Who Deserves the Vote? 3 All-CFL defensive picks

Kristina Costabile

CFL.ca

@kcostabile1

We’re just a few weeks away from the end of the regular season and chatter across the country about who will be given end-of-season awards is abundant.

You can help decide who ends 2024 with some of those accolades with the All-CFL Fan Vote. You also have a chance to win some cash by making your selections. It’s a win-win!

There are so many playmakers on offence to vote for that my colleagues here at CFL.ca have already taken a look at, but what about the defence?

Defenders on every team have made some outstanding plays this season and are surely worthy of your All-CFL vote.

Here are my picks for who should get your vote at linebacker, defensive back, and defensive line.

1. ROLAN MILLIGAN JR. | DEFENSIVE BACK | SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS

Rolan Milligan Jr. has emerged as a front-runner for both Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player, which should be enough for you to vote for him as an All-CFL selection. If that doesn’t convince you, I’ll lay out some stats to make a case.

Milligan Jr. leads the CFL with eight interceptions (he hauled in his eighth this past weekend, a perfect read and jump of a route for the pick, if I do say so myself). He’s also leading the CFL in special teams tackles with 20. Never in CFL history has a player led the league in special teams tackles and any defensive category. Milligan is on pace to become the first to do so. That sounds pretty outstanding to me.

Even if the Riders halfback isn’t getting interceptions, his hands are all over the football, as the 30-year-old is tied for the league-lead in knockdowns (10).

Milligan Jr. is a playmaker all over the Saskatchewan defence and should be considered to get your All-CFL vote.

2. TYRICE BEVERETTE | LINEBACKER | MONTREAL ALOUETTES

Tyrice Beverette is fourth in the CFL in defensive tackles with 89 (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca)

If Rolan Milligan Jr. is the West Division nominee for Most Outstanding Player and Most Outstanding Defensive Player, you could argue that Tyrice Beverette gets the nod out of the East.

Beverette is a human stat machine and I can hardly keep up each week with how many different things the Alouettes’ weakside linebacker does on a consistent basis.

The 29-year-old leads the CFL in total defensive plays with 121. He’s tallied 89 tackles on defence to go along with another eight on special teams. Beverette has four sacks on his resume this season as well as four forced fumbles, six knockdowns, eight tackles for loss, an interception, and a fumble recovery.

Beverette does it all and is more than worthy of your All-CFL vote.

3. SIONE TEUHEMA | DEFENSIVE LINE | BC LIONS

There are plenty of defensive lineman I could have suggested here; Willie Jefferson, Noah Curtis, Jake Ceresna, Mustafa Johnson…you get it. All of those players are worth your vote, too, by the way.

With that being said, I’m going to rally for BC Lions defensive end Sione Teuhema to get your vote for this spot. Teuhema is tied for the league-lead in sacks (seven) to go along with 35 defensive tackles and five tackles for loss. According to PFF, Teuhema leads the CFL in tackles for loss and tackles for no gain with 12.

Teuhema is also a great example of stats not telling the whole story of how much of an impact a player is making each game. To start the season, the 29-year-old was disruptive to opposing quarterbacks, consistently in the back field making their lives miserable. He just wasn’t getting sacks on the stat sheet at the time; he didn’t record his first sack until Week 7 against Calgary where he had two.

Teuhema’s a playmaker for BC and is worthy of your All-CFL vote at defensive line.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

Kyle Wilson leads the Tiger-Cats in defensive tackles with 84 (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca)

It was extremely hard to make a list of just three defenders so I’m going to give a couple of honourable mentions to a few guys that should be on your radar when you go to cast your votes.

Saskatchewan’s SAM linebacker/DB C.J. Reavis is having an excellent season for the Riders. Last week, he totalled nine tackles on defence and picked up an Amari Henderson forced fumble late in the game as Edmonton was driving to all but seal the win (and a playoff spot) for Saskatchewan. If you’re looking for a big time player who makes big time plays, Reavis is him. On the season, he’s tallied 80 total tackles, four sacks, two knockdowns, two fumble recoveries, and four tackles for loss.

Linebacker Kyle Wilson should also be considered. Wilson is tied with Reavis for sixth in the CFL in total defensive plays (92). Mostly playing at weak side linebacker this season, Wilson has collected two sacks, a forced fumble, an interception, two knockdowns, and two tackles for loss to go along with his 84 tackles.

And last but certainly not least, Toronto’s boundary corner, Benjie Franklin. In the 27-year-old’s second CFL season (he only played in one game with the Argos in 2023), he’s tied for the league-lead with 10 pass knockdowns. He’s also tied with Saskatchewan’s Jameer Thurman for most fumble recoveries this season (three), and has a sack, two interceptions, three forced fumbles, and two tackles for loss to his name.

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