The BC Lions will be running a lineup that will be quite close to what they are expected to run come week 1 of the regular season. Edmonton on the other hand will be resting some of their expected starters such as McLeod Bethel-Thompson. Vernon Adams Jr. will start at quarterback after not dressing in the first preseason game last week.

Game Details:

Date/Location: Friday, May 31/BC Place, Vancouver, BC

Kickoff Time: 10:00 PM ET, 7:00 PM PT

Channel: CFL+

Depth Chart

Key Focal Points for the BC Lions

Replacing Lucky Whitehead and Dominique Rhymes

Ayden Eberhardt will start at receiver. He spent most of the season on the Lions’ practice roster last year although he did start in 2 games. Last year he caught 5 passes for 69 yards and looked good when in the lineup.

Travis Fulgham is another receiver starting in this game. He played in 13 games with 8 starts for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2020 and caught 38 passes for 539 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Edward Lee is in the lineup as well after leading the team in receiving last week as he caught 4 passes for 52 yards.

How Will William Stanback Look With BC

Last year Taquan Mizzell was remembered by many to have a disappointing season. However, he played better than the narrative would suggest about him. Over 14 games he rushed 157 times for 773 yards and 3 touchdowns, 4.92 yards per carry. Mizzell also had the 7th highest rushing grade among running backs with at least 40 rushing snaps by Pro Football Focus and actually graded higher than William Stanback.

The problem was that frequently last season BC would stop handing him the ball and completely abandon the run game very early if he had a slow start. Over the 9 games Mizzell had 10 carries or more he rushed 124 times for 651 yards, 5.25 yards per carry.

The concern here is that last season BC undervalued the run game and it was a big reason they took 7 sacks in the West Final against Winnipeg and tied the CFL record for most sacks allowed in a CFL playoff game. BC did not hand the ball off once over the final 34 minutes of that game.

If BC puts the low emphasis on the run game and quickly abandons it as they did last season then they will be a place for running backs to go to die. BC had the fewest rushes in the CFL last season. Currently, BC only has 3 running backs on their roster and are one of only 2 teams to not have at least 5 running backs on their current roster.

Christian Covington’s CFL Debut

Covington was a 5th round pick by the Lions in 2015. He has since played in 102 NFL games over which time he has recorded 196 tackles and 9.5 sacks. Now he will make his CFL debut playing for his hometown.

Replacing Mathieu Betts

Last year Betts had 18 sacks and set a record for most sacks by a Canadian in a CFL season. He has since signed with the Detroit Lions. Pete Robertson will start at defensive end in this game. Robertson has 22 sacks over the last 3 seasons with Saskatchewan.

Replacing Jalon Edwards-Cooper at Cornerback

Jordan Perryman will start at cornerback. Last week Perryman had a team-leading 7 tackles including 2 for a loss. He started in 10 games for Washington in 2022 where he made 37 total tackles. Perryman signed with the Las Vegas Raiders as a UDFA in 2023 although he was placed on injured reserve in late July and later released from injured reserve.

Ciante Evans Joins BC Following Grey Cup Championship

Evans started in 14 games for Montreal last year including the 3 playoff games. He made 23 tackles and 3 interceptions over the regular season last year. He will start in this game at halfback for BC.

DT Marcus Moore Poised For More Playing Time

Last year Marcus Moore spent most of the season on the practice roster. He looked good when he was in the lineup as a second-string tackle in 2 games in the regular season and in the playoff loss to Winnipeg. He had 2 run stops and assisted on a run stop in the West Final. Last week Moore pressured the opposing quarterback twice including a QB hit and assisted with a run stop.

Adrian Greene Moving to Start at Safety

Last year Quincy Mauger played very well as the starting safety for BC for most of the season. This year it looks as though Canadian safety Adrian Greene will stay in the role after he started in 4 regular season games and both playoff games at the position. Last week Greene had a QB hurry, a run stop, and assisted on a run stop.

A Few Elks Playing in This Game Who Stood Out Last Week

Edmonton has had a lot of personnel changes from last week to this week. There are a few players playing in this game who stood out to me last week in particular. A lot of last week’s standouts will not be in the lineup tomorrow for the Elks.

Nick Anderson will get the start at weakside linebacker. Last week he had 4 tackles including 2 for a loss. He made a run stop, and a stop against a short pass play last week.

Canadian receiver Hergy Mayala had a great game last week for the Elks in which he caught all 6 of his targets for 90 yards. Mayala is a newcomer to Edmonton this year. Gavin Cobb is another Canadian receiver for Edmonton who also caught all 6 of their targets last week as he racked up 63 yards.

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