CFL DFS Picks and Cheat Sheet for Week 12 on DraftKings
The Redblacks try yet again for their first win of the season against the Alouettes to kick off the four-game Week 12 slate Thursday, and the full weekend ledger is highlighted by a Blue Bombers-Elks clash on Friday.
As customary, we'll break down multiple options for each roster spot and also offer a trio of core plays to consider making the centerpiece of your lineups.
Quarterback Plays for CFL Week 12
Davis Alexander, MTL vs. OTT ($10,500): Alexander has been tearing through virtually any defense put in front of him this season, posting a league-high 3,140 passing yards and an 18:2 TD:INT while completing 72.3 percent of his passes. The breakout signal-caller is also averaging a league-high 10.4 yards per attempt and has a league-best 122.5 passer rating, and he's been brought down a sparse seven times on the campaign.
The Redblacks have been the league's most generous team against the pass this season, allowing a league-high 333.9 passing yards per contest and the third-most touchdown passes (18). Ottawa has also conceded a CFL-high 115.4 passer efficiency rating, and Alexander has already trampled the Redblacks for a combined 765 yards and a 5:0 TD:INT in two prior games, contests in which he's posted 25.9 and 31.8 DK points.
Cody Fajardo, EDM vs. WPG ($10,200): Fajardo put together another impressive showing in Week 11 against the Argonauts, posting 24.0 DK points while throwing for 301 yards with an elite 80.6 percent completion rate. The veteran quarterback looks as good or better than ever, as he's also averaging a career-high 310.9 passing yards per contest and is just one TD pass away from equaling the career-high 18 he tossed in 2019.
Fajardo threw for 267 yards and recorded 15.9 DK points during his first 2026 meeting with the Blue Bombers in Week 4. Winnipeg does have some impressive metrics against the pass in multiple categories, but the Bombers have also surrendered 15 touchdown passes and 16 completions of 30+ yards. Meanwhile, Fajardo has a league-high 57.1 percent completion rate on passes of 20 yards or more in depth, which dovetails nicely with Winnipeg's penchant for allowing downfield pass plays.
Trevor Harris, SSK at BC ($9,800): Harris has had a bit of a downturn in recent games, but he retains a very high ceiling and therefore makes for a value tournament option as what is now a sub-$10K salary. Harris most recently offered corroboration of such two games ago against the Redblacks when he posted 26.8 DK points, his fifth tally of more than 25 DK points this season. Harris is still averaging a career-high 318.0 passing yards per contest as well, and he already has 20 touchdown tosses.
Harris put together his best performance of the season to date in the Roughriders' Week 2 opener against the Lions, throwing for 417 yards and three touchdowns while completing a season-high 83.3 percent of his passes and posting 31.7 DK points. Meanwhile, BC checks in allowing 286.0 passing yards per game and is tied for the second-highest completion rate allowed (70.8 percent), while also giving up the second-most touchdown passes (20) and fourth most completions of 30+ yards (17).
ALSO CONSIDER: Nathan Rourke, BC vs. SSK ($10,100)
Running Back Plays for CFL Week 12
Travis Theis, MTL vs. OTT ($9,500): Theis' spectacular breakout season already includes 700 rushing yards and six touchdowns at 6.0 yards per carry, along with a robust 24-182-0 line through the air. Since Week 3, Theis is also averaging 20.8 DK points per contest, a stretch where he's also gaining his rushing yards at an even better clip of 6.6 yards per carry. Theis checks into his favorable Week 12 matchup running hot as well, as he's exceeded 20 DK points in three of the last four games.
The Redblacks have been very vulnerable against the pass as already outlined in Alexander's entry, but Ottawa has also been beatable on the ground. The Redblacks are surrendering the second-most rushing yards per game (117.9) and doing at 5.4 yards per carry, while also tying for the most rush attempts allowed (198). Ottawa's also tied for the third-most rushing first downs conceded (70), while Theis already has 19 rushes of 10+ yards, including seven of 20+.
Justin Rankin, EDM vs. WPG ($8,900): Rankin opened the season with breakout efforts of 33.6 and 43.0 DK points in his first two games, and although he unsurprisingly hasn't been able to keep up that pace since, he still checks into Week 12 with four 100-yard rushing efforts and an average of 22.6 DK points per contest. Rankin has also accumulated 1,177 total scrimmage yards, along with nine total touchdowns (eight rushing, one receiving). Despite topping out at 62 rushing yards in his last five games, he stands out in the running back pool this week thanks to an elite matchup.
The Blue Bombers have been the league's most generous run defense by a wide margin, giving up 128.4 rushing yards per game at 6.2 yards per carry, both CFL-high figures. Winnipeg has also unsurprisingly allowed the most rushing first downs (75), and Rankin already got to the Bombers in Week 4 by posting 22.5 DK points on the strength of a 15-carry, 106-yard, one-touchdown effort that also included three receptions. Rankin has a league-high 26 rushes of 10+ yards, including eight of 20+, so the ceiling in such a matchup is through the roof.
