Brandon Banks is a special player.

We knew that from the moment he first graced a CFL field in 2013 for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. No matter how great an international player is when arriving to the CFL, their career is almost always judged by how they adapt to the game.

Clearly Banks has adapted to life in Hamilton as a receiver and kick returner above and beyond the expectations of fans, coaches and teammates. Anyone who claims otherwise is lying. How could you possibly predict output rivalling the all-time greats?

What I find intriguing about Banks goes beyond the touchdowns and long special teams returns. It’s his usage.

When a player is defined as just a returner to begin their career we almost always push them through similar stages.

Stage One: We accept their returner skill set for what it is. A rare and unique ability which serves a need. This is especially true in the CFL with international return men coming and going with great frequency.

Stage Two: We – and coaches – begin to wonder what would happen if we applied that unique skill set to the offence. We try to get the speedy, creative ball handler in the open field with screens and slants. Basically trying to simulate a kick return in a offensive play.

This isn’t easy to do and typically has been accomplished with limited success in the CFL. Returning kicks is just not easy to simulate on offence which leads me to the next stage, regression.

Stage Three: We over work return men in the offence hoping to maximize their production and value. Even if the specialist by trade wants the work he is often held far below his standard of yardage gained per play which can frustrate a player used to gaining large chunks.

Stage Four: A fork in the road. Either players learn to appreciate what they are great at and stay in their comfort zone OR they adapt to their sporadic usage in the offence and become a constant threat which every team must prepare for both in special teams and defensive meetings.

When I talked to Brandon Banks in training camp this year he told me, “I don’t just want to be a package player, I’m more than that”.

What Banks is referring to is the handful of quick screens and unique plays designed just to get him the ball in hopes he could recreate his return game magic Hamilton fans have come to adore.

My first thought? Great, the Ticats are about to ruin Brandon Banks for the sake of squeezing every drop out of the spectacular lemon that is number 16 in black and gold.

I was wrong.

All season Banks combined yardage – comprised of punt return yards, kick return yards, missed field goal return yards, receiving yards and rushing yards – have been among the CFL’s best. He currently sits second in combined yards gained (2,193) behind the BC Lions Chris Rainey (2,324).

Remember earlier when I said no player in the CFL is judged by the brightness of their star, but how long that star signs and whether it gets more spectacular over time? That question made me wonder about three big questions.

QUESTION ONE: How does Brandon Banks get his yards and is he evolving?

First let me quantify my research. Stats are not perfect, they do not tell you everything and I decided to only look at the regular season grind. Disclaimer done.

In limited action after signing in Hamilton in September of 2013, Banks showed a wide range of ability. He contributed on offence effectively but still accumulated 76 per cent of his total yardage from the return game.

In 2014, his first full season with the CFL Banks exploded onto the scene in spectacular fashion returning kickoffs and punts. Those two categories accumulated a whopping 89 per cent of his combined yardage in a season which saw Banks lead the league in all purpose yards with 1,968.

In 2015 Banks set a CFL career record with 50 per cent of his all purpose yardage coming from punt returns, good for a career high 930 yards. Kick returning percentages dropped slightly while his offensive production dwindled. These stats run counter to the regression discussed earlier in which I believe specialists offensive numbers go up slightly at the cost of their original blessing, return yards crash and burn. It appears in 2015 the coaching staff was content to allow Banks to be what Banks is, an elite returner. That would change in 2016.

What makes Brandon Banks different from many other return men gone multi-threat offensive weapon is 2016. The fourth year is often the fork in the road. Adapt or die a slow mediocre statistical death.

Some how, some way at 5-foot-7 and 150 pounds, Brandon Banks has adapted and become an integral part of the Tiger-Cats receiving game. So far this season 16 per cent and 340 of Banks all purpose yards are on catches. Last season Banks had 22 yards receiving for the entire season and his previous season high was 95 yards in his four game 2013 debut!

The evolution of Brandon Banks has been a shift towards kick returns becoming the bell cow of his total yardage while adding in a healthy dose of receiving yards without overwhelming his exceptional return game skills. The result is that Banks is on pace through 14 games for a career high in kick return yards (1,405), receiving yards (436), missed field goal return yards (319) and combined yards gained (2,819).

If Banks reaches the 2,800 combined yards mark it would be the first time to happen in the CFL since his now Tiger-Cat teammate Chad Owens did it in three consecutive seasons (2010, 2011, 2012) with the Argonauts.

All of this makes you wonder, how would Banks stack up against some of the best multi purpose meant to don a CFL uniform?

QUESTION TWO: How does Banks development stack up to all-time greats?

To answer this question I again strictly looked at regular season numbers and only pulled players of relevance who have lasted at least four years in the CFL in order to get a complete comparison as Banks is currently in his fourth CFL season. That means no Rocket Ismail, sorry Argos fans. I also only looked at players since 1985, as we can all appreciate how the modern game has evolved.

