Long gone are the days when each CFL team seemed to fight to have one Canadian receiver on the field to help fulfill the ratio rules.
Just in time for Canada Day week, Canadian receivers are putting up some of the best numbers in recent memory.
As we enter Week 5 of the season, six of the top-10 receivers in terms of yardage are from Canada, including the top-ranked Tyson Philpot of the Montreal Alouettes.
Philpot (University of Calgary) is one of four in the top 10 from the U Sports ranks. He's joined by former Guelph teammates Kiondre Smith (Hamilton Tiger-Cats) and Kian Schaffer-Baker (Saskatchewan Roughriders) and Laval's Kevin Mital (Toronto Argonauts).
The other Canadians in the top 10 played in the NCAA — Justin McInnis (B.C. Lions, Arkansas State) and Samuel Emilus (Roughriders, Louisiana Tech).
This decade, the maximum number of Canadians to finish a season in the top 10 in this category is three.
There have been other Canadian standout receivers in the past — Peterborough, Ont. native Brad Sinopoli twice was named the league's top Canadian (2015 and '18), and guys like Ben Cahoon, Ray Elgaard and Dave Sapunjis were as good as it gets — but the current depth is at a new level.
There are also Canadian receivers on the rise — Ottawa Redblacks sophomore Keelan White of North Vancouver had two touchdowns and showcased spectacular hands last week, and Lions rookie Nick Cenacle of Montreal has a pair of touchdowns in two games.
"This is kind of the year that he's probably been waiting for and everybody else has been waiting for over there," Roughriders head coach Corey Mace said of White ahead of Saskatchewan's game in Ottawa on Friday.
"Him coming out of school, (you could see) the type of player he could be. He's certainly proven to be that guy this year. I'm sure they're excited about it. The kid's a competitor and a good receiver."
With four Canadian wide receivers currently on NFL rosters — Joshua Palmer (Buffalo Bills), Elic Ayomanor (Tennessee Titans), John Metchie (New York Jets) and Jared Wayne (Houston Texans) — it's a fantastic time for the position in this country.
Perfect games
Hamilton Tiger-Cats star quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell has had a perfect quarterback efficiency rating (158.3) the past two games, putting him in an exclusive club.
Only seven others have gone perfect back-to-back with a minimum 15 pass attempts — and five of them are in the Canadian Football Hall of Fame (Ricky Ray, Anthony Calvillo, Warren Moon, Ron Lancaster and Russ Jackson).
The others are 1991 Argonauts Grey Cup-winning QB Rickey Foggie and College Football Hall of Famer Glenn Dobbs.
Only Moon went on to record a third consecutive perfect game.
Mitchell, coming off a bye week, will be hard-pressed to accomplish that feat as he goes against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' top-ranked pass defence on Sunday in Hamilton.
Brown vs. Dinwiddie
Don't expect Redblacks head coach Ryan Dinwiddie and former Ottawa starting QB Dru Brown to exchange pleasantries when Brown's Blue Bombers are in the nation's capital for a game on July 19.
Dinwiddie, in his first year in Ottawa, replaced Brown with Jake Maier as starter prior to the season. Brown then asked for his release, but the Redblacks waited until last week to trade him back to his former team — the Blue Bombers, where he is again the backup to Zach Collaros.
In explaining his decision, Dinwiddie pointed to arm strength as a big reason why the Redblacks are going with Maier and recent signing McLeod Bethel-Thompson.
Brown responded to Dinwiddie's comments this week.
“(Dinwiddie) said that it was just an arm strength thing, that’s what he told me. That’s his opinion, and he’s entitled to that, and he makes the calls over there. I wasn’t his guy and that’s OK,” Brown said, per 3DownNation.
“(Arm strength concerns aren’t) something I’ve gotten before. That’s kind of how he saw it, but I’ve never really felt like that before, or it’s ever held me back situationally in a game, being able to cut it loose. No, I’ve never heard that.”
Blue Bombers head coach Mike O'Shea, meanwhile, defended Brown.
“I think he delivers the ball on time to the right person, and when you make good decisions quickly, everything looks good,” he said. “And on top of that, I don’t think he’s lacking arm strength.”
Maier played well last week, but the Redblacks remained winless at 0-3 with a 37-35 loss in Montreal against the Alouettes.
Week 5 games
Toronto Argonauts (2-1) at Calgary Stampeders (1-2), Thursday, 9 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. MT
The Stampede Bowl features the league's highest-scoring teams. Toronto star QB Chad Kelly (averaging 397 passing yards) goes against a Stamps team that is tied for the league lead with seven sacks.
Saskatchewan Roughriders (2-1) at Ottawa Redblacks (0-3), Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET
Emilus (ankle) and Roughriders star running back A.J. Ouellette (ankle) are both listed as questionable. The Roughriders have the league's top net offence, while the Redblacks own the league's worst net defence.
Edmonton Elks (3-0) at B.C. Lions (0-3), Saturday, 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT (at Kelowna, B.C.)
No one would have predicted Edmonton would be undefeated and B.C. winless heading into the Lions' second home game in a row in Kelowna. Elks star running back Justin Rankin is just the fourth RB in league history to have at least three consecutive 100-plus-yard games to start a season.
Winnipeg Blue Bombers (1-2) at Hamilton Tiger-Cats (2-1), Sunday, 7 p.m. ET
Collaros needs just seven passing yards to surpass Khari Jones (20,175) for second on the Blue Bombers’ career list.
