After four straight seasons without a playoff appearance, it was time for a change in Edmonton. And the Elks weren’t messing around this winter.
Well it can be argued ad nauseum who the best 3 are. But I can’t really disagree with any of them. There’s a reason McInnis & Hardy were both top 5 free agents & the ususal suspects, Lewis & Lawler, weren’t. Nice to see these 3 get some real recognition outside of the loud noise always surrounding the other 2.
The article should have been named top 3 Canadian receivers. Leaving off Lawler, Lewis, Schoen and Begelton is laughable. Philpot? Steinberg must be from or based in Montreal. Thankfully the GM’s know better. Just check what they are worth on the free agent market and what they are getting paid.
Lawler has one 1,000 yd season to his name. He has never managed to match the same # of games played from 1 season to the next. And he has been noticeably unnoticeable in the GC game. It’s fine to be lights out in the WF, but if you want to be a champion the ONE game you have to show up for is the GC.
You have an argument for Schoen, Lewis & Begelton but Lawler is his own best self promotion. He falls well short of his annual prediction of a 2K season. 
There is a reason why his contract includes a bonus clause for playing 15 games, just like Jeffcoat had a bonus clause for playing 12 games his last season. I think it’s hilarious that Dillon Mitchell has a bonus clause if he hits 2K. I see that as a subtle shot @ Kenny, not a realistic target for Mitchell. Kind of a running joke I suspect.
He was injured last year, but in any one game needing any one catch I would take Lawler over anyone. I think he is the best receiver in the league. He catches anything in his area code. If it turns out his career is derailed because he can’t stay on the field that would be a shame.
There are plenty of names left off this list (naturally – only three spots), and while Philpot may be an edge case, he had insane pro rated 2024 numbers. Take a look at receiving rankings from 2024. Philpot is the only guy to rack up his stats (779 yards, 361 YAC, 5 TDs, 6 30-yard pass plays) over nine games. Literally every other receiver in the top 20 got their yardage playing 15 games or more.
Those numbers, and Philpot’s 2023 Grey Cup MOC performance, perhaps explain why he’s on this list. Could someone else be there? Sure. But it’s not an unreasonable inclusion, unless you’re a Bomber fan and you’re still sore about the end of the 2023 Grey Cup. 
IMO when you are giving a team 10 games & you’re top 2 in salary, the team is overpaying by a lot. As noted in the Winnipeg media & confirmed by Miller, the team could have paid out more money but, by their actions, were going to move on from Kenny.
Yes, Lawler makes some great catches. But that’s ignoring the fact a lot of WR’s in the league make great catches. The top 10 catches in 2024 - you can catch that on YouTube.
Kenny made some great catches but didn’t make the cut. And all 10 of those selected deserved to be there.
As I’ve said before, Kenny is his own best promoter. But the realm of “spectacular” catches doesn’t have a membership of one. And if Kenny was the go to guy in Wpg, he was practically invisible in the big game. He can be shut down. The Argos proved that.
Your rankings are purely subjective by whomever made them. So are our opinions.
You are also blaming his lack of yardage in the GC on him where I would say that it was more as a result of the Argo D that probably would have shut down any passing attack and the fact that Zach couldn’t throw the ball any more in the 4th quarter after his injury. Let’s not forget that he played a huge role in getting them there, more than any other receiver in the league. I’m not buying that his lack of catches in the GC is any kind of reflection of his long term overall talent as a receiver.
I stand by my opinion that he is the best, albeit not the most durable. The GM’s agree with me that he is in the top 3 at least judging by what he is paid.
No GM has seen more of Lawler than Walters or President than Miller. And they clearly don’t think Lawler is worth the money.
Those aren’t my rankings. Those are by a CFL panel. . But, Jon, if you think he’s the best it’s no surprise - I’m sure most Bomber fans would agree. What Kenny will be remembered for, unless he starts putting up big numbers at the ripe of old age of 31, is what he could have done. Boasting about 2K seasons multiple times is just stoopid with 2 “o’s” if you can’t back it up. Kenny has never been able to back up the talk.
You overlooked the fact that Lawler isn’t a Bomber. I have called him the best on this site for 4 years now, while he was a Bomber an Elk and now a Ticat. Your usual anti Bomber sentiment is misplaced on this one.
You are also assuming the Bombers don’t think he is worth the money, neglecting to take into account that they are up against the cap as usual and they have to make some hard decisions. They only have so much to spend and already pay a lot of players a lot and still have the best receiver in the league statistically who they pay a lot less for. If there was no salary cap my guess is the Bombers would have kept him.
I also assume that you agree with me that Philpot doesn’t belong in the top 3 based on your Lawler reasoning, namely that he has been injured for a significant part of his career. If you extrapolate Philpot’s numbers then surely you should do the same for Lawler. You can’t suck and blow at the same time.
You may have the last word.