ALSO CONSIDER: Zander Horvath, BC vs. SSK ($9,100)
Wide Receiver/Slotback Plays for CFL Week 12
Tyler Snead, MTL vs. OTT ($10,000): Snead opened the season with a 163-yard, one-touchdown night against the Tiger-Cats, and he's been under 62 receiving yards in just one game since while eclipsing the century mark three more times. That's left the four-year veteran on the cusp of his second straight 1,000-yard season – he boasts a 55-940-6 line through nine games – and with an average of 22.3 DK points per contest.
The various vulnerabilities of the Redblacks against the pass were already detailed in Alexander's entry, and in addition to the metrics cited there, it's worth noting Ottawa has also allowed the third-most completions of 30+ yards. In turn, Snead already has nine catches of such distance this season, and he's impressively brought in eight of the 20 targets of 20 yards or more in depth that have been directed his way by his ascendant quarterback.
Justin McInnis, BC vs. SSK ($8,100): McInnis has already had a couple spike performances this season, exploding for tallies of 23.9 and 29.9 DK points in Weeks 2 and 10. The speedy veteran got Nathan Rourke back from a one-game absence in Week 11 and needed just two catches to accrue 86 yards, his third straight game with at least that amount. McInnis now gets another shot at a Roughriders defense he already enjoyed plenty of success against in one prior meeting this season.
The Roughriders allowed McInnis 23.9 DK points on the strength of an 8-129-0 line to McInnis in Week 2. Saskatchewan has allowed 305.4 passing yards per game, along with a league-high 71.9 percent completion rate. Meanwhile, McInnis is averaging a league-high 18.2 yards per reception, and he's taken four of his 35 catches for 30+ yards. McInnis has recorded at least 81 receiving yards on five occasions, giving him a relatively safe floor to work with in what should be high-scoring contest.
Myron Mitchell, HAM at TOR ($6,600): Mitchell is dealing with a shoulder injury but was able to practice in full Wednesday, keeping him firmly in play as a very appealing mid-salary option. The CFL rookie has been carving out a larger role in Hamilton's air attack over the last two games, generating a 7-112-1 line while averaging 12.1 DK points per contest in that span.
It remains to be seen who'll be under center for the Ti-Cats in Week 12, but Mitchell has already proven capable of succeeding with multiple quarterbacks and has a very appealing on-paper matchup. The Argonauts come in allowing 315.2 passing yards per game, along with a 70.5 percent completion rate. Toronto has also given up the second-most completions of 30+ yards (19), and Mitchell is averaging 14.6 yards per grab and has four receptions on the six targets of 20+ yards he's seen so far.
Joshua Cephus, EDM vs. WPG ($5,500): Cephus' salary remains very modest despite the fact he's managed to get into the end zone in each of the last two games. The rookie pass catcher just tied his career high with six catches in Week 11 against the Argonauts, posting a career-best 17.5 DK points in the process for his third double-digit fantasy-point tally of the season.
As mentioned in Fajardo's entry, the Blue Bombers have been stout against the pass overall, but they've been vulnerable to downfield passing on occasion. Cephus has a solid 66.7 percent catch rate, eight second-down receptions among his 26 grabs and five catches on the seven targets of 20+ yards that have been directed his way (31 total targets).
ALSO CONSIDER: Johnny Johnson III, SSK at BC ($6,900)
Team Defense Plays for CFL Week 12
Montreal Alouettes ($4,500) vs. Ottawa Redblacks:
The Alouettes have a quality defense, and their talent can particularly be highlighted in scenarios where they draw a matchup as favorable as Thursday's. Montreal has eight interceptions and 15 sacks, and the Als also rank in the top half of the league with 283.7 passing yards per game allowed. They've been poor at preventing efficiency on the ground, but Montreal is still surrendering a modest 95.8 rushing yards per contest.
The last time these two teams met July 31, the Alouettes held the Redblacks to 13 points and just 2.8 yards per rush while picking off and sacking Jake Maier and Bryson Barnes once apiece. In the first game between the teams, the Alouettes gave up 35 total points but one of those was a Kalil Pimpleton kickoff-return TD. They also sacked Maier three times while also getting another INT. Additionally, Ottawa has had some improvement offensively as the season has gone on, but the Redblacks still rank poorly in multiple categories while the Alouettes have a +10 turnover ratio and have been very proficient at limiting big plays through both the ground and air.
CFL DFS Cheat Sheet for Week 12
- Davis Alexander, QB
- Justin Rankin, RB
- Myron Mitchell, WR
Total salary expenditure: $26k
This week's trio once again allows us to essentially preserve half our salary cap and still build in some nice upside. We'll begin with Alexander, who's arguably been the league's best quarterback all season and has a premium matchup against the Redblacks. Rankin has been relatively quiet after a blistering hot start to the season, but the talented back has the clear-cut best matchup for the run in that of the Blue Bombers. Finally, Mitchell has provided some nice big-play upside recently and has excellent fantasy-point-per-dollar potential thanks to his modest salary.
