Red-hot Eskimos receiver Brandon Zylstra likes the Yards After Catch (YAC) stat so much, he has set a goal of leading his league in that category every year since he was in college.
That’s probably not going to happen this season, even though Zylstra – the CFL’s leading receiver with 1,482 yards as of mid-October – has compiled 415 yards after the catch. Winnipeg Blue Bombers running back Andrew Harris had 652 YAC among his 816 receiving yards.
“A lot of DBs (defensive backs) will hit you once,” said Zylstra. “Some of them, you are going to go down. I just try to be the guy who doesn’t do that.”
Zylstra, who averaged 40 YAC during his first six CFL games in 2016 and 31.9 YAC this season, doesn’t care whether his YAC comes from dragging multiple defenders on his back or by catching the ball in open space.
Wide receiver Derek Walker, who had 63 YAC among his 82 receiving yards against the Toronto Argonauts on Oct. 14, is another Eskimos receiver with the ability to gain extra yards after the catch. He has averaged 36.6 YAC during 23 regular-season games over the past two years.
And don’t forget about Cory Watson, the 33-year-old native of Dollard des Ormeaux, Que., who doesn’t get many opportunities to catch the ball, but makes the most of it whenever a pass comes his way.
“Cory’s been doing that for a while,” Zylstra said. “I got some of those moves from Cory. He’s a bruiser down there.”
Watson has 240 YAC among his 310 receiving yards this season. His only touchdown this season came on a short pass of five yards plus 29 YAC against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in July and he had a 72-yard pass-and-run play (all YAC) against the Blue Bombers in August.
Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly was amazed by a Watson catch on second-and-16 during the recent game with the Argos.
“I throw him a flat route for like five yards to the field and he gets the first down,” said Reilly, shaking his head in disbelief.
Watson, an eight-year CFL veteran, said he’s just “an old-school guy.”
“We usually bang before we get in and out of our routes and never get down on the first tackle,” he said. “It’s something I’ve developed since I got into the league.
“When you’re a big target, guys are just trying to hit you high. Those things never really work out. You’d be surprised how often once you break that first tackle, that opportunity to gain more yards is out there. You just have to keep that same mentality in whatever situation, even if it’s a five-yard pass or a 20-yard pass downfield.”
Watson said one of the best players he has seen at gaining yards after the catch in traffic is Montreal Alouettes receiver Nik Lewis, the league’s all-time receptions leader with 1,048.
“He’s a big body who never really goes down on the first (attempted tackle),” Watson pointed out. “It takes multiple guys to bring him down.
“Over the years, most of his yards come by YAC and it’s surprising considering his physique and his size and the position he plays as well. He’s not near the fastest players, but guys are scared to bring him down. Not only that, he never gets down on the first tackle. It’s rare if you see him get brought down by one defender.”