Ultimately, these rankings are pretty clearly dependent on recency bias – who’s done the best last season, maybe the last two seasons? You may not like that bias, but there is some merit to it. Who cares what a receiver did four years ago when he’s a shell of his former self today, in 2025, and other younger receivers are outperforming him? Football is a brutal business.
I want to say that I was actually surprised to see Philpot on this list, but also reiterate that his inclusion is not absurd or evidence of a pro-Montreal bias (LMAO as if that is even remotely a thing in Canadian anglo media – most journalists outside Quebec know very little about the Als as a whole). He is one receiver who merits consideration. There are many others who do as well. The list is only three players so there would be a bunch of deserving receivers omitted no matter who was selected. You can dislike Philpot’s inclusion on the list all you want, but if you think it’s an absurd inclusion, you yourself are demonstrating your own bias.
No bias on my Philpot comments and no bias against Montreal. It’s just my opinion that he doesn’t belong in the top 3. Just calling balls and strikes. My guess is that I am in the majority. Just because someone disagrees with you doesn’t automatically mean they are biased.
Honestly, would you have put him in the top 3 if asked before this column? The article isn’t about potential.
That’s the point. When you fall off page 1 of the stats sheet, you clearly can’t ignore the results of those receivers that dominate the top end.
I completely agree with Jon that you shouldn’t base things on potential. Lawler has had the “potential” to hit the 1,000 mark again for 4 years now - the usual marker for having a good to great season. But, if you are going to ignore that card for Philpot, you can’t be blind to it for Lawler. In that case, I’ll take the 25 year old Philpot over the 30 something Kenny, thank you very much.
Well, well. It seems that there are other “biased” parties out there and gadzooks, some of them are even involved directly with the CFL, unlike us upon the forum.
You have seen this recent article:
https://3downnation.com/2025/04/15/cfls-highest-paid-receivers-for-2025/
I looked very hard for the name Philpot and could only find Jalen at #17. “Top 3” receiver Tyson nowhere to be found in the top 20 highest paid. What a steal for the Alouettes as is everyone one of their players! It was very easy to spot Lawler at #1. Yes I know being paid the most doesn’t mean he is the best, but I like his case a lot more than I like the Philpot case, which is the argument actually based on bias. Lawler has been either the highest paid or second highest paid receiver next to Eugene for the last 3 or 4 years and is the highest paid now. That tells you all you need to know as to what league GM’s think of his abilities and clearly puts him into the top 3.
As if the GM’s backing me isn’t enough, a new thread appeared today which contained the player’s opinions and it is linked below.
Yes it is a small sample size, but the players surveyed overwhelmingly rated Lawler as having the best hands, which I have always said and which should be obvious to even a casual CFL observer. I’ll wait for the arguments that having the best hands has nothuing to do with a good receiver. In fact it does and I would argue is the single most important attribute for any receiver to have. You can be blazing fast, but if you can’t catch you ain’t nothing. Along with the GOAT Stegall Lawler isn’t fast compared to others, just the best. I was going to try and ask Tyson Philpot what he thought but lo and behold the article did it for me:
This argument was like shooting fish in a barrel.
Best hands & best receiver are 2 different things, Jon. Even you should know that. Your hands aren’t much good sitting on the sidelines. It’s hardly unanimous & Mr. Great Hands didn’t make the divisional All-Star team, did he?? Or the CFLPA All-Stars - or the PFF CFL All-Stars???
Two completely different things. Greatest hands, fastest RB, biggest arm. Abilities, God given talent is great but you have to turn that into results. One of the best catches Kenny made last year was out of bounds. Impressive but didn’t amount to much.
Maybe that’s the problem here, Jon. I’m not judging receivers by style points or what he has the tools to do. Apples & oranges.
Yu can keep twisting in the wind, but I will stick with my opinion, the opinion of league GM’s and the opinion of the players.
Good - we’ll go with that. CFLPA should know who they’re voting for. You did say - last word.
Exactly. Anyone who thinks Philpot has no place on this list didn’t actually watch him play in 2024 very carefully, or at all. He was playing at a crazy level for the half season he was healthy. And for much of it, he was basically the main target. Mack only came back from the NFL mid-season. Snead got hurt in game 1 and didn’t return until after Philpot had gotten injured. Rambo only started to be targeted after Cody got injured.
Would Philpot have been my first choice for this list? Probably not. But even his half-season was still one of the strongest receiver performances of 2024. Combine with his 2023 MOC and his young age and there is a case.
Well - we are speaking secret alphabet when it comes to some people.
The $$$ argument is complete nonsense. The TiCats are paying him big $$$ because there is the “expectation” that he can produce AT LEAST 1,000 yds. Nobody cares if he owns the entire highlight package of catches if he comes up with another 700 yd season. It would be considered by the TiCats & fans as a massive failure.
So if we’re going to consider “potential”, Philpot absolutely belongs up there.