We’re just over a week into Edmonton Elks training camp ahead of the 2026 season, and now only five days away from the first pre-season game of the season.
Despite shades of optimism, it’s been a rough five years for the Green and Gold. So naturally, the question on everyone’s mind is how is the team looking? Who are the standouts? Is this a team that looks poised to compete this season? I’ve had the privilege of being down at training camp all throughout the week, and I wanted to take this opportunity to go over all the position groups, break down what I’ve seen, and discuss who I think has popped and who hasn’t.
Quarterbacks:
Cody Fajardo is QB1. We all know that. He’s been getting all the first-team reps, he’s looked like the Fajardo we all know, and he has a calmness to him that controls the offence. There have maybe been some hesitancies or reluctancies to push the ball down the field, but overall this is the obvious QB1. It was a rough day for his offensive unit during yesterday’s scrimmage and he didn’t hold back when talking about it after practice either. “Bad… My unit, we wouldn’t have passed the grade today. It was quite embarrassing what we put on tape. Guys know that, guys know how we felt… just a lot of mistakes, myself included. It was not pretty.” And I mean yeah, they didn’t look great. Little lack of cohesion. The only unit taking penalties. Possibly trying to force some things. But it’s training camp and the offence always starts slower than the defence. I’m not worried at all about what Fajardo will bring to this Elks offence. Does he have some limitations as a QB? I mean sure, but really every QB does. The league’s MOP basically threw an interception a game last year. No worries here on QB1. Taylor Powell is an intriguing QB2. I got a text from my friend who was at camp last Monday when I wasn’t there and he said “Taylor Powell might be the worst QB I’ve ever seen. He was truly horrible today.” So I went in with low expectations. But Taylor’s been fine. He’s been good actually. Moving the ball down the field. His unit performed best on Sunday’s scrimmage. On Saturday with the bad weather his touch looked a little off, but he’s been good. No where near the level of the text I received. Like night and day different actually. Cole Snyder has looked comfortable and has good touch with everything, and Zach Zebrowski has looked like a 4th string QB that most teams would love to have on their roster.
Running Backs:
I think Justin Rankin could be the Most Outstanding Player of the CFL, so that kind of goes to show where I come out on him. He started camp with a bit more of a “vet” or cavalier approach, but he’s settled in. Intensity is high. Skill level is high. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Isaiah Knight. Physical back with good size. Runs really hard. Doesn’t seem like a guy you would want to tackle. Rushawn Baker is good out of the backfield in the passing game. Has been a good check-down option for his QB’s. Speedy back as well. It figures to be a good backfield. I didn’t even mention Javon Leake, and we know how electric he can be.
Receivers:
The starting receiving corps seems to be Austin Mack, Kaion Julien-Grant, Zach Mathis, Joe Robustelli and one of either Binjimen Victor or OJ Hiliare. Mack has immediately established himself as Fajardo’s favourite target, which was to be expected because of their Montreal days. Kaion as well has also featured as a favourite target, which was evidenced last season. Joe Robustelli is working really solidly out of the slot and seems to be a very reliable target. Zach Mathis’s size has been underutilized to my eye, but Cody also isn’t a QB who’s going to bomb it 40 yards downfield and let him go high point the ball. He finds ways to get involved in the passing game even if it isn’t always the way you might expect from a 6’7 receiver. Bin Victor has been playing the field side wideout, and he certainly has the frame for it, but again, maybe a little underutilized. He’s a guy who’s shown flashes of having a bit of a bag to make plays after the catch when he gets the ball, but he’s used more as a possession receiver. OJ Hiliare has been spending some time in the slot as well and he moves like a slotback. Super zippy guy, good feet, quick. I really like both players. I think they’re both starting calibre, and both will see the field a healthy amount.
Carter Kettyle, I owe you an apology. When he was drafted, I said I thought he needed to put on a little more size to play in the pro game, but quite bluntly, he hasn’t looked out of place at all. He’s had a really good camp. He has great hands, and moreover, he looks really comfortable. Jalen Calhou is another guy I’ve liked. He had a great final game of the regular season and has looked like he’s been in a flow state in camp. He hasn’t been getting first-team reps, but I’ve liked what I’ve seen from him. This is going to sound crazy, but TJ Luther is number 88 and Justin McGriff is 89, but they both rolled their jerseys up, so you initially couldn’t tell who was who. Now, a quick look at the roster and TJ is 5’11” and Justin is 6’5″, so you can decipher pretty quickly who is who, but it made for a nice guessing game for a full day of camp before I finally looked it up. All this said I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Justin in limited viewings.
