BRADY BREAKDOWN: How Bombers’ Oliveira is running his way into most outstanding player race
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There’s no question Brady Oliveira has always believed in himself and his ability to become an elite player in the Canadian Football League.
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BRADY BREAKDOWN: How Bombers’ Oliveira is running his way into most outstanding player race Back to video
His teammates and coaches certainly seem to share that belief, and none of them would have been shocked to see him break out and become one of the better running backs in the CFL at some point during his career.
However, few people predicted that Oliveira would be quite as dominant and consistent as the 26-year-old Winnipegger has been so far this season.
Leading the CFL with 1,144 rushing yards and 1,512 total yards from scrimmage, not to mention nine touchdowns, Oliveira has done more than just put his name forward for consideration as an all-star player.
There’s legitimate talk around the league now that he’s not only the front-runner for the league’s most outstanding Canadian award, but even the overall most outstanding player award.
You have to put him in that conversation if he continues playing the way he’s playing. You have to. You have no choice.
TSN analyst Milt Stegall on Brady Oliveira's MOP candidacy
Bombers and CFL Hall-of-Famer Milt Stegall, now an analyst on TSN’s gameday panel, was among those banging the drum for Oliveira over the weekend.
“He has to be mentioned in this conversation,” Stegall said after Saturday’s game. “I think if he can get to 1,500-1,600 yards, 15-16 touchdowns, maybe 500-600 yards receiving, he has to be the favourite.
“I know Zach (Collaros) and Chad (Kelly) are killing it, even a guy on his own team, but you have to put him in that conversation if he continues playing the way he’s playing. You have to. You have no choice.”
With five games to play, Oliveira is on pace for the second most productive season ever by a Canadian running back (1,584 rushing yards), better than anyone not named Jon Cornish (1,813).
The list of names he could pass if he keeps this up until the end of October includes Andrew Harris (best season 1,390), Normie Kwong (1,437) and Gerry James (1,205).
We say all this just as Oliveira is coming off the best game of his pro football career.
In last Saturday’s Banjo Bowl against the Saskatchewan Roughriders, the 5-foot-10, 222-pound power back rushed for 154 yards on 18 carries and caught four passes for 57 yards and a touchdown.
The 154 rushing yards and the 211 total yards were both career highs and he now has rushed for more than 100 yards in six games this season.
“More … I want more,” Oliveira said after his monster game on Saturday.
“This offensive line is doing great things right now, so we’re going to keep on building off this performance and we’ve got many more yards to chase.
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“I’m still young in my career and I know the sky is the limit for myself and there’s so much more I can do to continue to show what I’m capable of as a player. So, I’m coming for more.”
Oliveira found himself in an interesting spot at the beginning of the 2022 season, when the Bombers signed him to a new contract and were unable to reach a deal with Harris, the fellow Winnipegger who starred for his hometown team for six seasons.
Harris moved on to the Toronto Argos, where he won the Grey Cup for the third straight season, while Oliveira was left under pressure to fill those considerable shoes.
“I don’t think he’s wearing shoes,” Bombers coach Mike O’Shea said after the Banjo Bowl. “He’s wearing big work boots.”
Oliveira put it another way: “I work my butt off.
“This unit, my teammates, they lift me up on days when maybe the motivation is not there. That’s my motivation, to continue to come here and make sure I’m ready to go every single week, to go perform like that, for my teammates. I owe it to my teammates to go and do that. I just really, truly, appreciate the guys in that locker room. They’re the ones that have gotten me to where I am in my career, and I’m just getting started.”
He’s clearly tiring of comparisons to Harris — even though they went to the same high school and both wound up starring at the same position for the Bombers — knowing that he has done everything he can to build up his own name.
“Everyone wants to keep comparing (me to Andrew),” Oliveira said. “I think we’re totally different people. Maybe there are some similar traits, but I think we’re different as players.”
He revels in playing for the team he grew up cheering for, especially in games like the Banjo Bowl, where 32,343 fans are in attendance and an age-old Prairie rivalry is the main attraction.
“I’m blessed, man, thankful every single day for the opportunity that I get when I play for this team, in my hometown,” Oliveira said. “Every opportunity I get to go out there and play in games is special.”
Collaros, who won the league’s most outstanding player award in 2021 and 2022 and is a front-runner again this year, is running out of ways to describe Oliveira’s contribution to the Bombers this season.
“What haven’t I said about Brady this season, or really since he’s come on the scene?” Collaros said. “You can tell he’s more comfortable with the way we run the football, with the schemes that we have. I’ve said it a lot — he’s a great receiver out of the backfield and he’s a great teammate. He also goes out there and blocks for me so the receivers can get the ball. I’m really not surprised by it. He’s a downhill runner but he surprises you with his elusiveness and he’s a threat out of the backfield to catch the ball and YAC (Yards After Catch) with it.”
