Daily Fantasy CFL DraftKings Picks for Week 5 - 7/21/16

Jones-ing for the NFL? CFL has you covered. CFL picks will be a mixture of top end plays and value plays to help fill your cash-game and GPP lineups on DraftKings. If you need a quick primer on Canadian Football League DFS check out our introduction to the sport.

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Quarterback

Tevor Harris Ottawa 11,200

Wow is all I can say to start. This wasn't even supposed to be his job at the start of the season, but Burris is still injured. I was at the Grey Cup in Winnipeg last year, and maybe the Red-Blacks would have won if Harris was at QB instead of Burris, but maybe I should have won the lottery by now also. Who knows right? All I know is that I'm playing Harris in a large majority of my cash game and gpp lineups this week. Saskatchewan is a mess right now. They have given up an average of 322 yards through the air, which is third worst in the league, and it will only get worse from here. Their starting QB is probably on the IR again for the third straight year which is definitely hurting the team's morale, and they've started the season off 0-3. Harris has already thrown for 1475 yards with 9 TD's and has two deadly receiving weapons to throw to. Enough said. Start him with confidence.

Mike Reilly Edmonton 11,100

This is a week like most weeks where we just can't go cheap at QB, and although Reilly has been playing well, I am only playing him in a few tourney lineups and a few H2H's in case Harris somehow struggles. Hamilton's D has been stifling to begin the season. Vegas  thinks it will be a high scoring game as the total currently sits at 55, with Edmonton as a 4.5 point favourite. But I'm not buying it. The Tiger-cats have only given up an average of 230 passing yards per game, and 324 total yards per game, which are both best in the league by a decent margin.

Running Back

Brandon Whitaker Toronto 6600

This pick isn't about Whitaker as much as how bad Montreal is as an entire team, and their Run D is terrible. They have given up 115 rushing yards per game which is by far the worst in the league. It also helps that Whitaker is involved in the passing game. He's rushed for a middle of the pack 157 yards, but he also has 20 catches for 168 yards and a TD. Montreal is dealing with a lot of injuries right now and Vegas currently has the total at 44.5, which is extremely low for a CFL game, but the Argos are currently favoured to win by 7 points. At this price all that means is to play Whitaker in all formats and don't think twice.

Jerome Messam Calgary 7300

I am giving you another running back just in case something happens with Whitaker before game time and you need a late swap, or you simply don't want to play him for some reason. During his times with Saskatchewan, Messam used to destroy the Bombers. I can see Calgary getting ahead early and pounding the ball on the ground, but if it stays close then he may hardly touch the ball. Messam has rushed for 175 yards in only 3 games mand has 1 td. He is hardly ever targeted in the passing game but if he gets going early, he could absolutely destroy the Bombers. Play him in a few of your tourney lineups this week.

Wide Receiver

Greg Ellingson Ottawa 8100

Chris Williams  Ottawa 11,200

Ok so here's the deal with these two stud receivers that Mr. Harris gets the pleasure of throwing to every single game. Williams started the first three games on an absolute tear, so last week Toronto decided to stick on him like crazy glue. He still managed 6 catches for 63 yards. He currently leads the league by a large margin with  31 receptions for 556 yards, and 6 TD's. He has been targeted 36 times and has averaged 34.2 dk points per game. Now enters Greg Ellingson, the Red-Blacks #2 receiving option. Well last week was a completely different story my friends. With most of the focus on Williams, Harris found Ellingson open over and over again. He caught 9 passes for a whopping 218 yards. He didn't score a TD but it was still good for 33.8 dk points, and now has a total of 25 receptions on 33 targets for 439 yards and 1 TD. He has safety written all over him as he averages 20.7 dk points per game. Like I said above, the Roughriders are not a good football team and this could be a scoring fest for the Red-Blacks. Williams is too expensive for cash games so I am going to play him in tourney lineups, and lock Ellingson in every single cash game lineup this week.

Brandon Banks Hamilton 6700

Talk about safety, these are guaranteed yards we are talking about here folks. Banks returned another punt for a TD last week to give him 3 return TD's in 4 games and a total of 608 return yards. He also has 8 catches for 97 yards and a TD and averages 17.7 dk points per game. I'm telling you, this guy should be in the NFL. I may go a different route in tourneys because the upside is limited due to his minimal role in the offense, but he's about as safe as safe can be for cash games. Don't think twice.

Cory Watson Edmonton 4,600

Finally we have our value play of the week. It's not the safest pick, but I'm also not afraid to slot him into my 2nd flex spot to complete my lineup. Hamilton has an awesome Defence, and Watson is the #3 option in the passing game behind Walker and Bowman. So why do I like him? He has averaged 18.8 dk points in his last two games. Opposing teams are trying their hardest to shut down the top two guys so Watson is a security blanket for Reilly the QB. Unlike the NFL, there are always at least 3 WR/SB's on the field at all times so he sees a lot of playing time. I actually think I am going to play him in all formats this week.

Defence

Toronto Argonauts 4700

This pick is easy for me. I am not even thinking about starting another Defence. I'll tell you why. Vegas has the total at around 44.5 points this week as I said earlier. I don't ever remember seeing a CFL point total this low. Also the Argos are favoured by 6.5 points. Montreal has been stinking it up so far. They may have their #1 QB back this week but he is like 800 years old so I'm not worried about him, and half of their team is either injured or not interested in playing it seems. The Argonauts it is.

Good luck this week everyone. The 4 game slate on Draftkings starts Thursday at 7:30 pm central time. If you have any questions or comments please let me know. I am frequently in the chatroom as well as the comments section.