CFL Odds: Make These 5 Bets Before the 2024 Season

The 2024 CFL season is around the corner, meaning books finally have futures betting markets open for football north of the border.

The Canadian league might not be as popular as the NFL, but that also means CFL odds tend to have softer lines and more market inefficiencies for an informed bettor to exploit.

Here are five bets you need to make before the 2024 CFL season kicks off on June 6.

Five best CFL future bets

BC Lions to win Grey Cup
(+650 at DraftKings)

After back-to-back seasons of coming up short against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the West Finals, is this the year the BC Lions get over the hump? I certainly think their chances of that are better than this +650 price would indicate. 

While Winnipeg should be just as explosive on offense, the defense looks more vulnerable. The Bombers lost their best defensive tackle Ricky Walker, while longtime starting end Jackson Jeffcoat retired. They also have questions at one boundary corner position, which could be exploited by a Lions aerial attack loaded with receiving talent and led by Vernon Adams Jr. 

The Leos' offense should be more balanced after signing RB William Stanback and the addition of former NFL DT Christian Covington will offset the loss of DE Mathieu Betts. If the Leos are able to finally pass the Bombers in the West, they'll benefit from home-field advantage since they're hosting the Grey Cup at BC Place.

Montreal Alouettes Over 8.5 wins
(-130 at bet365)

We saw a bit of a similar situation last year when the Toronto Argonauts came in after a shocking Grey Cup victory and were expected to regress. Instead, Toronto rolled to a dominant 14-4 regular season and proved the title win was no fluke.

The Montreal Alouettes upset the Argos and Bombers en route to a Grey Cup win last year, but some books are expecting them to take a significant step back this season. I'm not sure why, considering they ended last year with eight consecutive wins (7-0-1 ATS) and brought back the defense that spearheaded their title run. 

Sure, they lost their best receiver in Austin Mack and Stanback, but they retained the rest of their offense — which is pretty impressive since CFL teams normally see a ton of personnel turnover in the offseason. Montreal has better depth at WR this year and with veteran QB Cody Fajardo behind a strong offensive line, it should be able to move the ball. 

Keep in mind DraftKings and FanDuel both have the Als' win total set at 10.5 (juiced to the Over at -125 and -128). Two wins is a pretty big discrepancy in a win total for an 18-game season and also gives you a nice opportunity to middle. Backing the defending champs to go .500 when they face the lowly Redblacks three times looks like a smart play.

Zach Collaros to win Most Outstanding Player
(+650 at FanDuel)

After winning back-to-back CFL MOP Awards in 2021 and 2022, Collaros came up just short last year. That said, he still led the league in passer efficiency (112.8) and passing touchdowns (33) while ranking second in passing yards (4,252). Being able to get Collaros at +650 is a bargain since he's the unquestioned top field general in the league, and QBs have received seven of the last eight MOP awards. 

Leos' QB Vernon Adams Jr. is the only player with shorter odds than Collaros, but Adams can be a gunslinger, and turnovers in big games could kill his chances. Adams' passing numbers might also take a hit since the Lions lost receivers Lucky Whitehead and Dominique Rhymes, and are expected to run the ball more with Stanback.

On the other hand, Collaros has all his weapons back from last year. Dalton Schoen re-signed, and Kenny Lawler will be in the lineup from the get-go after he missed training camp and the first six weeks of last season due to suspension.

AJ Ouellette Under 1,050.5 rushing yards
(-110 at bet365)

Ouellette is one of the better RBs in the league, but this is a sell-high spot for a guy coming off a breakout season and moving to a new team. Ouellette rushed for 1,009 yards on 178 carries with Toronto last season, but yards are going to be much tougher to come by in Regina. 

The Argos had one of the best lines in the league last year, while the Saskatchewan Roughriders had one of the worst. Even though Saskatchewan did sign a pair of top linemen in the offseason, there are still questions upfront. Riders QB Trevor Harris also isn't known for his ability to attack downfield, so opposing defenses will be able to stack the box.

Saskatchewan also had the worst defense in the league in the second half of last season and hasn't gotten better in that area. If the Riders fall behind early in games because of their leaky stop unit, they'll be forced to abandon the run game.

Eugene Lewis Over 1,050.5 receiving yards
(-112 at FanDuel)

Geno Lewis has been consistently producing at an elite level for years. He broke out with 1,133 receiving yards with Montreal in 2019 before racking up 964 receiving yards in 13 games during the COVID-shortened 2021 campaign.

He was named the East Division's Most Outstanding Player in 2022 after racking up 1,303 receiving yards in 17 games and then signed with the Edmonton Elks in the offseason. Lewis was one of Edmonton's lone bright spots last year and ended up with 844 receiving yards in just 12 games — which would convert to 1,266 yards over a full 18-game season.

The most impressive thing about last year was Lewis was making big plays downfield despite the Elks having one of the worst groups of passers in the CFL. The Elks upgraded in a major way at QB by adding McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who led the CFL with 4,731 passing yards in 2022 and spent last season in the USFL, where he led that league in passing yards as well.

With Lewis actually having a competent QB to throw him the ball this year, he should have no problem eclipsing this number. 

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