Positional Preview '26 | #7 The Running Backs/Fullbacks
He's a durable and consistent bulldozer with the ball tucked under his arm, an underrated receiver out of the backfield and a ferocious blocker in pass protection.
He's also still just 28 years old and rocketing up the Winnipeg Blue Bombers franchise chart for rushing yards, already listed among of the legends of the game.
He's from Winnipeg and proud to support his hometown.
And, FYI, in his spare time he and his partner Alex Blumberg rescue dogs in this province and in places all over the globe, passionately serving as advocates to the point that their red-carpet premiere of their new show 'Must Love Dogs' on CBC Gem on Monday night raised over $100,000 for three local rescue agencies in K-9 Advocacy, Winnipeg Pet Rescue and Manitoba Animal Alliance.
So, heck yeah, who wouldn't be vigorously waving the pom-poms for Brady Oliveira?
We're on to the seventh chapter in our annual Positional Preview series today by zooming in on the running back/fullback position and, naturally, that discussion for the most part begins and ends with Oliveira, the club's popular hometown product and a Canadian Football League shining star.
Oliveira has cranked out four consecutive 1,000-yard rushing seasons heading into 2026 and now ranks sixth in franchise history in career yards at 5,480 yards, trailing only Charles Roberts (9,987), Leo Lewis (8,861), Willard Reaves (5,923), Jim Washington (5,736) and Gerry James (5,541).
His 1,163 yards rushing last season — and a career high 61 receptions for 546 yards — are particularly impressive given the struggles of the passing attack, which finished last in the CFL in yardage, as defences subsequently fixated on #20 as the one constant in Winnipeg's attack.
The club found some depth behind him on draft day in 2025, swinging a trade to land Matthew Peterson — the University of Alberta product and Canada West Player of the Year in 2023 — from the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
His impact was almost immediate, as he stepped in to replace an injured Oliveira in the first game of the year, coming off the bench to rush for 130 yards and a touchdown in a win over the B.C. Lions.
Read the rest of Position Preview '26 - #7 The Running Backs/Fullbacks here...
https://www.bluebombers.com/2026/04/22/positional-preview-26-7-the-running-backs-fullbacks/?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2026-04-22+Bomber+Insider+%E2%80%93+Insiders&utm_brazeid=6976501fcbbc5c0055760b3b&utm_content=&utm_instance=wpg&CAMEFROM=
Hope they make good use of Matthew Peterson this year, he's an outstanding Natl. talent that should not be neglected, use him or lose him.
Brady's dog show "Must Love Dogs" is streaming on CBC Gem, have to create an account to watch but it's free.
https://gem.cbc.ca/must-love-dogs (https://gem.cbc.ca/must-love-dogs)
Also on YouTube.
Quote from: Throw Long Bannatyne on April 22, 2026, 07:38:08 PMHope they make good use of Matthew Peterson this year, he's an outstanding Natl. talent that should not be neglected, use him or lose him.
Maybe. Maybe not. He had 1 good game that just happened to be the game nobody had (WPG) film on him yet. I think he had 2=ish more starts? And he didn't do as much in those games, often got stuffed at LoS.
Of course, to be fair, with our subpar OL, jumbo and REC blocking help last year even Brady was getting stuff at LoS a whackton.
You're right that if he flashes some more this season it may be hard to keep him "forever" as a JA27 type. JA was just below the "good enough" level to warrant a snipe. Kind of like Antwi.
If Peterson flashes above those guys then we'll have a conundrum come re-signing time. How much younger is he than Brady? It sure would be nice to have long-term insurance as well as an heir to the Brady throne in 3-7 years (an eternity). But that only works if he's 5 years younger,
and doesn't get sniped.