the starter, Maier is still being priced in the range with backup quarterbacks. Take advantage before DraftKings make the big price tag adjustment.
Running Back
Frankie Hickson (SSK) $4,800 vs WPG
Running it back with a running back. Last week, I highlighted Frankie Hickson among the best value plays at RB. At close to minimum price, the newly minted Saskatchewan starter was almost an automatic play. And he certainly paid off by producing 23.1 fantasy points. Taking over the starting RB role due an injury, it was not quite clear if Hickson would be a true workhorse, or simply the lead back of a committee. Well, he certainly answered that by handling 15 carries. Hickson also assumed the passing-down role and even produced 3 receptions.
Even though Hickson’s price jumped by over $2K, I still consider him a value on this Week 13 slate. That speaks to how low his cost was last week. The pay-down at RB plan worked well a few times this year. Just like last week, I like that strategy once again in order to open up the option to select multiple elite wide receivers.
Devonte Williams (OTT) $3,600 @ MTL
No this is no deja vu. I am actually recommending two running backs that I have featured during the two previous weeks. But both Hickson and Devonte Williams remain great value plays. Williams especially should be in store for a great matchup. He faces the Montreal defense which has surrendered the most fantasy points per game to running backs so far this season. They have also allowed the most yards per run (5.28) to opposing offenses. So for a back like Williams who has been getting volume, this should be an ideal situation. He has received double-digit touches in back-to-back games. Last week is especially significant since it was only Ottawa’s second win of the season. Considering that Williams saw 12 carries and 4 targets in that contest, I would say the RedBlacks have their featured back for now.
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Wide Receiver
Tim White (HAM) $9,200 vs TOR
He’s back. After a mid-season lull in production, Tim White has returned to prominence. A lost fumble back in Week 7 clearly shook him and kick-started a downward spiral for White. Over those next three games, he combined to produce 7 catches for 65. Normally that would be a 1-game stat line for White, not a 3-game total. However, in the 3 games since that bad stretch, White caught a combined 23 passes for 327 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. That’s the Tim White that we have come to know over these past couple of seasons.
The one complication for White is the QB situation in Hamilton. The team all together has been turnover prone. So it was not just White with the fumbling problem, but other receivers (and even quarterbacks) as well. Give his usage of the past few weeks, the priority has been to get the ball in White’s hands, regardless of who is under center. White has even been give some rushing attempts, showcasing that the team is confident that his fumble issues are behind him.
Dalton Schoen (WPG) $8,900 @ SSK
Dalton Schoen has skyrocketed all the way to the top page of the DraftKings WR price list. The rookie WR has been a revelation not only for Winnipeg but the CFL in general. It’s not easy for a first-year player to come to this league and dominate right away. While it can be an advantage to join the back-to-back champions in terms of having a great organization, that also likely means a talented roster. Yet, somehow, with all of the productive pass-catchers on the Blue Bombers, it is the rookie Schoen who is lead the team in most receiving categories. That includes targets (61), receptions (41), receiving yards (732), and yards after-the-catch (174). However, for DFS purposes, the stats that really stands out is 8 TD catches for Schoen. That represents 40% of the team’s passing touchdowns, while no other Winnipeg player has more than 3.
So yes, you are paying up for Schoen this week. At $8,900 this is the highest his price has been all season. But with injury affecting the Blue Bombers depth chart, look for Schoen to continue (and perhaps improve upon) his productive ways). Yes this is the most expensive he has been in all season up to this point. But with contuned dominance, his cost could continue to climb. Catch on for this week at least, while it is still reasonable.
Malik Henry (CGY) $7,800 vs EDM
Selecting a player after they put up at 40+ fantasy point week is usually not great process. Typically chasing the points like that in DFS doesn’t go well, because sites are adjusting their prices after a big performance. However, DraftKings has yet to raise Malik Henry into the $8K range. This, in spite of the fact that Henry already has three 30+ fantasy point weeks on the season. Among all the wide receivers active on the Week 13 slate, Henry leads the group with 18.2 fantasy points per game. Needless to say, he is a value at his current cost.
Since last week was QB Jake Maier’s first start of the season, it was an interesting point to see which pass-catchers he would look to the most. Even coming off of an injury, Henry was clearly that guy, leading the team with 10 targets. It seems that Maier has already established chemistry with Henry, meaning he should continue to see the targets flow his way. Between that and his price, I would say Henry should be a lock in 50/50 and cash lineups. Especially considering he is coming off of a blow up game in Week 12, I would expect Henry to be heavily rostered this week. Still, because of the value, that might be the chalk you just have to play even in GPP and tournament contests.
Nate Behar (OTT) $5,200 @ MTL
With the QB change in Ottawa came the question of who would be the team’s leading receiver. Well, after one week, the jury is still out so to speak. There were 4 RedBlacks receivers who all caught 4 passes, but Nate Behar stood out simply because of his efficiency. He produced 101 yards on those 4 receptions, while none of his teammates got more than 53 yards. Considering his price at only $5,200, Behar is the Ottawa WR I most want to select on this Week 13 slate.
Deep Dive
Kaion Julien-Grant (MTL) $2,700 vs OTT
This deep dive presents a great price opportunity but also a stack with one of the quarterbacks that I featured earlier. Kaion Julien-Grant has seen increased opportunities. That includes Montreal last game where he caught his TD reception of the season. These opportunities have usually come due to injury, so checking the Alouettes’ depth chart will be important before this game.
Defense
Calgary Stampeders $5,000 vs EDM
Poor Edmonton. It has been over 1,000 days since the Elks franchise last won a home game. Unfortunately for fans, they will not get an opportunity to end that streak as the team will be traveling to Calgary. When selecting DFS defenses, going for home teams is usually a good starting spot. Having the crowd noise in their favor will usually help most defensive units. But mostly looking at the matchup, the Calgary defense should be in a great spot against their provincial rivals. Edmonton is 2nd last in the league in points per game (19,64) but last in other key categories such as total yards per game (317) and yards per play (6.02). Not to mention that the Elks offense has the 2nd highest turnover rate in the CFL (1.22 per game).
Toronto Argonauts $4,400 @ HAM
The only team to turn the ball over more than Edmonton are the Hamilton Ti-Cats. With a rate of 1.5 turnovers per game, the Tiger-Cats are coughing up the ball far too often. Whether it’s interceptions or fumbles, Hamilton constantly gives up the football. Last week, I suggested the Toronto defense for that exact reason and they paid off with a 19-point fantasy performance. Now this will be a road game for Argonauts so they won’t have the crowd behind them. However, Toronto has had arguably the worst attendance in the league this year, so it’s not like the crowd noise played a large part in the previous potent performances.
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