If there’s any knock on Oliveira this season it’s that he’s lost a few fumbles, but those are starting to become distant memories as he piles up the yards.
I’m still young in my career and I know the sky is the limit for myself and there’s so much more I can do to continue to show what I’m capable of as a player. So, I’m coming for more.
Brady Oliveira
He lamented a few times this year that though he was piling up the yards, he wasn’t breaking enough big ones. That changed on Saturday, when he ran for a season-long 36 yards on one rush and picked up 33 on another.
“I’ve wanted to take my game to that next level and I think that next level is starting to show in breaking long runs, showing that I can make people miss and getting those 30-40 yarders,” Oliveira said. “I owe it to my teammates, though. Receivers did an incredible job blocking along the perimeters, allowing me to get those long runs, and the offensive line was just dogging them all night. It was a fun game to be a part of.”
Oliveira was obviously a dominant running back when he played high school football for the Oak Park Raiders and when he was with the University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks.
There’s a reason why the Bombers drafted him in the second round in 2019 and groomed him to take over for Harris, who is now 36 and plans to retire after this season with the Argos.
Oliveira’s growth, from season-to-season, even game-to-game, has been on full display since the day he took over the starting role.
“I really just think it’s the confidence that I’m gaining and I’m stacking after every single game,” he said. “There’s nothing more valuable than game reps and experience.
“The biggest thing is just getting on the same page as the offensive line. It’s just building an even stronger bond together and that chemistry, and I think every single week it’s continuing to get stronger and stronger.
“We just know what we’re capable of doing, so it’s good to be able to go out there and play at ease, and, not just lower my pads, but play free and make people miss.”
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BREAKING DOWN BRADY
A play-by-play look at Blue Bombers RB Brady Oliveira’s best game as a pro football player and his role in Winnipeg scoring points on their first nine possessions of a 51-6 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders
DRIVE NO. 1
— Rush middle 9 yards to WPG 49
— Reception short left 10 yards to SSK 49
— Rush middle 11 yards to SSK 19
— Rush left 2 yards to SSK 8
Drive ends in Dakota Prukop 1-yard run for TOUCHDOWN (7-3 WPG)
OLIVEIRA TOTAL: 22 rush yards, 10 receiving yards
DRIVE NO. 2
— Rush middle 36 yards to SSK 23
— Reception short middle 17 yards TOUCHDOWN (14-3 WPG)
OLIVEIRA TOTAL: 36 rush yards, 17 receiving yards, Touchdown
DRIVE NO. 3
— Reception short right 23 yards to WPG 45
— Rush middle 5 yards to WPG 50
— Rush middle 4 yards to SSK 36
Drive ends in Kenny Lawler 23-yard reception for TOUCHDOWN (21-3 WPG)
OLIVEIRA TOTAL: 9 rush yards, 23 receiving yards
DRIVE NO. 4
— Reception short right 7 yards to WPG 52
— Rush middle 10 yards to SSK 48
— Rush middle 0 yards to SSK 16
Drive ends in 16-yard Dalton Schoen reception for TOUCHDOWN (28-6 WPG)
OLIVEIRA TOTAL: 10 rush yards, 7 receiving yards
DRIVE NO. 5
— Rush middle 11 yards to SSK 31
Drive ends in 31-yard Dalton Schoen reception for TOUCHDOWN (35-6 WPG)
OLIVEIRA TOTAL: 11 rush yards
DRIVE NO. 6
— Rush middle 5 yards to WPG 42
Drive ends in 8-yard Dalton Schoen reception for TOUCHDOWN (42-6 WPG)
OLIVEIRA TOTAL: 5 rush yards
DRIVE NO. 7
—Rush middle 6 yards to SSK 48
—Rush middle 3 yards to SSK 45
—Rush middle 6 yards to SSK 37
—Rush middle 5 yards to SSK 32
Drive ends in 40-yard Sergio Castillo FIELD GOAL (45-6 WPG)
OLIVEIRA TOTAL: 20 rush yards
DRIVE NO. 8
— Rush middle 33 yards to SSK 49
— Rush right 6 yards to SSK 26
— Rush middle 3 yards to SSK 23
— Rush right -1 yards to SSK 17
Drive ends in 24-yard Sergio Castillo FIELD GOAL (48-6 WPG)
OLIVEIRA TOTAL: 41 rush yards
DRIVE NO. 9
— Oliveira replaced by Johnny Augustine
Drive ends in 18-yard Sergio Castillo FIELD GOAL (51-6 WPG)
OLIVEIRA GAME TOTAL: 154 rush yards, 57 receiving yards, 1 touchdown
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