Minas Panagiotakis/CFL.ca
We had some disappointing news in the quarterback world to finish off FanDuel Canada Day Weekend.
Zach Collaros and Bo Levi Mitchell both left Sunday night’s game with injuries and that struck a sour note on what has been an incredible run of football to start the season.
Yes, I’m curious to see what Tre Ford looks like throwing to Kenny Lawler and Kiondré Smith, assuming he is the one that is chosen to lead the offence this weekend or how far has Jake Dolegala developed in the last three years since his time starting for Saskatchewan. But we all want to see Mitchell come back sooner rather than later.
If Collaros cannot go this week, the question becomes will Dru Brown step in or will the team give a serious look at Taylor Elgersma?
On to the rankings that have been shaken up by the result of Sunday’s game. These rankings are assuming that Elgersma will be starting this week. The Bombers have not announced their starter for Week 6 as of this writing.
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| Rank (Last Week) | Name | Team |
| 1 (2) | Davis Alexander | Montreal Alouettes |
| 2 (1) | Trevor Harris | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| 3 (4) | Nathan Rourke | BC Lions |
| 4 (8) | Vernon Adams Jr. | Calgary Stampeders |
| 5 (5) | Chad Kelly | Toronto Argonauts |
| 6 (7) | Cody Fajardo | Edmonton Elks |
| 7 (9) | Jake Maier | Ottawa REDBLACKS |
| 8 (-) | Jake Dolegala | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 9 (-) | Taylor Elgersma* | Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
*Taylor Elgersma is included here assuming he is starting in Week 6. The Bombers have not announced their starter for Week 6 as of this writing.
1.(2) DAVIS ALEXANDER | MONTREAL ALOUETTES
Despite the Montreal Alouettes coming off a bye week, their starting quarterback has snuck into the top spot.
There were several throws made by Davis Alexander in the team’s 37-35 win over the Ottawa REDBLACKS that gave him a slight edge over Trevor Harris. Davis’ 54-yard strike for the game’s first score was all about Alexander working his way up into the pocket giving Alexander Hollins time to get behind the defence. Moving ahead to early in the second quarter, where pressure did not seem to faze him, a scrambling Davis calmly hit Tyson Philpot for a 34-yard gain while being chased by several Ottawa defenders.
Later in the quarter, the two combined again for 37 yards on a pass that travelled over 30 yards in the air. Marshall Ferguson said that moment was “easy money.” Plays like that are never easy, but Davis and Philpot are making them look that way.
2. (1) TREVOR HARRIS | SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
This is going to sound crazy, but I can’t remember too many spectacular throws by the defending champs in the Saskatchewan Roughriders Week 4 loss to the Toronto Argonauts. I know Trevor Harris threw for over 400 yards, but what stands out was the number of over-the-top catches made by his receivers.
His end zone interception was a tough one, as Tarvarus McFadden read the quarterback’s eyes the whole way. On the flip side, I can’t ding Trevor too much for his early turnover last week, as his pass got deflected and went right to Ottawa’s A.J. Allen.
Harris got revenge on Allen in the third quarter as his 23-yard touchdown to KeeSean Johnson was just over the outstretched arm of the REDBLACKS’ linebacker. His best throw had to be the game-ending throw to Samuel Emilus that was in such a tight window that he hit his target a split second before Alonzo Addae could make the play.
3.(4) NATHAN ROURKE | BC LIONS
Nathan Rourke and the Lions finally got their first win of the season, thanks in large part to the work done by James Butler and his 135 rushing yards and two majors.
Rourke’s two interceptions against Edmonton were more about the passes being deflected, receivers not making the catch and the sheer athleticism by Joel Dublanko. Rourke amassed 782 passing yards the past two games, but much of that came against Calgary with his team down 38-17 midway into the final quarter.
4.(8) VERNON ADAMS JR. | CALGARY STAMPEDERS
No quarterback had a better two-week stretch than Vernon Adams Jr. He finally beat his former team, the BC Lions, in Week 4 and tied a team record with six passing touchdowns in the Stamps 58-36 win over the Argonauts.
I know this will come off as a total hipster/”look at me” statement, but my favourite play from Vernon against Toronto was his first pass. It was just a simple 10-yard completion to Jalen Philpot. Adams Jr. got absolutely crushed by an unblocked defensive end, yet found a way to get the ball just before the hit and squeeze it in to Philpot, who was well covered by All-CFLer Adarius Pickett.
5.(5) CHAD KELLY | TORONTO ARGONAUTS
If I can pick one play that perfectly sums up Chad Kelly’s mindset as a passer, it was that touchdown pass to rookie Tyler Kahmann with mere seconds left on the clock in the first half of their 40-34 takedown of the Roughriders.
Mike Miller’s squad was down 17-13 with eight seconds left and a chip shot field goal was right there. I mentioned this last week, but as Chad was scrambling around announcer Dustin Nielson was saying what so many of us watching were thinking: “he’s going to look for the end zone isn’t he?”
This was an aggressive decision to release the ball with three seconds left to a rookie target who was in the middle of the field. If everything doesn’t go right, there is a chance we don’t see Lirim Hajrullahu go for an easy three points. Instead, Kahmann made the catch at the nine-yard line and sped into the end zone giving Toronto the lead and helping propel them to an upset win over Saskatchewan.
6.(7) CODY FAJARDO | EDMONTON ELKS
Both things can be true when it comes to Cody Fajardo: you can win a Grey Cup with him as your starter, but you are probably losing when he is forced to throw the ball more than 50 times in one game.
Fajardo kept the Elks in that game against the Lions in the first half last week, but two critical interceptions doomed Edmonton in the second. Despite the setback, Elks fans must be thrilled with this 3-1 start.
7.(9) JAKE MAIER | OTTAWA REDBLACKS
Yes, it is dark days right now in Ottawa, but the past two weeks have seen the REDBLACKS lose by a combined seven points.
We saw some deep shots by Jake Maier in the fourth quarter against Saskatchewan, including tight window completions of 34 yards to Eugene Lewis and 29 yards to Justin Hardy.
8.(-) JAKE DOLEGALA | HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
A report out of Hamilton indicates that Jake Dolegala will start for Hamilton this weekend (Nicole Osborne/CFL.ca)
According to a report from The Hamilton Spectator’s Scott Radley, head coach Scott Milanovich has confirmed that it will be Jake Dolegala starting at quarterback in Regina.
Back in 2023, Jake Dolegala put up decent numbers for a losing Roughriders team.
My biggest memory was their Labour Day 32-30 upset over a 9-2 Blue Bombers squad where Dolegala threw for 236 yards, did not have an interception and made several difficult throws late in the game for the win.
As I have mentioned before, a big day for Jake will be when there is less focus on how big he is at six-foot-seven and more on his passing.
9.(-) TAYLOR ELGERSMA | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
Taylor Elgersma helped the Bombers to a come-from-behind win over the Tiger-Cats on FanDuel Canada Day Weekend (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca)
At the time of this article going live, there have been no reports out of Winnipeg about who is starting at quarterback for the Blue Bombers. So we will rank Taylor Elgersma here, assuming that he will be playing in place of Zach Collaros.
The 31-yard touchdown to Ontaria Wilson looks great on the stat line, just remember it was a pitch pass to Wilson from behind the line of scrimmage. I’m sorry! Trust me, I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade. I’m rooting for Elgersma, Ford and Rourke to kickstart a Canadian quarterback rivalry. It would make for the best story.
Keep in mind we may see Dru Brown starting sooner rather than later and Collaros is still a possibility to play this weekend as well.
