If there is one unit I am most excited to see together, it is without a doubt the Tiger-Cats receiving corps. In my opinion, Hamilton is home to the most talented group of pass catchers in the entire league.
When the season ended, and before Hamilton made any moves, the Ticat receiving corps looked pretty solid. Dave Stala, Chris Williams, Bakari Grant and Aaron Kelly would have made for an excellent top four. Then the Cats brought back Terence Jeffers-Harris and that top four became an even scarier top five. Then they went out and signed two top-flight Canadians in Andy Fantuz and Sam Giguère. Now I look at the receiving corps and see seven players that are worthy of starting spots. Seven. The Ticats will have two players on the bench that could start for almost any other team in the league.
It will be difficult for Henry Burris to keep everyone happy, but this offense with these receivers has the chance to go down as one of the all-time greats in CFL history. We could see three or more players eclipse the 1,000-yard mark. We could see three or more players top 10 touchdowns. The possibilities are endless as to what this receiving corps can do over a full season. I am giddy (yes, giddy) just thinking about it.
My gut tells me the five starters to start the season will be Stala, Fantuz, Williams, Grant and Jeffers-Harris. I think Giguère will need a little time to get his feet wet and I think Kelly will be in tough to jump ahead of Williams, Grant or Jeffers-Harris. The team also has Chris Duvalt and the three receivers they signed earlier this week, Joe Collins, Michael Galatas and Deon Murphy. While all of them are talented and could impress enough to earn a roster spot, they are going to be in very tough.
The Ticat receiving corps is stacked and they are going to present countless matchup nightmares for opposing defenses all season. If everyone plays to their potential, there is no telling what these receivers will be able to accomplish in 2012.
It will be interesting to see how Darcy Brown is worked into the mix. While he's a "fullback," beyond blocking his role has been situation receiver out of the backfield. Cortez seemed impressed with his potential earlier this spring, but with all this receiving firepower, will he see the ball much now?
ReplyDeleteEasy to forget he was a first round pick too.