![\"1.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Season-Predictor-1270x415-1.jpg\")
\nOFFENCE<\/p>\n
* denotes National
** denotes Global<\/p>\n
QUARTERBACK<\/p>\n
All eyes will be on the health of Chad Kelly<\/a>, who hasn\u2019t played a down of professional football in about a year and a half. New coach Mike Miller<\/a> believes Kelly can regain his 2023 MOP form after breaking his right leg in the 2024 Eastern Final. The team can take comfort in the fact they have one of the league\u2019s best backups in Nick Arbuckle<\/a>, who threw for over 4,300 passing yards and 26 touchdowns in 2025.<\/p>\n OFFENSIVE LINE<\/p>\n Beyond the quarterback position, the biggest question mark going into training camp is who will emerge as the Week 1 starters at both tackle positions. Brandon Kemp<\/a> played eight games last year and, at six-foot-seven and 310 pounds, has the prototypical build for the position.<\/p>\n Ryan Hunter<\/a> had a tough 2025 season. In mid-July, the 2024 CFL Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman was hit by a car, which thankfully only kept him out of action for eight weeks. It was only two years ago that he was a major reason why Toronto had one of the most dangerous offences in the game, finishing second in rushing.<\/p>\n Peter Nicastro<\/a> is the heart of the Argonauts\u2019 offensive line, having started 53 of the past 54 games. Despite a losing season and injuries across the offensive line, it can easily be overlooked that Toronto actually finished third in offensive points scored. Nicastro deserves plenty of credit for that.<\/p>\n Dakoda Shepley<\/a> is back after spending the past six years in the NFL, most recently with the Dallas Cowboys. I\u2019m not alone in being curious about what the ceiling is for the former fifth overall pick in the 2018 CFL Canadian Draft.<\/p>\n Joshua Donovan<\/a> represents a group of several American tackles hoping to win one of two spots. Donovan played 17 games for Montreal in 2024 and, at just 26 years old, still has plenty of runway ahead of him if he can lock down this spot.<\/p>\n RECEIVER<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to think of many players who experienced a greater leap in their second season than Kevin Mital<\/a>. Kevin went from being the fifth overall pick in the 2024 CFL Canadian Draft to becoming the fifth receiver in Argonauts history to record 100-plus receptions in a single season. He tied BC Lions receiver Keon Hatcher Sr. for the most catches in the league with 102.<\/p>\n Speaking of Hatcher, Damonte Coxie<\/a> finished second to him in receiving yards per game. If not for injury, Coxie likely would have surpassed 1,000 receiving yards. One of the best big-play threats in the game, Damonte finished fourth in both yards per catch and receptions of 30-plus yards.<\/p>\n Argonauts fans should be excited to once again get a full season from Makai Polk<\/a>. In 2024, his first year in the league, Makai led the team with 1,024 receiving yards, was named an East Division All-CFL receiver and earned the team\u2019s Most Outstanding Rookie award. After spending the first half of 2025 in the NFL, Polk returned to the Boatmen and barely skipped a beat, posting 12 catches for 159 yards and a touchdown in his first two games.<\/p>\n From Week 10 to Week 17, Jake Herslow<\/a> was a CFL Fantasy darling with 40 receptions for 574 yards and a ridiculous nine touchdowns.<\/p>\n David Ungerer III is coming off his best season in the league, amassing 53 receptions for 653 yards and two touchdowns. The six-year veteran brings excellent National depth to the position.<\/p>\n RUNNING BACK<\/p>\n For the Argonauts\u2019 offence to become dangerous again, they will need Spencer Brown<\/a> to take a significant leap from his 314-yard rookie rushing season. The team\u2019s inability to run the ball does not fall squarely on Brown, far from it, but a return to the playoffs for Toronto will only come with an improved run-pass balance.<\/p>\n FULLBACK<\/p>\n This position is still in flux, but keep an eye on Global defensive tackle and special teams contributor Thiadric Hansen for this role.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n DEFENCE<\/p>\n * denotes National DEFENSIVE LINE<\/p>\n Andrew Chatfield Jr. (the team leader in sacks in 2025 with seven) is entering his third CFL season and, at 27 years old, is just entering his prime as a pass rusher.<\/p>\n Ralph Holley<\/a> is back in the CFL after spending part of 2025 with the Cleveland Browns. In 2024, Holley accomplished the rare feat of finishing tied for the league lead in sacks with eight while lining up at defensive tackle. His return to Toronto was huge news for a team looking to rebound from a disappointing 2025.