This week we found out the finalists for the annual CFL player awards. The Argonauts did extraordinarily well, being recognized in six of the seven categories.
In this space, Argonauts.ca will make a case for each nominee as to why they should win the league award.
MOST OUTSTADING SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER – JAVON LEAKE
Think of all the incredible punt returners the Argos have employed over the years; Michael Clemons, Chad Owens, Raghib Ismail, etc. This year Javon Leake had a better season than any of them.
Take a second to let that to sink in.
Leake set the Argo record for punt return yards in a season with 1,216, the third highest total in CFL history. It eclipsed a 26-year-old “Pinball” Clemons team mark, and he surpassed it with three games remaining on the schedule.
More dramatically, he broke another team record by returning four punts for touchdowns, just one shy of the league mark co-held by Henry “Gizmo” Williams and Chris Williams.
Not bad for a guy who is in his first full season as a punt returner. He exclusively returned kickoffs at Maryland and despite that, was still named First Team All-Big 10 Return Specialist in 2019.
Leake led the CFL in punt return yards, punt return average, and total kick return touchdowns. His 13 punt returns of 30 or more yards is eight more than any other player. He also averaged 21-yards per kickoff return.
MOST OUTSTANDING OFFENSIVE LINEMAN – DEJON ALLEN
This is by far the toughest selection a voter must make because it’s the toughest position to quantify with stats. When your humble typist had a vote, he would always ask a couple of offensive linemen, the o-line coach, the head coach; anyone who could provide a far more accurate opinion.
This year, the simplest way to showcase Allen’s ability is that he was voted as the top offensive lineman on the league’s best offensive line.
The Argos allowed just 19 sacks this year, 14 fewer than the second-best team, while aside from the Boatmen, the other eight teams averaged 50.5 sacks allowed. This group just missed setting a team record for the fewest sacks allowed in a season, which still stands at 18, set in 1996.
The o-line has also been dominant in the running game, allowing 1,000-yard running back A.J. Ouellete and company to do their thing, averaging just under 114 yards on the ground per game as a team.
Allen’s versatility has been a plus. He played left tackle two years ago, his first season in the CFL. Last year, with Isiah Cage expected back in the lineup, Allen was asked to move to the right side, and did. Though Cage remained out of the lineup for most of the year, the decision was made to keep Allen on the right side. He played well enough to be recognized as an East Division All-Star.
This year Allen’s play has been even better, and he again had the opportunity to show off his versatility. When Cage was unable to finish the first half of a game, Allen flipped to the other side and played flawlessly. He then returned to the right side when Cage returned. Not every offensive lineman can play each side of the line because the footwork is completely different.
It was a season that is indeed worthy of his selection as the league’s top lineman.
MOST OUTSTANDING ROOKIE – QWAN’TEZ STIGGERS
This is truly one of the great stories in the CFL this year.
When Qwan’tez Stiggers arrived at training camp, to many he was little more than a curiosity; a 21-year-old with no college experience, a year in a gadget league, and a guy with a very cool name.
Quickly, Stiggers became one of the most talked about players at camp. He almost immediately understood the complexities of a game that was to him and quickly picked up its nuances. He was making big plays on a daily basis and became one of the camp’s standouts; but there was no place for him to play.
Injuries hit the Argos secondary group hard this year. Robertson Daniel and DaShawn Amos made appearances on the 6-game injured list and Stiggers gained more playing time and additional responsibility on a weekly basis. Soon, he was asked to go mano-a-mano with some of the league’s best players on a weekly basis.
During the year he played both cornerback spots as well as halfback when needed.
More often than not, Stiggers came up on the better side of those matchups.
He’s done an amazing job, especially when you consider he didn’t have any college experience to prepare him for the daily mental and physical grind of pro football.
Stiggers had five interceptions, as many knockdowns, and his physical presence has been noted around the league and certainly in Toronto, where he became a unanimous selection in this category in the team vote.
His rookie season has been phenomenal, especially for a 21-year-old.
MOST OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER – ADARIUS PICKETT
Remarkably, only one Argo has won this award since it was first handed out in 1974, when Jim Corrigall took home the league honour in 1975.
