Three Most Important Canadian Players in the NFL

The NFL season will end pretty soon, as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs close the campaign with a Super Bowl LV. The Canadian players are getting more and more success in the NFL as time goes by, and this year we will even have one player from this country in the title match.  

We will mention three of the most influential NFL players from Canada in this article.  

That one guy who will appear in SB LV is Anthony Auclair, tight end of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The 27-year old didn’t have too many chances to play alongside Tom Brady and the rest of the team, but still, he will represent Canada in, arguably, the biggest sports spectacle in the world. And that is what makes him so important. 

His Bucs are underdogs coming into this clash, even though they are playing at home, as the Super Bowl LV occurs at the Raymond James stadium. The odds on TB’s win are 6/4, while on the other side, the Chiefs are sitting as favorites at 4/7. The gambling websites found here have set the spread on the Buccs to be +3.5, and their win with that handicap is 4/5. For the opposite to happen is 10/11. The margin for the total number of points in this event is 56.5. Of course, odds on under are the same as the odds for over that limit, 10/11.  

Having in mind that NFL matches often have fantastic scenarios, it wouldn’t be odd to see Auclair on the field at least once against the Chiefs.  

Two other guys who are arguably the biggest Canadian names in the NFL, who have far more individual success than Auclair but haven’t reached the Super Bowl are New England Patriots’ N’Keal Harry and Pittsburgh Pittsburgh’s Chase Claypool. Both wide receivers.  

Harry, didn’t have a year as many expected and racked up just 309 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 14 games. Though, his Pats had the worst season since the start of the century, posting not only their worst record but snapping the longest run of playoff appearances in history. All that because Tom Brady left, and also because several players decided to opt-out due to COVID-19 concerns. 

His Pats are now mediocre, and the bookies see them as just another average team with slim chances of winning the Vince Lombardi trophy. The latest odds for the 2022 season show that New England is only the 16th favorite with the odds at 30/1 to win the Super Bowl, their first without Tom Brady. Ahead are the Indianapolis Colts with 25/1, and the Dallas Cowboys 26/1, and the Tennessee Titans 28/1. Leveled with the Pats sit the Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings, and behind are Chargers, 33/1, and the Cardinals, 35/1.  

When mentioning the franchise from Pittsburgh, Chase Claypool became its rising star. With 873 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, the 49th selection at the previous NFL draft is arguably among the best rookies this year and the new force in Mike Tomlin’s crew. Undoubtedly, Claypool is the top Canadian player in the NFL, whose ceiling is very high, and who might become not only a Pro Bowl but an All-Pro player.  

Only due to Justin Herbert’s fantastic and record-breaking season, Claypool won’t win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award because the Chargers’ QB had a marvelous year. He is ahead of all other rooks when it comes to this honor, with the odds 1/5. The Vikings’ WR Justin Jefferson is next at 5/1, Tua Tagovalioa of the Dolphins 12/1, and Claypool 20/1. If Claypool had a bit better start, things might have been different, but he has enough time to correct this and win multiple honors in the future. Just to mention that behind him are Justin Taylor at 25/1, James Robinson 30/1, etc.  

With Harry and Claypool coming out of college in the past two years, we might expect another big prospect from Canada jumping to the NFL this offseason. It would be an excellent recognition for all the players and coaches from this country, as well as a major boost for the youngsters who are dreaming about winning the Super Bowl one day.