The Canadian Press
TORONTO — With the regular season kicking off on Thursday, it’s time for a final lookback on which players excelled in 2023 according to Pro Football Focus.
Vernon Adams Jr., Brady Oliveira, Reggie Begelton and Marc-Antoine Dequoy are among some of the players who led their teams last season with grades that translated into yards, touchdowns and interceptions.
Adams Jr. led all CFL pivots in big-time throws while Winnipeg’s Dalton Schoen had the most explosive plays among all receivers.
On the defensive side of the ball, Most Outstanding Defensive Player Mathieu Betts finished with the best pass-rushing grade, Argonauts defensive back Mason Pierce led in coverage grade, while REDBLACKS linebacker Jovan Santos-Knox was the best run stopper at his position.
Before new grades are earned in 2024, CFL.ca brings you 2023 Player Grades powered by PFF.
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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 100 pass attempts)
| RANK | NAME (TEAM) | PASSING YARDS PER ATTEMPT | BIG TIME THROWS* | COMPLETION PERCENTAGE | TURNOVER WORTHY PLAYS** | PFF PASSING GRADE |
| 1 | Chad Kelly (TOR) | 10.5 | 31 | 68.5 | 16 | 90.7 |
| 2 | Vernon Adams Jr. (BC) | 9.8 | 38 | 68.3 | 27 | 90.3 |
| 3 | Zach Collaros (WPG) | 10.0 | 33 | 69.0 | 17 | 87.4 |
| 4 | Dustin Crum (OTT) | 8.1 | 11 | 69.2 | 15 | 80.7 |
| 5 | Dane Evans (BC) | 8.0 | 8 | 68.9 | 8 | 80.2 |
| 6 | Mason Fine (SSK) | 7.6 | 3 | 68.6 | 6 | 73.7 |
| 7 | Matthew Shiltz (HAM) | 9.7 | 13 | 67.1 | 5 | 72.5 |
| 8 | Trevor Harris (SSK) | 8.3 | 9 | 67.5 | 9 | 71.6 |
*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 100 receiving snaps)
| RANK | NAME (TEAM) | RECEPTIONS | YARDS | YAC | EXPLOSIVE PASS PLAYS* | PFF RECEIVING GRADE |
| 1 | Dalton Schoen (WPG) | 71 | 1,222 | 314 | 37 | 81.1 |
| 2 | Keon Hatcher (BC) | 78 | 1,226 | 363 | 34 | 79.6 |
| 3 | Kenny Lawler (WPG) | 50 | 901 | 247 | 22 | 79.0 |
| 4 | Reggie Begelton (CGY) | 86 | 1,119 | 403 | 25 | 78.1 |
| 5 | Nic Demski (WPG) | 67 | 1,006 | 374 | 21 | 75.6 |
| 6 | Eugene Lewis (EDM) | 48 | 844 | 272 | 18 | 73.6 |
| 7 | DaVaris Daniels (TOR) | 52 | 1,009 | 246 | 27 | 73.5 |
| 8t | Alexander Hollins (BC) | 78 | 1,173 | 287 | 30 | 73.3 |
| 8t | Tim White (HAM) | 75 | 1,269 | 372 | 33 | 73.3 |
| 10 | Tommy Nield (TOR) | 32 | 384 | 212 | 9 | 72.1 |
*plays 15+ yards
RUNNING BACK
(Grades are based on running backs who played a minimum of 40 rushing snaps)
| RANK | NAME (TEAM) | MISSED TACKLES FORCED | EXPLOSIVE RUNS* | RUSHING FIRST DOWNS | PFF RUSHING GRADE |
| 1 | Dedrick Mills (CGY) | 36 | 26 | 42 | 93.1 |
| 2 | Brady Oliveira (WPG) | 42 | 37 | 78 | 93.0 |
| 3 | AJ Ouellette (TOR) | 61 | 24 | 61 | 91.4 |
| 4 | Daniel Adeboboye (TOR) | 11 | 7 | 13 | 89.3 |
| 5 | Devonte Williams (OTT) | 55 | 37 | 46 | 88.9 |
| 6 | James Butler (HAM) | 59 | 32 | 59 | 87.9 |
| 7 | Taquan Mizzell (BC) | 28 | 13 | 28 | 86.0 |
| 8 | Kevin Brown (EDM) | 47 | 32 | 34 | 85.8 |
| 9 | Ka’Deem Carey (CGY) | 22 | 13 | 21 | 85.7 |
