Player Grades powered by PFF: Mauger tops all defensive backs
Minas Panagiotakis/CFL.ca
TORONTO — OK Tire Labour Day Weekend is in the books and CFL fans were treated to plenty of excellent individual performances across the league.
Defensive back Quincy Mauger was the best defender in coverage according to PFF’s Player Grades, with a 88.1 coverage grade in his team’s win over Montreal. The Lions’ safety had three tackles, a sack, and an interception on Saturday night.
Toronto’s quarterback Chad Kelly led the way in passing with a 78.4 passing grade as he and his Argos defeated the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. Kelly completed 15 of his 23 pass attempts for 201 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.
Who else made the top 10 in their respective positions? Find out below.
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» Player and Team Grades Powered by PFF
PFF utilizes extensive review of game footage to provide additional context for every action on the field. Highly-trained PFF staff break down every game, player and play to provide over 200 unique data points, which are used to compile Player Grades – a numerical representation up-to-100 of performance at their specific position.
For more information on PFF, Player Grades, the Grading Scale and more, please visit pff.com/grades.
QUARTERBACK
(Grades are based on quarterbacks who played a minimum of 10 pass attempts)
| Rank | Name (Team) | Passing Yards Per Attempt | Big Time Throws* | Completion Percentage | Turnover Worthy Plays** | PFF Passing Grade |
| 1 | Chad Kelly (TOR) | 8.7 | 3 | 65.2% | 2 | 78.4 |
| 2 | Vernon Adams Jr. (BC) | 9.3 | 2 | 63.6% | 0 | 74.9 |
| 3 | Jake Maier (CGY) | 9.2 | 1 | 76.5% | 4 | 71.8 |
| 4 | Jake Dolegala (SSK) | 8.4 | 1 | 56.4% | 0 | 69.4 |
| 5 | Zach Collaros (WPG) | 10.7 | 4 | 50.0% | 2 | 66.4 |
| 6 | Taylor Powell (HAM) | 7.1 | 3 | 70.7% | 4 | 60.9 |
| 7 | Cody Fajardo (MTL) | 8.8 | 0 | 62.9% | 2 | 50.8 |
| 8 | Tre Ford (EDM) | 6.0 | 0 | 60.9% | 2 | 43.4 |
*throws graded a 1 or higher
** any play where the QB receives a -1 or worse on a play
RECEIVER
(Grades are based on receivers who played a minimum of 25 receiving snaps)
| Rank | Name (Team) | Receptions | Yards | YAC | Explosive Pass Plays* | PFF Receiving Grade |
| 1 | Nic Demski (WPG) | 5 | 116 | 46 | 2 | 84.3 |
| 2 | Eugene Lewis (EDM) | 5 | 55 | 6 | 1 | 75.8 |
| 3 | Austin Mack (MTL) | 7 | 143 | 58 | 5 | 74.6 |
| 4 | Tim White (HAM) | 7 | 107 | 31 | 4 | 73.6 |
| 5 | Marken Michel (CGY) | 4 | 95 | 51 | 2 | 71.1 |
| 6 | Jevon Cottoy (BC) | 4 | 45 | 29 | 0 | 70.5 |
| 7 | Justin McInnis (BC) | 4 | 55 | 35 | 2 | 70.1 |
| 8 | Kurleigh Gittins Jr. (TOR) | 5 | 67 | 60 | 3 | 69.9 |
| 9 | Reggie Begelton (CGY) | 6 | 49 | 19 | 1 | 68.5 |
| 10 | Alexander Hollins (BC) | 5 | 88 | 21 | 1 | 67.4 |
*plays 15+ yards
RUNNING BACK
(Grades are based on running backs who played a minimum of five rushing snaps)
| Rank | Name (Team) | Missed Tackles Forced | Explosive Runs* | Rushing First Downs | PFF Rushing Grade |
| 1 | Dedrick Mills (CGY) | 1 | 2 | 4 | 84.5 |
| 2 | William Stanback (MTL) | 4 | 2 | 3 | 84.1 |
| 3 | Brady Oliveira (WPG) | 6 | 3 | 5 | 82.6 |
| 4 | Kevin Brown (EDM) | 2 | 4 | 4 | 75.0 |
| 4 | Ka’Deem Carey (CGY) | 4 | 2 | 4 | 75.0 |
| 6 | Taquan Mizzell Sr. (BC) | 2 | 1 | 3 | 74.6 |
| 7 | James Butler (HAM) | 3 | 3 | 5 | 70.8 |
| 8 | AJ Ouellette (TOR) | 7 | 2 | 2 | 69.7 |
