Tyson Philpot off to best-ever start by CFL receiver

Photo: Raphael Williams-Claudio/RWC Photography/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

Everybody knows Tyson Philpot has been great for the Montreal Alouettes this year, but it turns out he’s actually off to the best start to a season by any receiver in CFL history.

The 25-year-old has made 36 receptions for 587 yards and three touchdowns thus far in 2026, putting him 149 yards ahead of all other receivers. He’s accounted for 39.7 percent of Davis Alexander’s passing yards and is an early front-runner for Most Outstanding Player.

As per CFL statistician Jeff Krever, this is the most receiving yards any player has ever had through four regular-season games. The previous mark belonged to Adarius Bowman, who made 34 catches for 543 yards and four touchdowns to start the 2016 season with Edmonton.

Though it remains relatively early, Philpot’s red-hot start is simply impossible to ignore.

The best receiving season in CFL history occurred in 1994 when Allen Pitts caught 126 passes for 2,036 yards and 21 touchdowns with the Calgary Stampeders. The six-foot-four, 200-pound target averaged 113.1 yards per game as Doug Flutie threw for 5,726 yards and a league-record 48 touchdowns to win Most Outstanding Player.

In order to match this total, Philpot would need to average 103.5 receiving yards per game for the rest of the season. For context, he’s currently averaging 146.8.

There are two other 2,000-yard receiving seasons in CFL history, both of which were recorded by members of the Toronto Argonauts. Terry Greer made 113 catches for 2,003 yards in 1983, and Derrell Mitchell caught 160 passes for 2,000 yards in 1998.

Greer’s campaign was particularly special, as the regular-season featured only 16 games at the time. He averaged 125.2 yards per game during what was then a record-setting season — 12.1 more than Pitts averaged in 1994.

Hal Patterson, who ranks fourth all-time with 1,914 receiving yards in 1956, reached that mark in just 14 games. He averaged 136.7 yards and was named the CFL’s Most Outstanding Player.

Philpot is currently on pace to blow all four of them out of the water with 2,642 receiving yards in 2026. Hitting that number seems impossible — and it probably is — but it illustrates the remarkable nature of Philpot’s start. It also shows how he can still surpass Pitts even if his production cools off to a degree.

If the native of Delta, B.C. falls short of the CFL’s single-season receiving record, he’s still got a shot at setting a new high among Canadian players.

The best receiving season ever by a Canadian came in 1967 when Terry Evanshen made 96 catches for 1,662 yards and 17 touchdowns over 16 games with the Stampeders. Philpot only needs to average 76.8 yards per game to catch the Montreal native, which is barely half the production he’s averaged to date.

The biggest key for Philpot will be staying healthy.

The six-foot, 199-pound target has yet to play more than 13 games in a season since becoming a full-time starter in 2023, missing 20 regular-season games over that time.

If he avoids injury, Philpot will surely have a great season. He may even break a few records along the way.

The Montreal Alouettes (3-1) will host the Calgary Stampeders (2-2) at Percival Molson Stadium on Saturday, July 11 with kickoff scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EDT. The Stampeders are coming off a 58-36 win over the Toronto Argonauts, while the Alouettes were on bye last week.

The weather forecast in Montreal calls for a high of 29 degrees and sun. The game will be broadcast on TSN and RDS2 in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally. Radio listeners can tune in on 770 CHQR in Calgary and TSN 690 (English) or 99.5 Montreal (French) in Montreal.

John Hodge is a longtime Canadian football reporter, insider, and podcaster for 3DownNation. Based in Winnipeg, Hodge is also a freelance television and radio broadcaster and curling reporter for Rock Channel.