Way back in the 1980s/early ’90s the Winnipeg Blue Bombers had developed the reputation as a Canadian Football League linebacker factory after repeatedly discovering and turning prospects into stars one after another.
Tyrone Jones, Greg Battle, Aaron Brown, Paul Randolph, Elfrid Payton and so on and so on.
As we begin the next chapter in our Positional Preview series — this one focussing on the receivers — it could be said the Blue Bombers have now become a bit of a receiver factory of late, what with the likes of Dalton Schoen, Pokey Wilson and Kevens Clercius rolling through Winnipeg and becoming stars or stars in the making.
That will be a critical theme for the franchise to continue, too, what with the receiving corps undergoing some significant change over the winter. Gone are regulars like Kenny Lawler and Drew Wolitarsky — both to the Hamilton Tiger-Cats — while Wilson has landed a shot with the New York Jets.
Offsetting those losses are the arrival of four players with CFL experience in Dillon Mitchell, Reggie White, Jr., Jerreth Sterns and Canadian Gavin Cobb, the product of the University of Manitoba.
Combine that crew with Nic Demski, last year’s leading receiver, a healthy Schoen, the emerging Clercius, and second-year man Keric Wheatfall — who made seven starts last season — and it has the makings of being an outstanding corps, even with the departures. Should Wilson not make the Jets and return to the club sometime during the summer, that corps would become even more deadly, as he posted a 1,000-yard season in his CFL debut.
Nic Demski
As camp nears, Demski is the proven commodity with back-to-back 1K seasons and Clercius, with his mix of size and meaty hands, oozes potential. Ditto for Wheatfall and also Sterns, who had 39 catches for 492 yards and two TDs in a dozed games for Saskatchewan last year.
What will be critical is the return to health of Schoen, who played just 2 1/2 games last season before suffering a knee injury. A favourite target of Zach Collaros, he is an exceptional route runner and a constant threat at or near the score zone and it’s not difficult to draw a straight line from the club’s struggles in the passing game last year to his absence, as the team dropped to a league-low 18 passing TDs in 2024 after a posting a league best 42 in 2023 and 44 in 2022, also tops in the land.
Both Mitchell and White, Jr. figure to play prominent roles, too — the former as a silky-smooth threat who flashed during his days in Edmonton; the latter a big-bodied target who can move the chains and attack defenders when he was healthy during his days in Montreal.
And somewhere in the collection of new faces could be the next Schoen, Wilson or Clercius. A brief look at the newcomers, with some of their stories to be told in further detail during camp:
-D’Marcus Adams – Spent part of last season on Edmonton’s practice roster after attending Buffalo Bills mini-camp.
-Reggie Brown – Former James Madison star who had 1,000-yard season for his school in 2023 and earned a look last year from the Kansas City Chiefs.
-Bryson Daughtry – Had a look from B.C. in 2023 after a solid college career at Elon College.
-Jaylen Hall – Attended camp here in Winnipeg last year but was released prior to the season. Also had a look with Edmonton in 2023.
-Keilahn Harris – A star at Oklahoma Baptist University, Harris had NFL looks from Atlanta and, last year, with Pittsburgh.
-Geordon Porter – Attended rookie camps last spring with both the New York Jets and New York Giants after his college days at Arizona State, New Mexico State and Connecticut.
-David Wallis – NFL stints with New England, the Giants and Chicago. Had 25 TDs over his final two college seasons at Randolph-Macon.
The Blue Bombers offence will have a new voice calling the shots as Jason Hogan replaces Buck Pierce as coordinator, with Jarious Jackson (QBs), Andre Bolduc (running backs) and Billy Jean also now on board.
Bottom line: there’s plenty of offensive talent at their disposal even with some of the changes in the receiving corps. Now the hope is the receiver factory can churn out another star from its assembly line.
POSITIONAL PREVIEW ’25
The Receivers
Kevens Clercius finds the end zone in Hamilton last season
The Returnees:
Starters: Nic Demski*, Dalton Schoen, Kevens Clercius*, Keric Wheatfall
Returning vets: Kody Case, Myron Mitchell, AK Gassama* (2024 CFL Draft pick who attended training camp last year before returning to the University of Manitoba).
CFL vets: Dillon Mitchell (Edmonton), Reggie White, Jr. (Montreal), Jerreth Sterns (Saskatchewan), Gavin Cobb* (Edmonton).
2025 CFL Draft pick: Joey Corcoran* (Rd 5, 39th overall)
Newcomers: D’Marcus Adams, Reggie Brown, Scotty Brown, Bryson Daughtry, Jaylen Hall, Keilahn Harris, Geordon Porter, David Wallis, Nick Adair*
Departed: Kenny Lawler (Hamilton), Drew Wolitarsky* (Hamilton), Ontaria Wilson (New York Jets), Lucky Whitehead (retired), Jeremy Murphy (Ottawa, since retired)
*Indicates Canadian
Keep an eye on:
WR #13, Dillon Mitchell
The Blue Bombers believe they got a gift this winter when the Elks moved on from Mitchell and signed him to a deal here lickedy-split after his release in Edmonton.
Mitchell turns just 28 next month and is coming off a year in which he had 58 receptions for 727 yards and four TDs. He’s durable, with soft hands and an explosiveness which could make him a favourite of Zach Collaros in an instant.
He also led Edmonton is kickoff return yards, and finished sixth in the CFL overall, but those chores are likely to be handled this year by another newcomer in Peyton Logan.
Did you know?
Nic Demski has posted consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons over the last two years, pulling in 67 passes for 1,006 yards in 2023 and career bests in 2024 of 76 receptions for 1,030 yards.
The last Canadian receiver for the Blue Bombers to post three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons was Gerald Wilcox from 1993-95.
Notable Number:
We touched on Dalton Schoen’s importance to the passing attack in terms of scoring above — he has 26 TDs in 37 games played — but often over-shadowed by that is this statistic: 75 of his 155 receptions as a Blue Bomber, or a whopping 48.4 per cent — have been second-down conversions.
