No passes were thrown his way by quarterback Trevor Harris last week, yet Saskatchewan Roughriders receiver Dylan Djete isn’t complaining in the slightest.
He’s just happy he was on the field.
“I was ready,” Djete told Voice of the Roughriders Dave Thomas. “I’ve been ready since I stepped one foot here. I’ve been preparing myself for this moment. I was smiling the whole time, though.
“I was on the field just smiling because I just had memories of what I went through – for three months, watching them guys come showing up every day and not being able to practice. On my first day coming out, I played in the game. It was just a blessing.”
The Riders selected the Levis, Que., native 18th in the 2026 draft out of Alabama State despite a quadriceps injury. That ailment kept him away from drills during training camp and held him out of exhibition games. The 22-year-old landed on the six-game injured list to start the season.
It was a difficult mental challenge for him. A key to overcoming it was trying not to think too far ahead.
“It’s just showing up every day,” Djete said. “It’s doing my job and doing what I’m supposed to do and not really overthink the process. I’m not thinking about playing a game when I’ve got an injury. I thought about my injury and just taking mental reps, watching the guys.”
Djete’s learn-by-osmosis strategy was a smart one considering he had the likes of Kian Schaffer-Baker, KeeSean Johnson, and Sam Emilus to watch. Still, that wasn’t his only approach to learn the offence.
“I’m on the phone with my girlfriend, and she’s on mute and I’m on two hours just writing plays,” Djete said. “I’ve got three notebooks full of plays. You’ve just got to know how you learn plays and, I know for me, I’ve got to draw everything. Every night I come (in), and I draw. I watch film. I watch how they run their routes and I try to duplicate that.
“That’s why I can plug in and play after three practices with them.”
Djete came off the long-term injured list last week and was put on the active roster when Emilus was a late scratch because of a foot injury before last Saturday’s 28-26 win in Edmonton. The Riders needed Djete to play, especially with Schaffer-Baker going down partway through with a knee injury.
Riders coach Corey Mace didn’t think the moment – the second of a home-and-home against the West Division’s top team – was too big for him.
“Not at all,” Mace said. “When we drafted him, we were excited about that, knowing that we’d have to wait a little bit. But he’s been doing everything. For a rook, just his mentals and how he’s approaching his rehab to coming off the six-game (injury list) and then getting pushed into a position to go play right away. It’s not easy.
“He didn’t get a preseason game. That was his preseason game, and it didn’t look like he was in a preseason game, right? It’s credit to him and his coaches. But that’s part of the reason why he’s here.”
The Riders might need Djete to take on a bigger role Saturday when they host the Ottawa Redblacks. Neither Schaffer-Baker nor Emilus has taken part in practice this week. KSB is listed as out for Saturday’s tilt in the team’s injury report, whereas Emilus has been deemed questionable.
It’s only been one CFL game, and one game where he never even saw the ball, but Djete feels he’s ready for a bigger role if called upon.
The 5-foot-10, 185 receiver calls himself a “playmaker” and someone who aims to get “at least one pancake every game” when blocking.
“I see myself in Sam,” he said. “That’s why I try to grasp the more that I can from Sam. I’m somebody who makes the plays. I might not be the fastest. I’m probably one of the quickest, but I’m not the biggest. I just make plays.
“I just love to play football. I’m a football player, and I just bring energy when I make plays. I try to bring energy and flip the momentum.”
