Pickett, Rhymes taking last season’s lessons to Ottawa

TORONTO — For Adarius Pickett and Dominique Rhymes it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, there’s always something to be learned.

The duo enjoyed a lot of success in 2023 with the Toronto Argonauts and BC Lions respectively, but both ultimately fell short of the goal of winning a championship.

Now the star linebacker and wide receiver join an Ottawa REDBLACKS team that could benefit from their previous experiences.

“I think some big takeaways that you can take away from last season, the success that we both had on both of our teams, you learn a lot during that whole process,” said Pickett in this week’s edition of The Waggle Podcast. “I know, in Toronto, it was a learning process throughout the whole season, we were winning a lot. But again, we didn’t get the job done at the end. And you reminisce on those things in the off-season and you look (for ways) you can be better.”

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“Pickett was on a good winning team, I was on a good winning team, so we know what it takes to win,” said Rhymes. “In Ottawa we’re just gonna have to buckle our chin strap and just work every day.

“We ain’t doing no talking. We’re just working.”

The newly acquired REDBLACKS linebacker was the runner-up for Most Outstanding Defensive player in 2023, finishing with 105 tackles, six sacks and a forced fumble for a dominant Argonauts defence.

Now he takes his talents to an Ottawa team that finished last in the East Division last season, but one that might be closer to making noise than people think. The REDBLACKS played in 11 one-score games in 2023, losing eight of those on their way to finishing with a 4-14 record.

“I think more than anything, it’s about us,” said Pickett. “I think it’s about playing together and staying together from start to finish. Starting fast and finishing faster.

“Watching the games and being in some of those games against Ottawa you know, they start off being in the game, they (are) right there. And then you know, you get second half. And you start to see the lapses, you see people drop balls, busted coverages. Just making sure everybody is on the same page, I think that’s the biggest thing. You’ve got to take it one day at a time, one game at a time, one practice at a time.”

The REDBLACKS also traded for former Blue Bomber QB Dru Brown (Jason Halstead/CFL.ca)

Pickett and Rhymes weren’t the only off-season acquisitions by Ottawa’s front office. The REDBLACKS also brought in pivot Dru Brown on a trade with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, adding more firepower to the quarterback group for Bob Dyce’s squad.

Dyce is heading into his second season as the head coach and you can already see the pulling he has in bringing in free agent stars.

“He has always been somebody in my corner,” said Rhymes. “He knew the true potential that I had. When he became head coach, I mean, it was a no-brainer. I love to play for Dyce.”

The duo joins a team that already has other stars in place like the pass-rushing duo of Lorenzo Mauldin IV and Bryce Carter, now with their contracts extended by the team.

Mauldin was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2022 after registering 17 sacks and two forced fumbles. In 2023 it was Carter’s time to lead the team in sacks, finishing tied for second in the league with 12. Their presence makes Pickett’s job in the middle a whole lot easier.

“I’m excited to play with Mauldin,” said the linebacker. “Hell of a guy coming off the edge. Bryce Carter, some of the guys, you look at it and you look at the pieces, you look at the talent that they have and it’s a tremendous amount of talent that I’m excited, especially with the reunion with (defensive coordinator) Baron Miles. He was my first coach in Montreal. I know when he got fired my second year I felt like we had a lot of unfinished business because we were just getting started for real and now that we (are) back together, I’m really excited to see how he uses me this year and his defence.”