6 CFL Fantasy sleepers you need in your lineup in Week 17

Week 17 of CFL Fantasy Presented by ToonieBet kicks off with our sleepers.

This week’s group is comprised of a handful of players filling in for injured stars and at least one shot in the dark from one of the league’s best receiving units.

QUARTERBACK

Jarret Doege, Toronto, $5,000 Salary (at BC, Friday)

Nick Arbuckle did not practice on Monday, lending to the belief he might miss his second straight game. If he’s out, that opens the door for Jarret Doege to get the nod after he accounted for 11.8 fantasy points in the Week 16 loss to the Alouettes, throwing for 207 yards and a major while also leading the team with 18 rushing yards.

The Argos will need Doege to improve upon his pedestrian 5.6 yards per pass from last week. With the quality of receiving talent Doege has at his disposal, expect a more aggressive mindset on Friday. Although BC leads the league with 262 passing yards allowed per game, the Lions have been proven vulnerable, as they are tied (oddly enough with the Argonauts) for the league lead with 27 completions of 30+ yards while yielding 25 touchdown passes (tied for seventh).

BC is also one of three teams with an opponents’ passing rating of about 100 (107.3). Toronto will need to do what they’ve done well for much of the season: throw at will. Doege projects at 5.1 FP this week, but we’re thinking he can push that to 16–18 FP, making him a worthy risk if he’s atop the depth chart on Thursday.

RUNNING BACK

Zander Horvath, BC, $5,000 Salary (vs. Toronto, Friday)

Zander Horvath made a very good impression of James Butler, rushing for 152 yards on 12 carries in the Week 16 win at Calgary, which he capped off with a 70-yard major in the fourth quarter. For the 1.4 percent of fantasy users who rolled with Horvath in their lineup, the 21.2 fantasy points turned out to be extra gravy on their mashed potatoes of expectations.

Butler was limited in practice Monday. Although the week is young, one would suspect the Lions might be willing to give the league’s leading rusher another week to heal, giving Horvath a second start. Toronto allows 102.1 yards per game on the ground, and with an Argos D that will be hard-pressed to contain Nathan Rourke and the BC passing game, Horvath should fit nicely into salary-conscious lineups. His projected 7.6 FP is modest, yet while we’re not banking on a repeat of Week 16, we can see the big bruiser from Purdue settling somewhere in the neighbourhood of 15–17 FP.

RECEIVERS

Tevin Jones, Calgary, $10,700 Salary (at Montreal, Friday)

With the status of Vernon Adams Jr. in doubt and P.J. Walker also injured, the status of all Stampeders receivers will be in question. Quincy Vaughn would be in line to start at pivot, and he will need all the help he can get. That’s where Tevin Jones could emerge, as he comes off a Week 16 outing that saw him score 15.7 fantasy points — only the third time this season Jones has scored in double digits.

The Alouettes will likely zero in on running back Dedrick Mills and force the Stamps to defeat them through the air. One of Calgary’s offensive strengths has been the deep ball (23 completions of 30+). Jones, who has three big plays to his credit, has shown he can be a game-altering presence throughout his stint in the CFL. The Stamps are going to need exceptional production from whoever sits atop the depth chart on Thursday, and Jones can go a long way toward helping the cause. Projected at 10.4 FP this week, Jones will improve upon the 4.6 FP he scored against the Als in Week 8 and finish with around 13–15 FP.

Kurleigh Gittens Jr., Edmonton, $9,300 Salary (vs. Saskatchewan, Saturday)

Rumours of Kurleigh Gittens Jr.’s fantasy demise were crushed when he scored 16 fantasy points in the Week 15 loss to Hamilton, his second-best performance of the season. Highlighting his unexpected output was a touchdown connection with Cody Fajardo that marked Gittens Jr.’s first major since Week 6.

Opportunity has not been an issue for Gittens Jr., who has had nine straight games with at least five targets. He leads all Elks receivers with 72 targets and has three fewer receiving yards (615) than team leader Justin Rankin’s 618 yards. A young receiving corps continues to have growing pains, which means Gittens Jr.’s reliability (72.2 percent catch rate) and experience could lean toward a late-season surge for the National receiver, who is projected for 9.9 FP this week. It shouldn’t take much for Gittens Jr. to land in the 13–15 FP range against a Roughriders defence ranked eighth in passing yards allowed per game (291.5).

Austin Mack, Montreal, $8,700 Salary (vs. Calgary, Friday)

Austin Mack has been mostly quiet since a season-best 15.3 fantasy points in Week 2, as injuries have curtailed his production. However, we sometimes like to play our hunches, and this week, starting Mack feels like one that will pay off.

In his first three games back in the lineup, Mack scored 7.5 FP, 6.9 FP, and 9.7 FP. Those numbers aren’t overwhelming in the least, yet with teams now having to account for Tyson Philpot and Tyler Snead, Mack should be able to use that to his advantage against a Stamps defence that gave up 13.8 yards per pass against Nathan Rourke last week. Don’t expect McLeod Bethel-Thompson to be that aggressive on Friday, but Mack will have enough opportunities to exceed his projected 9.1 FP. Look for him to finish in the 11–13 FP range.

Brendan O’Leary-Orange, Hamilton, $3,200 Salary (at Winnipeg, Saturday)

Let’s end the week with a deep sleeper, shall we? Brendan O’Leary-Orange has had just three games of multiple receptions this season, yet each time he has, O’Leary-Orange has scored double-digit fantasy points. Week 15 saw him post 12.2 FP, helped by his second receiving major of the 2025 campaign.

Hamilton’s deep and talented receiving corps does not present too many chances for O’Leary-Orange to display his talent. Bo Levi Mitchell has many options, and with Greg Bell asserting the presence of the Ticats’ ground game in recent weeks, finding opportunities doesn’t come often for O’Leary-Orange, who is projected for 4.7 FP this week. If you love to dive deep, here’s your springboard. We’re looking for the former Bombers receiver to make the most of his chances on Saturday, so we’ll give him a 10–12 FP ceiling.

6 CFL Fantasy sleepers you need in your lineup in Week 17

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