With rookies getting ready to report in two days and training camp set to begin at the end of the week, let’s take a shot at how the Toronto depth chart might look.
The Argonauts currently have 103 players on their roster, so needless to say, it’s pretty crowded at several positions. As it currently stands, there are 41 Canadians, 56 Americans, and 6 Global players. Positionally, they breakdown as follows: 19 DBs, 11 LBs, 19 DL, 20 WR, 16 OL, 4 RB, 5 FB, and 4 Specialists. Yes, I’m still calling Enoch Penney-Laryea a linebacker until I see him working exclusively with the defensive line.
Some of these positional battles will have to resolve quickly as the team needs to trim the roster to 85 by Saturday, and 75 by next Tuesday.
Quarterback
For the first time since he led the Balboa Buccaneers to a 6-1 league record in 2005, we can confidently say this is McLeod Bethel-Thompson’s team. I expect Chad Kelly to be breathing down his neck at times, but history has shown us that’s a good thing for MBT’s game.
Running Back
After drafting Canadian Daniel Adeboboye, I expect the team to make running back a Canadian position. This will change if Harris suffers an injury, in which case Ouellette and Leake would likely vault ahead of Adeboboye.
Fullback
There are a lot of fullbacks on this roster, which sort of has me on red alert. Declan Cross is an excellent player and a fan favourite, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the team move on from him in a cost-cutting move. If he’s still on the opening day roster, he’ll be the starter, but I wonder…
Receiver
This is another positional group that makes me nervous. The Argos have six veteran starters on their roster with five spots to put them in. DaVaris Daniels and Kurleigh Gittens Jr aren’t going anywhere. That means it’s possible either Eric Rogers, Juwan Brescacin, Brandon Banks, or Markeith Ambles could be moving on. As a coach and a fan, you’d like to keep all six, especially after last season where we saw Brescacin, Braverman, Rogers and Noel miss so much time due to injury, but teams don’t generally pay “starter money” for a guy they don’t plan to start. Keep in mind, if the Argos make RB a Canadian position, they don’t need to start two Canadian receivers. They may not need to start any, but it’s hard to see Gittens Jr not getting the call at the very least given the season he had in 2021 and the relationship he’s forged with McLeod Bethel-Thompson.
Offensive Line
I think the Argonauts have decided to go with Americans at the tackle spots. Churchill and Richards were both drafted to be right tackles, but if that were still the plan, you’d think at least one of them would have lined up as the right tackle against Edmonton in the meaningless last game of the 2021 regular season. Instead, they both started that game at guard with Martez Ivey at tackle, and then Ivey played right tackle in the playoffs. I’m not giving up on Churchill as a tackle, but I don’t think we’ve seen any indication he’s ready to start there yet.
Defensive Line
It’s hard to imagine Toronto not marking defensive line as a place to start a Canadian. They’re over the moon with what they got from Acheampong last season, we know they love Robbie Smith, Fabion Foote is a player, and they just drafted a stud in Deionte Knight. Shawn Oakman will start at the other tackle spot, and Ja’Gared Davis will start on the outside. There could be an awesome battle for the remaining defensive end position between Shane Ray, Adrian Tracy, and Jachai Polite.
Linebacker
I’m almost positive we’ll see Henoc Muamba and Wynton McManis start with Jack Cassar and Trevor Hoyte behind them. This is a huge year for Cassar to prove that he can be the guy to take over the middle when Muamba retires. One of the most interesting guys to watch will be Enoch Penney-Laryea, who is technically a defensive end, but is so perfectly suited to being a Will backer. I’ve got him listed at the back of that position on my depth chart because I don’t think he’ll see any actually playing time at linebacker this year. That said, I do think he’ll dress, and I do think he’ll play on almost every special teams unit.
Defensive Back
The release of Crezdon Butler and Jeff Richards cleared this picture up a lot. Royce Metchie is a lock at safety, as is Shaq Richardson at boundary half, and Jamal Peters and Jalen Collins at corner. Chris Edwards is a lock at Sam, but he’s going to miss the beginning of the season due to a suspension. That essentially leaves us to sort out DaShaun Amos, Treston Decoud, and Robertson Daniel for field half and Sam to start the year. Daniel has experience at Sam, so that wouldn’t be a surprise, but I think they really want to get Decoud on the field, and this seems like the easiest way to do so. There’s nothing wrong with Amos at Sam either, but he’s played field half at such a high level, it would be hard to see Toronto putting anyone else there.
Specialists
I’m really excited to see if John Haggerty III comes to camp. If he does, I think he’ll win the punting job, leaving Boris the Boot to focus on bombing 60-yard field goals. Toshiki Sato didn’t have a great outing in his only shot against Edmonton last year, but don’t give up on him, he’s a good kicker. And don’t forget he belted a 60-yard punt in that game. I hope Jake Reinhart has fully recovered from that brutal arm injury last season. The Argos have a number of guys on the roster who can long snap, but none like Reinhart.