| 9 | Jeshrun Antwi (MTL) | 1 | 1 | 2 | 67.4 |
| 10 | Jamal Morrow (SSK) | 5 | 1 | 1 | 64.5 |
*explosive plays rushing 10+ yards
OFFENSIVE LINE
(Grades are based on offensive linemen who played a minimum of 25 pass blocking snaps)
| Rank | Name (Team) | Pass Blocking Snaps | QB Pressured Allowed* | Pressure Percentage Allowed** | PFF Pass Blocking Grade |
| 1 | Joel Figueroa (HAM) | 50 | 1 | 2.0% | 88.3 |
| 2 | Kristian Matte (MTL) | 47 | 1 | 2.1% | 85.1 |
| 3 | Brett Boyko (EDM) | 31 | 0 | 0.0% | 79.5 |
| 4 | Nick Callender (MTL) | 47 | 2 | 4.3% | 79.4 |
| 5 | Peter Nicastro (TOR) | 26 | 1 | 3.9% | 78.3 |
| 6 | Mark Korte (EDM) | 31 | 1 | 3.2% | 78.3 |
| 7 | Zack Williams (CGY) | 38 | 1 | 2.6% | 73.9 |
| 8 | Jarell Broxton (BC) | 37 | 1 | 8.1% | 73.8 |
| 9 | Kent Perkins (BC) | 37 | 0 | 0.0% | 72.6 |
| 10 | Andrew Pierson (BC) | 37 | 3 | 2.7% | 71.1 |
| 10 | Patrick Neufeld (WPG) | 28 | 0 | 0.0% | 71.1 |
*sacks + hits + hurries
**QB pressures allowed/pass blocking snaps
DEFENSIVE LINE
(Grades are based on defensive linemen who played a minimum of 25 pass rush snaps)
| Rank | Name (Team) | Sacks | Total Pressures Generated* | Hurries** | PFF Pass Rush Grade |
| 1 | Jake Ceresna (EDM) | 2 | 8 | 3 | 80.6 |
| 2 | Folarin Orimolade (TOR) | 1 | 4 | 3 | 75.8 |
| 3 | Sione Teuhema (BC) | 2 | 7 | 4 | 74.4 |
| 4 | Ricky Walker (EDM) | 0 | 2 | 1 | 73.8 |
| 5 | Julian Howsare (CGY) | 0 | 4 | 4 | 73.0 |
| 6 | Jackson Jeffcoat (WPG) | 0 | 3 | 3 | 72.5 |
| 7 | A.C. Leonard (EDM) | 1 | 4 | 3 | 70.8 |
| 8 | Willie Jefferson (WPG) | 0 | 1 | 1 | 70.2 |
| 9 | Mathieu Betts (BC) | 0 | 7 | 5 | 69.9 |
| 10 | Shawn Oakman (TOR) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 67.6 |
*sacks + hits + hurries
**forcing a quick throw, flushing the QB, forcing QB to step up, forcing a throwaway, preventing a QB from stepping up
DEFENSIVE BACK
(Grades are based on defensive backs who played a minimum of 25 coverage snaps)
| Rank | Name (Team) | Targeted In Coverage* | Receptions Allowed | Interceptions | PFF Coverage Grade |
| 1 | Quincy Mauger (BC) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 88.1 |
| 2 | Nic Marshall (SSK) | 6 | 2 | 1 | 82.8 |
| 3 | Jamal Peters (TOR) | 2 | 2 | 1 | 79.4 |
| 4 | Marloshawn Franklin Jr. (EDM) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 74.1 |
| 5 | Mark McLaurin (EDM) | 4 | 4 | 1 | 73.5 |
| 6 | Stavros Katsantonis (HAM) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 72.5 |
| 7 | Demerio Houston (WPG) | 9 | 7 | 0 | 72.2 |
| 8 | Jonathan Moxey (CGY) | 4 | 2 | 1 | 71.6 |
| 9 | Evan Holm (WPG) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 71.3 |
| 10 | Reggie Stubblefield (MTL) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 71.2 |
*primary coverage
LINEBACKER
(Grades are based on linebackers who played a minimum of 10 run defence snaps)
| Rank | Name (Team) | Run Defence Snaps | Stops* | PFF Run Defence Grade |
| 1 | Ben Hladik (BC) | 14 | 3 | 81.0 |
| 2 | Jordan Williams (TOR) | 15 | 2 | 77.7 |
| 3 | Kyrie Wilson (WPG) | 13 | 3 | 73.8 |
| 4 | Bo Lokombo (BC) | 13 | 1 | 71.0 |
| 5 | Adam Bighill (WPG) | 16 | 2 | 70.8 |
| 6 | Micah Teitz (SSK) | 18 | 2 | 69.0 |
| 7 | Wynton McManis (TOR) | 14 | 0 | 68.8 |
| 8 | Josh Woods (BC) | 5 | 10 | 62.7 |
| 9 | Simoni Lawrence (HAM) | 22 | 0 | 62.3 |
| 10 | A.J. Allen (SSK) | 4 | 0 | 61.1 |
*solo tackle or sack that leads to an offensive failure (45% or less of distance on 1st, 60% or less on 2nd)