Offensive Line:
The arrangement looks to be Brendan Bordner at LT, Carter O’Donnell at LG, David Beard and Mark Korte battling for C, Coulter Woodmansey at RG, and Jordan Murray at RT. The guards and the tackles are set let’s make no mistakes there, but there may be tweakings on who plays which side and when, especially considering Carter played a lot of RG last season, and Bordner and Murray are both natural LT’s. The C battle has been intriguing.
Early on, it looked like David Beard had the job locked up. But Mark Korte has made a push for it. He was getting first-team reps yesterday. I asked Coach Kilam about it, and he said, “Still going neck and neck.” So yeah, we got a real battle. In my eyes, it’s Beard to lose, but credit to Mark Korte because I had almost counted him out. One other note would be that I thought Brett Boyko, who was part of a not-so-great right side of the line last year, has had a good camp.
Defensive Line:
Malik Carney and Robbie Smith have been working as the starting DEs, while Jordan Williams and Jared Brinkman have been working as the starting DTs. It’s worth noting that Noah Taylor, who I think was their best defensive lineman last year, has been nicked up for a good portion of camp and has been with the twos when practicing. The starting front four looks very strong. Malik was an obvious no-brainer, and I think most felt comfortable with Jared and Jordan as the DT’s. All four starters have looked really good to my eye, although admittedly, my eye drifts pretty quickly post-snap to see what’s happening in the secondary. Darian Newell who has been coming off a year-long suspension, has been looking good as well. Strong and tons of penetration into the backfield.
Linebackers:
Joel Dublanko, Kenny Logan, and Nick Anderson have been the starting LB unit. Joel and Kenny have looked comfortable in their spots, although Kenny has spent some time rotating at safety with Chelen Garnes coming down to play in the front seven. Kenny’s also put on some size. He’s looking more built like an LB this year. There was a bit of murmur on the MLB spot. Would it be Brock Mogensen or Anderson? I love Mogensen’s game. I think he’s really a heck of a player, and man does he work hard and love the game. But it’s just one of those things when you watch Anderson play and you’re like – “Oh yeah, that’s why he won rookie of the year, and was a CFL All-Star.” He’s just that good, man. No shade to Mogensen in the slightest, but Anderson’s just a different breed. Their second-round pick has been Ben Sangmuah, has been working in the the LBing core, and looked pretty comfortable. He’s got great length and raw natural talent even if he needs to work on just fine-tuning some things. I feel like I haven’t gotten a real good read on their first-round pick, Dariel Djabome. Maybe I haven’t been watching at the right time. Another guy you see with a lot of talent, who can certainly work in with certain rotations. I’m excited to key in on him a little tighter during the pre-season.
Defensive Backs:
I’ve said I think this DB group is the most talented group on the team, and one of the most talented in the league. Tyrell and Kobe on the field side, JJ and Kordell on the boundary, and Chelen at safety. It’s worth noting Kobe appeared a little nicked up as well, and Leonard Johnson was taking some first-team reps at field side half, on Saturday and Sunday. I think the starters are mostly set here as of now, and rightfully so, but there have been a couple other guys who I’ve really liked. I thought Terez Reid looked great. I have another article up now on ElksNation outlining what I like about him, but he has a real ability to key in on the ball and he’s great in coverage. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Ladarius Tennison, too. Not afraid to get dirty and get involved in the play. He likes to tackle. Overall, I really think this is the strongest position group on the team. Maybe that’s DB bias from me, maybe it’s because I understand the nuances of this position group better than others. But it’s how I felt walking away from last season, and it’s how I feel now.
Specials:
Special Teams guys are pretty tough to evaluate in camp. Unless your kicker is missing everything or something, which Vincent Blanchard hasn’t been doing. Jesus Gomez, who they drafted from ASU, has been up at camp as well. Left-footed kicker, which is always kind of cool. Jake Julien’s punts actually look a touch shorter and a touch less positioned than they did last season, but I’m not really thinking about that all too much. He’s a premier punter in the CFL so until I see shank four in a row in a game it’s not really on my radar.
