TORONTO — Every time a rookie gets a chance to showcase his talents, everyone pays attention.
That’s because we don’t have a lot to go by other than college tape and CFL Combine presented by New Era data when analyzing these young players.
Which means that when a wide receiver like Ajou Ajou shows up – amidst a very talented wide receiver group nonetheless – it can spell optimism for fans.
CFL.ca brings you five Pro Football Focus Grades that standout from Week 3.
RELATED
» MMQB: The Montreal Air Force
» Alouettes’ air attack takes flight in win over REDBLACKS
» Riders celebrate home opener with dominant win over Ticats
» Augmented broadcasts lead the way in new CFL, TSN and Genius Sports offerings
» Sign up and watch CFL games on CFL+ in the U.S. and Internationally
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.
A bright spot for the Ticats in their loss to the Roughriders was the play of defensive back Jamal Peters. Coming off injury he was targeted only two times over 34 snaps and one of them was a forced incompletion and the other an interception.
There are a handful of Alouettes that could be featured here, but Beverette was the highest graded defender in Week 3 and for good reason. The linebacker filled up the stat sheet with six defensive tackles, one sack, one interception, one fumble returned and one fumble forced.
The Blue Bombers showed signs of life against the Lions in Week 3 and a big part of it was the veteran Nic Demski. The receiver finished with eight catches for 94 yards and almost made a highlight-reel grab at the end of the game that could’ve changed the final result.
The Riders are collecting young talented National receivers like they are infinity stones. Ajou joins Kian Schaffer-Baker and Samuel Emilus as yet another Canadian aerial threat for the Roughriders.
His grade is pretty straight forward. In only seven receiving snaps the rookie beat defensive back Kenneth George Jr. for a 40-yard score in the end of the first quarter that gave the Riders a two-score lead they would never relinquish.
Ouellette showcased his dual-threat abilities by getting two rushing and three receiving first downs as an essential chain-mover for the Riders in Week 3.
That’s 20 carries for 98 yards and four catches for 47 receiving yards as the top runner and pass-catcher for Saskatchewan.