*explosive plays rushing 10+ yards
OFFENSIVE LINE
(Grades are based on offensive linemen who played a minimum of 100 pass blocking snaps)
| RANK | NAME (TEAM) | PASS BLOCKING SNAPS | QB PRESSURED ALLOWED* | PRESSURE PERCENTAGE ALLOWED** | PFF PASS BLOCKING GRADE |
| 1 | David Beard (HAM) | 674 | 21 | 3.1 | 79.8 |
| 2 | Dejon Allen (TOR) | 458 | 11 | 2.4 | 79.5 |
| 3 | Philipe Gagnon (MTL) | 118 | 2 | 1.7 | 78.3 |
| 4 | Peter Godber (SSK) | 583 | 11 | 1.9 | 77.8 |
| 5 | Darius Ciraco (TOR) | 463 | 17 | 3.7 | 77.5 |
| 6 | Pier-Olivier Lestage (MTL) | 552 | 17 | 3.1 | 76.9 |
| 7 | Brandon Revenberg (HAM) | 674 | 22 | 3.3 | 74.6 |
| 8 | Brett Boyko (EDM) | 419 | 18 | 4.3 | 73.0 |
| 9 | Jamar McGloster (MTL) | 306 | 14 | 4.6 | 72.8 |
| 10 | Jermarcus Hardrick (WPG) | 612 | 28 | 4.5 | 72.0 |
*sacks + hits + hurries
**QB pressures allowed/pass blocking snaps
DEFENSIVE LINE
(Grades are based on defensive linemen who played a minimum of 100 pass rush snaps)
| RANK | NAME (TEAM) | SACKS | TOTAL PRESSURES GENERATED* | HURRIES** | PFF PASS RUSH GRADE |
| 1 | Mathieu Betts (BC) | 18 | 83 | 45 | 90.2 |
| 2 | Mustafa Johnson (MTL) | 7 | 64 | 44 | 89.0 |
| 3 | Woody Baron (BC) | 8 | 51 | 29 | 86.4 |
| 4 | Folarin Orimolade (TOR) | 10 | 66 | 46 | 85.2 |
| 5 | Casey Sayles (HAM) | 7 | 44 | 28 | 84.0 |
| 6 | Jake Ceresna (EDM) | 12 | 63 | 35 | 83.5 |
| 7 | Anthony Lanier II (SSK) | 5 | 49 | 27 | 83.5 |
| 8 | Julian Howsare (CGY) | 6 | 63 | 42 | 83.3 |
| 9 | Mike Rose (CGY) | 10 | 48 | 29 | 81.8 |
| 10 | Willie Jefferson (WPG) | 11 | 66 | 41 | 81.0 |
*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 100 coverage snaps)
| RANK | NAME (TEAM) | TARGETED IN COVERAGE* | RECEPTIONS ALLOWED | INTERCEPTIONS | PFF COVERAGE GRADE |
| 1 | Mason Pierce (TOR) | 31 | 16 | 3 | 91.6 |
| 2 | Marc-Antoine Dequoy (MTL) | 44 | 27 | 5 | 90.8 |
| 3 | Reggie Stubblefield (MTL) | 36 | 14 | 2 | 89.1 |
| 4 | Richard Leonard (HAM) | 56 | 35 | 3 | 87.4 |
| 5 | Stavros Katsantonis (HAM) | 38 | 24 | 5 | 86.7 |
| 6 | Garry Peters (BC) | 85 | 46 | 4 | 85.8 |
| 7 | Quincy Mauger (BC) | 26 | 19 | 1 | 85.5 |
| 8 | Qwan’tez Stiggers (TOR) | 64 | 44 | 5 | 84.8 |
| 9 | Jamal Peters (TOR) | 60 | 46 | 4 | 83.2 |
| 10 | Robertson Daniel (TOR) | 44 | 33 | 4 | 82.2 |
*primary coverage
LINEBACKER
(Grades are based on linebackers who played a minimum of 50 run defence snaps)
| RANK | NAME (TEAM) | RUN DEFENCE SNAPS | STOPS* | PFF RUN DEFENCE GRADE |
| 1 | Jovan Santos-Knox (OTT) | 203 | 16 | 88.4 |
| 2 | Kyrie Wilson (WPG) | 121 | 15 | 83.3 |
| 3 | Adarius Pickett (TOR) | 273 | 16 | 80.9 |
| 4 | Adam Auclair (OTT) | 169 | 13 | 78.3 |
| 5 | Jordan Williams (TOR) | 180 | 12 | 77.7 |
| 6 | Enock Makonzo (EDM) | 104 | 5 | 73.8 |
| 7 | Larry Dean (SSK) | 373 | 20 | 73.3 |
| 8 | Titus Wall (CGY) | 168 | 11 | 73.2 |
| 9 | Kobe Williams (CGY) | 379 | 3 | 73.0 |
| 10 | A.J. Allen (SSK) | 67 | 6 | 72.4 |
*solo tackle or sack that leads to an offensive failure (45% or less of distance on 1st, 60% or less on 2nd)