<\/p>\n The Argonauts\u2019 2026 defensive line feels like a high-end high school reunion, with DeWayne Hendrix, just like Holley, returning to the Boatmen. Hendrix experienced his greatest individual success with Toronto, recording a career-high 33 tackles in 2022, while his best sack total of six came the following season.<\/p>\n The final defensive end spot will feature a battle between Canadians Jonathan Kongbo<\/a> and Jeremiah Ojo. I\u2019ll go with Kongbo, the former fifth overall pick in the 2019 CFL Canadian Draft, who has spent time with the Denver Broncos and registered a career-high four sacks with the Elks this past season.<\/p>\n LINEBACKER<\/p>\n While there is plenty of speculation surrounding the defensive line, expect far more certainty at linebacker. Starting at weakside linebacker will be the Argonauts\u2019 Most Outstanding Defensive Player nominee Cameron Judge<\/a>, who led the team with 79 tackles.<\/p>\n If we made a list of players with the toughest shoes to fill in the CFL, Isaac Darkangelo<\/a> would be near the top as he replaces All-CFL linebacker Wynton McManis<\/a> in the middle. It won\u2019t be easy, but if his 2025 season is any indication, Darkangelo will be up to the task after posting career highs across the board.<\/p>\n Linebacker, defensive back, pass rusher, wherever Adarius Pickett<\/a> lines up, you are guaranteed All-CFL-level production. An All-CFL cover linebacker with Toronto in 2023, Pickett\u2019s run of excellence continued during his two years with Ottawa, and he now returns to the team where he experienced his greatest individual season. The Argonauts are so loaded at linebacker that I haven\u2019t even mentioned Aaron Casey<\/a>, who finished second on the team with six sacks in 2025.<\/p>\n DEFENSIVE BACKS<\/p>\n<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Benjie Franklin<\/a> appeared in every game for Toronto in 2025, with the highlight being a 57-yard interception return touchdown off a pass from Nathan Rourke. Franklin ended the year with four interceptions and 60 defensive tackles.<\/p>\n Continuing the \u201cgetting the band back together\u201d theme, DaShaun Amos<\/a> will once again patrol the secondary for the team he won two Grey Cups with. The addition of the 2025 East Division All-CFL defensive back has the double effect of upgrading Toronto\u2019s defence while hurting their QEW rival Hamilton after such a strong season.<\/p>\n Derek Slywka<\/a>\u00a0announced himself to the rest of the league with his wild fumble return and blocked field goal return touchdowns<\/a> in Toronto\u2019s first win of the season, a 29-16 victory over Ottawa. Slywka\u2019s rookie season was about more than just that game, as he finished with 46 tackles and three interceptions.<\/p>\n Hey, remember this interception return touchdown in the 2024 Grey Cup<\/a>? Robert Priester<\/a> had a solid 2025 with Ottawa and represents another former Argo looking to help return Toronto\u2019s defence to among the league\u2019s elite units.<\/p>\n Tarvarus McFadden<\/a> is coming off his best season, tying for the league lead with six interceptions while tallying a career-high 43 tackles. His efforts were rewarded with his first East Division All-CFL selection.<\/p>\n SPECIAL TEAMS<\/p>\n * denotes National KICKER<\/p>\n Not much analysis is needed for the man who set an Argonauts record after making his 57th field goal in the final week of the team\u2019s season. Lirim Hajrullahu also set a CFL record with 12 made field goals from 50-plus yards. It\u2019s hard to find another kicker you trust more than Hajrullahu.<\/p>\n PUNTER<\/p>\n Over the last four seasons, John Haggerty has finished either first or second in average yards per punt.<\/p>\n LONG SNAPPER<\/p>\n A third-round pick in 2023, Adam Guillemette<\/a> has been a steady part of the Argonauts\u2019 special teams unit since his rookie season.<\/p>\n RETURNER<\/p>\n Rounding out one of the best special teams units in the CFL is Janarion Grant<\/a>, who finished fourth in 2025 with 1,925 all-purpose yards. The 2024 Most Outstanding Special Teams Player signed an extension in February<\/a> and should once again challenge for the title of the league\u2019s best returner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CFL.ca\u2019s Top of the Depth Chart series offers an early, speculative look at how each team\u2019s roster could…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":656552,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[49,48,521,522,520,82],"class_list":["post-656551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=656551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/656551\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/656552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=656551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=656551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=656551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
** denotes Global<\/p>\n
** denotes Global<\/p>\n