Three Stars: Derel Walker, Shawn Lemon and Sean Whyte light up Week Nineteen

Welcome to the next edition of the Three Stars, our regular look at each week's top performers on offence, defence and special teams. This time, we're examining the top showings from Week Nineteen's games.

First star/offensive player of the week: Derel Walker, wide receiver, Edmonton Eskimos: For the third-straight week, an Eskimos' receiver is our offensive player of the week, but it's a new receiver this time: Adarius Bowman took the top honours in Week Seventeen and Week Eighteen. Bowman was blanketed pretty effectively by the Montreal Alouettes Sunday, though, and held to just two catches for 12 yards. That paved the way for Walker to step up, and he did so in a big way, catching 11 passes for 127 yards and all three of Edmonton's aerial touchdowns in their 40-22 win over Montreal Sunday. The first-year CFLer out of Texas A&M has been huge for the Eskimos this year, posting 1,110 receiving yards this season (second on the team behind only Bowman). He'll be a strong contender for the league's most outstanding rookie award, and a key part of Edmonton's postseason hopes.

(Honourable mentions: Mike Reilly, QB, Edmonton; Tyrell Sutton, RB, Montreal; Lavelle Hawkins, WR, B.C.)

Second star/defensive player of the week: Shawn Lemon, defensive end, Ottawa Redblacks: Lemon was tremendous in Ottawa's 12-6 win over Hamilton Sunday, pressuring Ticats' QB Jeff Mathews all day and recording two sacks and two forced fumbles. The Akron product is in his first season in Ottawa, but his fourth in the CFL (he previously played with Saskatchewan, Edmonton and Calgary), and he only joined the Redblacks September 2 after returning from NFL stints with the Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers. He's been effective for them so far, though, recording 13 tackles and five sacks. The Redblacks are in prime position to take first place in the East, heading into Saturday's rematch against Hamilton needing only a loss by five points or less (or a tie or win) to grab that top spot and its accompanying bye, and Lemon will likely be crucial both to their chances there and their chances in the playoffs.

(Honourable mentions: Deon Lacey, LB, Edmonton; Alex Kanneh, DB, Ottawa; Nick Shortill, LB, Montreal.)

Third star/special teams player of the week: Sean Whyte, kicker, Edmonton Eskimos: Whyte was perfect Sunday against Montreal, making all four of his field-goal attempts and all four of his extra-point attempts, and providing 16 of the Eskimos' 40 points. Edmonton signed the Santa Monica product in September, close to a month after Montreal cut him, and he's been very good for them so far, making 24 of his 26 field goals (92.3 per cent) with the Eskimos and all 14 of his extra points. He wasn't bad with the Alouettes either, hitting 41 of 47 FGs this season (87.2 per cent) and all 30 of his extra points. Whyte considered leaving football after Montreal cut him, but Edmonton is probably very glad he didn't. He's in the CFL's top 25 all-time scorers, and he'll be important for the Eskimos in the playoffs.

(Honourable mentions: Rene Paredes, K, Calgary; Chris Rainey, PR/KR, B.C.; Chris Milo, P/K, Ottawa.)

Bonus star/Canadian player of the week: Nick Shortill, linebacker, Montreal Alouettes: Shortill was thrust into one of the most difficult situations we saw this week, filling in at middle linebacker for the Alouettes for the final three quarters after Henoc Muamba suffered an apparent concussion. Despite that, the CFL rookie out of McMaster thrived, flying around the field and recording a week-high 11 tackles. Shortill only had eight previous defensive tackles this season, so this was a big step up for him. He was drafted 13th overall in 2015, and he looks to have a lot of potential for Montreal going forward.

(Honourable mentions: Jerome Messam, RB, Calgary; Sean Whyte, K, Edmonton; Rene Paredes, K, Calgary.)

Watch 55-Yard Line for next week's Three Stars, and if you'd like to nominate a candidate during the week's games, contact me via Twitter or e-mail. Thanks for reading!