This article is part of our CFL Picks series.
CFL Betting: CFL Bets and Parlays for Week 1
We're set for another exciting CFL season, and I'm focused on the pair of Saturday games that wrap up the Week 1 slate and feature a quartet of high-powered offenses.
Read on for a look at which Week 1 CFL betting scenarios catch my eye on FanDuel Sportsbook.
Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Calgary Stampeders Best Bets (Saturday, June 7, 7:00 p.m. ET)
The Tiger-Cats and Stampeders finished with a combined 12-23 record in 2024, but neither team was without some solid talent. Hamilton's 495 points were the third most in the league and eclipsed the total for all but one playoff team, the eventual Grey Cup champion Argonauts.
Yet, the Ti-Cats' Achilles heel was their defense, which surrendered a league-high 557 points. Hamilton did make some offseason additions on that side of the ball, but given this is Week 1 and new personnel always has an acclimation period -- not to mention that the entire unit is also getting used to a new coordinator in Brent Monson -- there could certainly still be some exposable weaknesses.
Meanwhile, the Stamps knew they had to boost their firepower on offense, and they made a significant move in that direction with the signing of accomplished veteran QB Vernon Adams Jr. to lead that side of the ball. Adams has more than proven himself as a full-time starter over his CFL career, with the most prominent example coming in 2023 with the Lions when he threw for 4,769 yards and 31 touchdowns while adding 324 rushing yards and another score.
Adams' addition clearly gives the Stamps a new dimension on offense, and the signal-caller will have access to a deep and diverse group of targets such as Clark Barnes, Tevin Jones, Reggie Begelton and Dominique Rhymes. Additionally, explosive running back Dedrick Mills is back to lead the ground attack, and in addition to his considerable upside as a runner, he's also a very capable receiver out of the backfield.
Naturally, the Tiger-Cats will present quite the challenge themselves on offense since Bo Levi Mitchell, who enjoyed a resurgent 2024 campaign that saw him throw for a career-high 5,451 yards, will have a plethora of familiar targets back in the fold, such as Kiondre Smith, Shemar Bridges and Tim White, along with dynamic new addition Kenny Lawler.
Therefore, I like an SGP that combines an alternate spread that gives Calgary a couple more points past the key field-goal margin with Adams having a solid day as my main pick, while the Over is certainly also in play given the amount of offensive capability on either side.
CFL Picks for Tiger-Cats at Stampeders
- SGP: Stampeders Alt. Spread +3.5 and Vernon Adams Jr. 250+ passing yards (+104 on FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Over 52.5 points (-115 on FanDuel Sportsbook)
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Edmonton Elks at B.C. Lions (Saturday, June 7, 10:00 p.m. ET)
The Elks were only 7-11 last season, but that actually was a noteworthy improvement over 2023's 4-14 mark. Additionally Edmonton actually finished with a +4 point differential and was one of only two teams – the Grey Cup champion Argos being the other – to eclipse the 500-point threshold (504).
Promising quarterback Tre Ford earned himself a chance to open the 2025 season as a starter with particularly impressive performances over the final two games of the campaign, throwing for 533 yards and four touchdowns while adding 114 rushing yards in that span. Veteran and two-time Grey Cup winner Cody Fajardo waits in the wings, but Ford should have some runway given his impressive two-way skills.
The Waterloo product will have help from an experienced group of pass catchers such as Steven Dunbar Jr., Kurleigh Gittens Jr. and Kaion Julien-Grant, and two explosive running backs who can do damage as receivers in Justin Rankin and Javon Leake. Naturally, both can also break off a chunk play on the ground any time they touch the ball after averaging 7.8 and 6.5 yards per carry, respectively, in 2024.
Edmonton also surrendered 500 points and a league-high 396.1 total yards per game last season, and even with some attempts to fix that part of the ball this offseason, they're likely to remain a vulnerable unit to an extent, especially early in the season. They could especially be fodder for a talented offense such as that of the Lions, which will feature Nathan Rourke, who worked off plenty of rust after returning from a year-plus stay in the NFL midway through last season.
Rourke has reunited with the talented and versatile James Butler, who returns to BC after a two-year stay with the Tiger-Cats, and he has a core group of returning pass-catching targets that include Justin McInnis (career-high 1,469 receiving yards in 2024), Keon Hatcher and Jevon Cottoy. It's worth noting the last time Rourke had a chance to enter a CFL season after a normal offseason was 2022, and he averaged 365.3 total yards while also scoring 32 total touchdowns in just 10 games that year.
With high-upside offensive pieces on either side and Edmonton having allowed just under 5.0 yards per carry in 2024, I like the idea of a same-game parlay that teases the projected total down a bit and banks on Butler hitting a yardage total that's very much within his range of outcomes.
CFL Picks for Elks at Lions
- SGP: Alt. Total Over 45.5 points and James Butler 50+ rushing yards (+106 on FanDuel Sportsbook)
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CFL Week 1 Best Bets Recap
- SGP: Stampeders Alt. Spread +3.5 and Vernon Adams Jr. 250+ passing yards (+104 on FanDuel Sportsbook)
- SGP: Elks-Lions Alt. Total Over 45.5 points and James Butler 50+ rushing yards (+106 on FanDuel Sportsbook)
- Elks-Lions Over 52.5 points (-115 on FanDuel Sportsbook)
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