To compare how yards gained evolves through a players first four years and how those yardage totals stack up against each other I selected three players of name recognition and combined yardage merit.

Chad Owens, who put up 12,794 combined yards while winning four straight all purpose yardage titles. The one and only Henry Gizmo Williams, who defined all purpose yardage while leading the CFL in 1992 and 1993, and Charles Roberts, who won three combined yardage crowns in 2003, 2003, and 2006 in a way vastly different from his contemporaries.

A former Alouettes rookie turned Argos standout, now Ticats teammate of Brandon Banks may have set the ultimate template for how to destroy the league in multiple ways.

Chad Owens burst onto the scene accumulating 80 per cent of his yardage from kickoffs in limited duty. After landing in Toronto in 2010 Owens became the prototypical example of a special returner asked to do more.

He answered the bell and then some and did it with the highest percentage of receiving yards among our four comparable CFL elites. The balance of Owens’ combined yardage is unparalleled even to a player of Banks stature. This set him apart and made Owens a nearly unstoppable force in all aspects of the game for four years in the Double Blue.

The way Gizmo Williams gained yards evolved in the prototypical returner turned offensive player manner. Through each of his first four years in the CFL Gizmo gained less of his yards from punt returns. As a result his yards from scrimmage (receiving and rushing) totals grew from 16 per cent in 1986 to 31 per cent in 1988.

Banks and Gizmo are similar in that they’re rushing numbers faded through their first four CFL years while missed field goal returns became a mainstay but the two return dynamos differ greatly when it comes to kickoff return yards.

Gizmo never earned more than 34 per cent of his total yardage from kickoff returns while Banks has earned more than 34 per cent of his yardage from kickoff returns in each CFL campaign (46, 47, 41, 50 per cent).

Charles Roberts is a unique and refreshing example of how to accumulate all purpose yardage. Instead of a returner turned slot or scat back, Roberts began gaining his yardage in equal parts rushing attack and return game.

Through his career Roberts rushing yards exploded to eventually equate to 75 per cent of his combined yards. To put that in perspective, all of Banks, Williams and Owens rush yards percentages averaged 3 per cent.

Roberts career evolved opposite many combined yardage kings which is entertaining and a dream come true to most coaches, however the workload asked of a running back who returns is much more than that of a returner who catches passes once in a while as shown by Roberts’ eventual reduction in production.

Yearly total yardage through their first four campaigns shows the way Chad Owens exploded onto the scene, the consistency of Charles Roberts despite the changing ways he achieved those totals and the impressive nature of Gizmo Williams’ game.

What truly matters to me in this graph though is Banks’ development. While Banks may not have exploded like Owens or maintained a standard as high as Charles Roberts what he has done is improve each season.

Keep in mind, Banks’ 2016 total is as of right now. He is on pace to gain 2,814 yards this season which would place him ahead of both Roberts’ and Gizmo’s year four production. In fact, Banks in his fourth year (2,193 yards) needs 26 yards to pass Gizmo Williams’ combined yards total from his 4th year in the CFL (2,219) and is more than likely to do so this Friday against Ottawa.

While yardage is great, and the basis of this article, touchdowns are what pay the bills. Here is how our four yard gainers compare in their first four CFL seasons.

Naturally your attention will be grabbed by Charles Roberts unbelievable numbers but my attention is squarely focused on that third year regression and fourth year bounce back of everyone but Gizmo.

It appears Brandon Banks’ early CFL experience is going according to plan for players of his type. By becoming the primary threat in a variety of situations teams begin to game plan for your strengths and skills.

It appears for Owens, Roberts and Banks that happened in year three. The mark of a great player is not how they are treated but how they respond to that treatment and all three found a way in year four to return to the end zone.

Banks’ touchdown totals don’t reach Charles Roberts and his yardage can’t touch Chad Owens, but his progression is continual. That says a lot about Banks and the staff who continue to find different ways to utilize his skill set.

QUESTION THREE: Does Banks fade away at inopportune times?

Again, I’m looking at regular season numbers. Banks has been spectacular in the playoffs but this criticism has resonated at times since his arrival in Hamilton regarding regular season performances so why not see what the numbers say?

The numbers show Banks doesn’t truly have a tendency through sections of the season as to when he explodes or seems inconsequential. However, his numbers do experience an overall reduction from Week 1 to Week 18 each season. This should be expected based on the demands of the longest football season on earth.

While the yardage per week doesn’t tell much of a story the touchdowns per week might support what some overly critical fans believe about Banks’ late season production.

Banks has no career touchdowns in Weeks 6, 9, 10 or 12 but has 4 career touchdowns in Week 7. An odd trend but the troubling stat here is that Banks has not scored a touchdown in game 15-18 of the regular season since 2013. The Ticats would surely love to see that change against Ottawa this Friday in a battle for first place at home.

In summation Banks career development is consistent and steadily among the CFL’s best in both combined yards and touchdowns. If the Ticats would like to not only make the playoffs but be a true Grey Cup threat they will need a helping hand from Brandon Banks.