The 2023 Canadian Football League season is upon us, and there’s no better time to look at CFL futures odds and make some early Grey Cup predictions before the new campaign kicks off on June 8.
2023 Grey Cup odds: Winnipeg, Toronto atop the board
Last year’s Grey Cup ended with the Toronto Argonauts upsetting the Blue Bombers in their quest for a three-peat. Let’s hope that this season has something equally thrilling in store.
Below, you can scroll to find Grey Cup odds for each of the league’s teams:
It’s not surprising to see both of last year’s title-game participants heading up the CFL futures odds board at DraftKings Sportsbook as we start the journey toward the 110th Grey Cup.
Toronto’s narrow one-point win was a reminder that the battle for the CFL’s ultimate prize is always a bit of a wild card, especially in a league with a fair amount of year-to-year personnel turnover.
So when it comes to making our own Grey Cup picks for the 2023 season, we’ve opted for two options outside of last year’s participants, including a dark-horse pick if you want to chase longer odds.
2023 Grey Cup picks: BC Lions ()
Nathan Rourke is now with the Jacksonville Jaguars but thanks to a prudent 2022 trade, the Lions are well-equipped at quarterback with veteran Vernon Adams Jr.
The 30-year-old signal-caller got his feet wet in the offence last season by throwing for 1,504 yards with six touchdowns and one interception and adding 129 rushing yards on 14 carries over eight games.
Had Rourke not gone down with his foot injury last and remained at the helm from start to finish, the Lions arguably would have hoisted the Grey Cup trophy last November.
Adams gets back a barrage of key skill-position assets that includes Lucky Whitehead, Keon Hatcher, and Dominique Rhymes, giving him critical continuity.
On defence, the Lions ranked in the top half of the league against both the run and pass last season and followed it up by going defence with six of seven picks in the CFL Draft.
The Lions also took no chances at key positions, signing Dane Evans to back up Adams and former NFL running back Antonio Williams to replace the departed James Butler.
This is an excellent price for a team hungry to get to a level they believed they were on their way to last season before disaster struck at the most important position.
2023 CFL futures bets: Edmonton Elks ()
At times, futures betting is made all the more entertaining by taking a true long shot and riding it out.
Naturally, there needs to be some solid basis for taking a big risk, and the 2023 Elks arguably offer the opportunity for such, even coming off a 4-14 season.
No one can accuse the once-proud Edmonton franchise of standing pat in the wake of an abysmal campaign.
The Elks invested heavily all the way around and especially gave an offence that already featured some sneaky playmakers in last year’s debacle a major boost in talent.
Breakout pieces Kevin Brown (662 total yards in seven games) and Dillon Mitchell (35-637-4 in nine games) have some major help now that Shannon Brooks, Eugene Lewis, Steven Dunbar Jr., and Kyran Moore were brought into the fold this offseason.
Highly mobile quarterback Taylor Cornelius is therefore outfitted with quite the arsenal and may be ready to maximize it after gaining 26 games of experience under less-than-ideal conditions over the last two seasons.
The defence, particularly poor against the run last season, went far from ignored. Veteran linebacker Nyles Morgan has returned to full health and Edmonton nabbed talented defender Michael Brodrique at second overall in May’s draft.
Loucheiz Purifoy, a CFL and West Division all-star with B.C. a year ago, was the prize veteran acquisition on that side of the ball this offseason, but 2018 East Division all-star defensive lineman A.C. Leonard, who has 39 career sacks, is certainly a fine complementary addition as well.
Note: Must be 19+ years of age to legally wager on sports in Ontario.
