EDMONTON – When the Elks offence has needed a spark, they’ve generally looked Justin Rankin’s way.
With a dangerous Toronto Argonauts offence coming to Commonwealth on Friday night, the Green and Gold will need that spark if they hope to go toe-to-toe with the league’s second highest scoring team.
“I told you guys after the game (in Montreal), I said he’s our flint on offense,” quarterback Cody Fajardo said about the Elks running back. “He’s the guy that gets the fire started.”
Rankin has been as versatile as he is explosive this season, leading the team in big plays this year with seven, with nearly half of them coming through the air. The 28-year-old its number one among all CFL running backs in receiving yards with 340 and is second in Canadian Football in yards after catch with 249.
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Rankin’s emergence as a pass catching threat has been a boon to the Elks. The Northwest Missouri State product already has six times the receiving yards he had as a rookie in three less games.
His ability to be a two-way weapon is nothing new to Rankin, who joined the Double E as a receiver in training camp in 2024. He is just finally being utilized to his fullest extent by offensive coordinator Jordan Maksymic.
“I was brought in as a receiver, it was just kind of something I’m used to, even before the CFL,” Rankin said about his Indoor Football experience. “I’ve always ran routes. I’ve always been a receiving back and I took pride in that.”
“Shoot, if the run game ain’t working, give it to me through the air.”
The Elks run game was elite last season, leading the CFL in rushing offence. However, it’s been a different story in 2025. While they have been efficient with a second-best 5.2 yards per carry, Edmonton is currently third last in yards per game and second last in attempts.
The incoming Argonauts may be the perfect opportunity to get the run game going. Toronto’s defence allows the most yards on the ground in the league with 114.8 and are one of only two teams to allow over 1,000 yards rushing at the midway point of the season. For Rankin, there is only one stat that he wants to pad on Friday… the win column.
“I want to win. I’m a firm believer that I could care less if I get the ball 30 times, or if I get it zero times, if we win,” Rankin said. “I’m satisfied with that. If there’s a different way that I’m able to contribute, whether it’s blocking, catching the ball — whatever it is, I’m going to do it. No complaints, no questions, no hesitation asked. I take pride in just winning.”
TORONTO TIES
There have been a lot of changes since last year’s electric season finale, where the Elks and Argos duked it out to an exciting 31-30 Elks victory that was capped off with a game winning rouge by punter Jake Julien.
Last year’s ex-Argo contingent in Kurleigh Gittens Jr and Javon Leake – who racked up over 200 yards of offence in the Oct. 25th game – have since been joined by several other former teammates in Robbie Smith, Jared Brinkman, Royce Metchie, and Jake Ceresna. The changes have hurt the 2024 Grey Cup championships who have been struggling this season with the loss of so many talented players, sporting a 2-7 record on the year. However, the Elks know they are still a dangerous club and its something the Green and Gold need to be wary of.
“This Toronto team is a very talented football team and we know it because we’re a two and six ball club, they’re two and seven ball club,” Fajardo said. “We don’t think our record indicates our team and how good we are and how talented we are. They’re going to feel the same way. So they’re going to give us everything they have. This is a team, an offense that scored a lot of points, a defense that has done a great job of turning the ball over and making quarterbacks who make mistakes. They turn it into big plays for them.”