It’s time that changed.
This may have been the toughest team vote of the bunch. The Argonauts defensive group was incredible this year with different players flashing on a game-by-game basis. Flo Orimolade and Wynton McManis had remarkable years, but there was one player who stood out every game he played.
Whether it be with a huge hit, a key pass knockdown, or even recovering a blocked field goal to clinch the East Division title, Adarius Pickett provided the Argos with a big play whenever they needed it.
His numbers speak for themselves. The UCLA product set career highs in tackles (105), special teams tackles (19), and sacks (6). He had six pass knockdowns and five tackles for loss, adding a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. He was second in the league with 144 total defensive plays.
But it’s not just the numbers as to why Pickett is so good.
He brought an insanely high level of production and an equal amount of intensity every game. He was a constant force who brought his A-game every time he stepped on the field. In short, he was a sensational player last season in Montreal who became an even better player this year in Toronto.
MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER – CHAD KELLY
At the beginning of the season the Toronto Argonauts were listed by some betting services as having just the fourth-best odds to win the Grey Cup. The main reason? The question mark at quarterback.
If that was the biggest question about the Argos going into the season, it’s been answered.
Chad Kelly has been dynamic. Leading the Argos to a 16-2 record and finishing 15-0 in games in which he started and played at least a half.
It’s tough to be better than 15-0.
Kelly has brought an aggressive mindset to the Argos, completing over 47% of passes of 20-or-more yards, and leading the league with an average of 10.5 passing yards per attempt. The Argos scored touchdowns on 25.8% of Kelly led drives (CFL average 16.5%), and his eight rushing touchdowns is just one off the league lead. That total would undoubtedly be much higher if he wasn’t taken off the field in most goal line situations and replaced by Cameron Dukes, who also has eight rushing TDs.
Kelly led the team to a 9-0 home record, with the team scoring at least 29 points in each of those outings.
He hasn’t relied on just one receiver, and in fact has survived significant injuries to Kurliegh Gittens Jr., Damonte Coxie and Cam Phillips throughout the season.
What often gets lost is that Chad Kelly is a first-year pro starter. Aside from a meaningless game in the standings at the end of 2022, Kelly hadn’t started a game since his final year at Ole Miss in 2016. To accomplish what he’s done this year has been outstanding, or to be even more accurate, Most Outstanding.
COACH OF THE YEAR – RYAN DINWIDDIE
It could be argued that Dinwiddie’s job this year was among the best in CFL history, and not just because his team tied the league’s all-time record for most wins in a season.
While Dinwiddie entered this campaign with the majority of a Grey Cup championship lineup returning, there was one potential hole. Internally, there was a tremendous amount of confidence that Chad Kelly could get the job done at quarterback, replacing the departed McLeod Bethel-Thompson, but until Kelly proved it on the field the question mark would remain.
Dinwiddie worked closely with his protégé in the offseason, half joking that he had to kick Kelly out of the facility on most nights. The hard work paid off, and due in large part to Dinwiddie’s mentorship, Kelly led the Argos to a 15-0 record in games he started and played at least a half, en route to being named the East Division’s Most Outstanding Player.
But that challenge was a piece of cake compared to the in-season coaching job Dinwiddie pulled off. The Boatmen clinched the East Division title on September 15, earlier than any other team in CFL history. It meant the team had a full one-third of its schedule ahead.
So how does a coach juggle his lineup for a month and a half, trying to give players a rest and keeping the majority of the team healthy while at the same time keeping the lineup sharp?
There was no mass benching of starters, though doing that in the CFL would be nearly impossible. Dinwiddie and his staff picked their spots, including starting backup quarterback Cameron Dukes in Winnipeg and later in Ottawa.
Dinwiddie was able to develop a rookie QB during the season while at the same time going 16-2. That’s remarkable.
Through it all, the team kept winning. They were 5-1 down the stretch, despite resting multiple starters in each game.
Consider that the Argos somewhat remarkably didn’t have a bye in the last 10 weeks and there’s little doubt which coach did the best job this season.