Photo edit: 3DownNation
Plenty of people in CFL circles have linked Tyler Snead to retired star Weston Dressler since he joined the Montreal Alouettes, but it turns out he first heard that comparison years ago.
The 25-year-old native of Raleigh, N.C. played collegiately at East Carolina University where the cornerbacks coach was Brandon Lynch, who now serves in the same capacity with the Cleveland Browns.
Lynch was a member of the Saskatchewan Roughriders from 2007 to 2009, dressing for 15 games at defensive back and on special teams. In his second year with the team, Dressler joined the Green and White and took the CFL by storm, catching 56 passes for 1,123 yards and six touchdowns to be named Most Outstanding Rookie.
“I first knew about (Dressler) way back in college, probably my first or second year there,” Snead told 3DownNation. “(Lynch) was asking me about the CFL. He told me about Weston Dressler and he said, ‘Man, you remind me so much of this guy. You gotta watch him, watch how he plays.’ When I came up here (to Montreal), I kept hearing his name over and over, and so I really looked into him. I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, he’s a beast.’”
Dressler played eight seasons with Saskatchewan and three with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, earning four all-West Division selections and two All-CFL selections. The native of Bismarck, N.D. remains No. 17 all-time in CFL receiving with 715 catches for 10,026 yards and 61 touchdowns and was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 2024.
The trademark of Dressler’s game was his ability to get open on corner routes with him and Darian Durant often connecting to attack the deep outside thirds of the field. Snead has watched Dressler score many touchdowns off that particular route and considers it one of his favourites to run on the CFL’s wide field.
“I’ve seen his corners,” said Snead. “I like a good corner. I like a post, too, if the middle of the field’s open. I like running routes, so I like a lot of them, but I’d say corner (and post are my favourite routes) for sure, just because corner and post are deep ones that are usually touchdown balls.”
Much like Dressler, Snead doesn’t particularly look like a professional football player. At his pro day in 2022, he officially measured in just shy of five-foot-seven and 172 pounds — virtually the exact same height and weight as Dressler.
“I don’t pass the look test because I don’t look the part,” he said. “It’s something I’ve just had to deal with and I feel like I’ve gotten used to it. I feel like I play a certain way because of that, almost like I want to prove it every game, every play that I may be smaller than all these other guys, but I can still play here. I deserve to be here and I can hold my own.”
Though he has a long way to go to reach Dressler’s heights, Snead was named All-CFL for the first time in 2025 after catching 84 passes for 1,129 yards and four touchdowns. He’s flattered to draw comparisons to such a great player and would love to win his second Grey Cup on Sunday, which would surpass Dressler’s career total of one.
“I’ve obviously seen his highlights and seen tape on him,” he said. “He’s a baller and he’s one of the greats, so to get compared to him is awesome, it means a lot.”
The Saskatchewan Roughriders (13-6) and Montreal Alouettes (12-8) will meet in the 112th Grey Cup at Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg on Sunday, November 16 with kickoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m. EST.
The Alouettes defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East Final by a score of 19-16, while the Roughriders came back to defeat the B.C. Lions in the West Final by a score of 24-21. The teams split their two regular-season meetings, though Montreal franchise quarterback Davis Alexander missed both games due to a hamstring injury.
The weather forecast in Winnipeg calls for a high of two degrees with a mix of sun and cloud. The game will be broadcast on TSN, CTV, and RDS in Canada, CBS Sports Network in the United States, and CFL+ internationally.
This marks the fifth time the Grey Cup will be played in Winnipeg and the second time it will be hosted at Princess Auto Stadium. The venue’s first Grey Cup was held in 2015 when the Edmonton Football Team defeated the Ottawa Redblacks by a score of 26-20 and Michael Reilly was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
