May is here, which means the 2026 season has officially arrived.
The CFL Canadian Draft is in the books for another year. Rookie camps start across the league later this week. And main camp starts this Sunday.
For the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the 2026 campaign will be all about one thing: running it back. As we start highlighting one storyline for all nine teams ahead of a new season, that’s the clear focus for the defending Grey Cup champions.
“There was no resting on our laurels.”
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Harris is right. The Riders made it immediately clear the only priority was maximizing this Grey Cup window, which feels wide open. And they did that by going right to work retaining core pieces of their 2025 squad, which brought a title to Regina for the first time in 11 seasons.
Harris was the first domino to fall, as the reigning Grey Cup MVP signed a one-year extension in early December and instantly quieted any retirement speculation. A few days later it was Jermarcus Hardrick, coming off another stellar season that resulted in a Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman nod.
Other key players retained include the likes of AJ Ouellette, Samuel Emilus, KeeSean Johnson, and Kian Schaffer-Baker on offence. On the other side of the ball, we’re talking about key extensions for Mike Rose, Tevaughn Campbell, and an additional one for Jameer Thurman, who was already under contract for this season.
And it’s this core group that’ll be tasked with following up a dominant 2025 campaign with a repeat performance. With a future Hall of Fame quarterback at the helm, a great receiving group, multiple Grey Cup winners like Hardrick, Rose, and Thurman, and a truly elite coach in Corey Mace, it’s hard to bet against Saskatchewan.
It’s not going to be an easy road, of course, and nor should it be. The Riders will be filling the top dog role for the first time under Mace, which carries new challenges with it. And there’s also the matter of making up for the absence of a few important contributors.
Saskatchewan lost some of their championship pieces such as elite edge rusher Malik Carney, who signed a two-year deal with Edmonton, and linebacker A.J. Allen, who signed for two years in Ottawa after leading the Riders with 87 defensive tackles last season. Other departures include C.J. Reavis, Dohnte Meyers, and Tommy Nield.
But even taking a few tough goodbyes into consideration, the Roughriders enter the 2026 season with one of the league’s most impressive core groups. Led by a hungry Harris and coached by one of the best in the business, it’s fair to suggest anything short of a second straight Grey Cup triumph will be disappointing in the Saskatchewan capital.
And that’s exactly where the expectations should be.
THE RUNNING BACK RUN DOWN
After a brief hiatus for a couple weeks, our MMQB positional rankings are back to help set the stage for a new season. So far, we’ve given our rankings at quarterback and linebacker.
This week we’re turning the focus back to the offensive side of the ball with our thoughts at tailback entering the 2026 campaign.
1. BRADY OLIVEIRA | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
After leading the league in rushing yards for a couple seasons in a row, Brady Oliveira dropped back to fourth last year after missing three games with an injury early on.
And yet, that’s still four consecutive seasons over 1,000 rushing yards and it’s important to point out his 5.8 yards-per-carry average last season. That was the highest total of any regular tailback and the second highest mark of Oliveira’s career.
2. DEDRICK MILLS | CALGARY STAMPEDERS
You can’t do a positional ranking list at this position without including the prior year’s rushing leader.
That would be Dedrick Mills, who paced the league with 1,409 yards in 2025 to go along with 11 touchdowns, which was tied for top spot.
Signed to a new two-year extension, Mills enters this year as one of the most crucial parts of Calgary’s offence.
3. JAMES BUTLER | BC LIONS
Ranked as last year’s number one running back by Pro Football Focus, James Butler is coming off a career season with the Lions, which earned him a nice two-year extension in the process.
Butler finished third overall in 2025 with 1,213 rushing yards and finished tied with Mills at a league leading 11 rushing touchdowns.
On a BC team loaded with aerial options for quarterback Nathan Rourke, Butler remains an integral and steadying force in the backfield.
