CFL Week 3 Best Bets: Props For Nathan Rourke, Chad Kelly, More
· Yahoo Sports
REGINA, CANADA - NOVEMBER 8: Nathan Rourke #12 of the BC Lions celebrates after scoring a touchdown in the CFL Western Final game between the BC Lions and Saskatchewan Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium on November 8, 2025 in Regina, Canada. (Photo by Brent Just/Getty Images)
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Getty ImagesWhat is already an exciting 2026 CFL season continues with the first four-game slate of the new campaign.
The ledger kicks off Friday night with a Lions-Tiger-Cats clash in Hamilton and wraps up with a Saturday night Roughriders-Stampeders showdown in Calgary.
Let’s dive into four player props worth considering for Week 3 action!
Nathan Rourke, BC Lions (at Hamilton Tiger-Cats), Friday, June 19, 7:30 p.m. ET
Bet: Over 31.5 Rushing Yards (-114 on FanDuel Sportsbook)
Rourke got the defense of his Most Outstanding Player award off to a very momentous start in his Week 2 debut. The explosive signal-caller did damage with both his arm and legs, compiling 330 passing yards while adding 59 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Rourke’s passing yardage prop is quite elevated at 337.5, making it a risky proposition despite the quarterback’s undeniable talent. In turn, his rushing yardage figure is a lot more palatable at 31.5, and as he demonstrated in the loss to the Roughriders, he’s amply capable of comfortably clearing that number.
Rourke gained 62 yards on only six carries in two regular-season meetings with the Tiger-Cats in 2025, cashing this prop once and coming very close with 28 yards in the other. He eclipsed 31 rushing yards in eight of the 16 regular-season games in which he logged at least one rush attempt in 2025, and he finished with exactly 31 on two other occasions.
Rourke also totaled 68 rushing yards in his first postseason game against the Stampeders last November, and with Hamilton having accrued three sacks through two games, the Ti-Cats could certainly apply enough pressure to force Rourke to take off a few times.
Chad Kelly, Toronto Argonauts (at Ottawa Redblacks), Saturday, June 20, 1:00 p.m. ET
Bet: Over 316.5 Passing Yards (-116 on FanDuel Sportsbook)
Bonus Bet To Consider: Over 1.5 Passing TDs (-148 on FanDuel Sportsbook)
There was plenty of uncertainty surrounding Kelly coming into the 2026 season, as the last time he’d taken a snap in anything but a preseason game had been the 2024 East Final. The Mississippi product suffered a gruesome leg injury in that contest and never played in 2025.
However, Kelly looked like he hadn’t missed a snap in his Week 2 debut, lighting up a talented Alouettes defense for 445 yards and three touchdowns. Kelly averaged a robust 9.7 yards per attempt along the way, and he took just one sack despite having plenty of rust to work off.
Kelly connected with seven different targets overall on the night, so he certainly seems to have good command of his offense and skill-position assets. The Redblacks could help facilitate a second straight productive game for Kelly as well, as they surrendered 266 passing yards and 7.8 yards per attempt to the Elks’ Cody Fajardo in their one game to date.
Another 400-yard-plus day naturally isn’t the likeliest scenario, but Kelly’s yardage prop of 316.5 is certainly one he’s capable of cashing – he posted 322 yards or more in four of the eight regular-season games he played back in 2024, as well as in the one non-injury-shortened playoff game he suited up for that year.
Davis Alexander, Montreal Alouettes (at Edmonton Elks), Saturday, June 20, 4:00 p.m. ET
Bet:
The brash Alexander has gotten his 2026 campaign off to quite the start, completing 70.0 percent of his passes for 777 yards with a 4:0 TD:INT while leading Montreal to a 2-0 record. The Portland State product is now 13-0 as a starter, a CFL record for most consecutive wins to begin a career.
Alexander has tallies of 336 and 441 yards in his first pair of 2026 outings, and he’s averaging a robust 9.7 yards per attempt overall in the sample. Dating back to the start of his injury-shortened 2025, Alexander has thrown for over 300 yards in six of his last nine games alone.
With No. 1 back Stevie Scott III missing the first two games due to a hamstring injury, Alexander has shouldered a heavier workload than usual and put up 80 pass attempts in that span. Scott is still questionable for Saturday’s game as of mid-week, and given the nature of soft-tissue injuries, he could be held out yet again if there’s any question about his health.
Montreal has a healthy 28.25-point implied team total, and given how aggressive Alexander has been attacking downfield, he could well eclipse 290.5 passing yards on just 30-35 attempts.
Kian Schaffer-Baker, Saskatchewan Roughriders (at Calgary Stampeders), June 20, 7:00 p.m. ET
Bet: Over 48.5 Receiving Yards (-114 on FanDuel Sportsbook)
The Roughriders’ passing attack had a banner day in their season-opening win over the Lions, with multiple pass catchers benefitting from quarterback Trevor Harris’ 417-yard, three-touchdown effort. Samuel Emilus was on the receiving end of each of those scores, but Schaffer-Baker actually set the pace for the group on the afternoon.
Schaffer-Baker posted a team-best 11 catches, 165 yards and 13 targets, reigniting his chemistry with Harris after drawing 15 targets from the veteran signal-caller over Saskatchewan’s two postseason games last November. Schaffer-Baker seems to finally be healthy after playing in only six regular-season games over the 2024-25 campaigns, and as such, this is a very modest yardage prop for his upside.
Schaffer-Baker has averaged 51.4 receiving yards per regular-season game in his career, including 52.5 and 53.3 in the two seasons during which he’s played double-digit games. The Guelph alum is clearly a trusted option for Harris, and despite his past health issues, Schaffer-Baker still has more than enough speed to get downfield.
The Stampeders played solid pass defense in their one 2026 game thus far, a narrow Week 1 loss to the Blue Bombers. However, Winnipeg QB Zach Collaros still facilitated three receiving tallies of more than 50 yards in that contest, and Schaffer-Baker certainly has a chance to replicate that given his likely volume and ability to compile some chunk plays.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com