Dohnte Meyers and KeeSean Johnson: 89 receptions for 1,323 yards under one roof
Saskatchewan Roughriders roommates KeeSean Johnson and Dohnte Meyers have taken it to the house a combined eight times this season.
Meyers caught his fifth touchdown pass of the year — a 58-yarder from Trevor Harris — to help the Saskatchewan Roughriders defeat the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 29-9 at a sold-out Mosaic Stadium on Saturday.
Johnson, who has three TDs this year, posted game-high totals of eight catches and 117 yards as Saskatchewan improved its CFL-best record to 8-1.
Meyers emerged from Saturday’s game with season totals of 38 catches and 641 yards. Johnson leads the team in receptions (51) and yards (682).
The latter total is fifth-best in the league. Meyers is seventh in receiving yardage.
“We’re roommates,” Johnson, 28, said after receiving a game ball on Saturday. “It’s always competition in everything we do.
“He’s going to have success. I’m going to have success. We’re going to do it together at the end of the day.”
Both second-year Roughriders, Johnson and Meyers took differing paths to the CFL and to Saskatchewan.
Johnson was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the sixth round (174th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft after breaking many of Davante Adams’ receiving records at Fresno State.
In the NFL, Johnson caught 36 passes for 360 yards and one touchdown in 18 games — all with Arizona — over the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
He subsequently spent time with the Philadelphia Eagles (2021), San Francisco 49ers (2022), Atlanta Falcons (2022) and Buffalo Bills (2022-23) before signing with Saskatchewan on Feb. 28, 2024.
As a first-year CFLer, Johnson caught 56 passes for 746 yards and five TDs in 12 games.
Meyers played in four games as a rookie in 2024, catching 24 passes for 349 yards and one touchdown before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in the Labour Day Classic against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
He amassed 101 yards in each of his first two CFL games, offering a preview of what was to come this season. Over nine games, he boasts three 100-yard games (all on the road) and a team-high four receptions of 50-plus yards.
Unlike Johnson, Meyers honed his skills at smaller colleges — Presbyterian and Delta State — and went undrafted.
He attended Atlanta’s rookie mini-camp in 2023. On Oct. 25 of that year, he signed a futures contract with Saskatchewan.
The future is bright, indeed, for a 25-year-old game-breaker who has barely scratched the surface of what he can do.
“He has been incredible for this team — and not just this year,” Head Coach Corey Mace said. “I thought he was incredible last year, too.”
Meyers ignited the Roughriders’ offence on Saturday with the 58-yard TD reception, which came with Hamilton leading 6-1. He sparked Saskatchewan’s run of 25 consecutive points, to the obvious delight of a capacity crowd.
“I haven’t been able to play in an atmosphere like that in a long, long time,” said Meyers, who was injured during the same Labour Day Classic in which he scored his first CFL touchdown.
“During the off-season, you’re thinking about that. You’re working for that, just so you can make plays for your fan base and for your team and make everyone in the stadium happy.”
Including a proud roommate.
“We’re always pushing each other to strive for the best that we can do in everything,” Johnson said. “It doesn’t matter what it is. We’re just trying to be better — and we’re trying to be better players.
“There’s competition everywhere, but good competition. It could be about cooking. Who made the better chicken that night? Who picked the better watermelon? No matter what it is, we compete in everything.
“It’s up and down. It’s just like the games. He can have a game, but I’m always going to be happy for him, just as he will be happy for me.”
Some of those sentiments will be expressed, with gratitude and respect, as part of the receivers’ routine at home.
“We have our daily table talks, just to keep our minds right,” Johnson said. “Those could come down to anything … just life in general. We want to keep ourselves strong mentally to go out there and perform.
“They just kind of happen organically, but they’re around the same time. We ride together (to the stadium) and we go home together, so that kind of happens around the same time — as we’re making dinner or eating dinner.”
