Top-graded CFL players of Week 21: Highlighting the league’s best performers
By
Bryson Vesnaver
The CFL season is getting down to the wire, and each week, we’re diving into the numbers to spotlight the league’s top performers.
Thanks to consistent demand from fans, we’re bringing you the top 10 highest-graded CFL players who played significant snaps, based on PFF’s grading system.
From quarterbacks dissecting defenses to defensive linemen wreaking havoc in the trenches, these are the athletes who stood out above the rest in Week 21. We’ll be highlighting this group every week of the season, so CFL fans can keep track of the top-tier talent making an impact across the league.
Want to dig deeper into the data? Click here for full season-level PFF grades across the CFL.
Grading Highlight of the Week: DI Shawn Oakman, Montreal Alouettes
It had been a quiet season for Oakman, the massive interior defender for Montreal. After averaging 51 snaps per game over the first 14 weeks, he played just 68 total snaps across the next four. He was given a larger role this past weekend and may have earned more playoff work based on his performance.
Oakman was on the field primarily as a run defender, with 26 of his 36 snaps coming against the run. He excelled in that phase, recording five tackles and two assists. Three of those tackles were solo stops, and two were tackles for no gain. Both came at critical moments — the first on a quarterback sneak from the 1-yard line with 15 seconds left in the second quarter to force a third down, and the second with under two minutes remaining on a first-and-goal from the 5-yard line.
While he didn’t have many pass-rush opportunities, he made the most of them. Oakman recorded a sack midway through the first quarter and added another win early in the second. Though two wins on 10 rushes isn’t a dominant figure, he also batted down a pass early in the fourth quarter. Those three impact plays were enough to earn him a 78.0 pass-rush grade.
That number, paired with an outstanding 86.1 run-defense grade, gave Oakman a 90.1 overall grade — his highest of the season.
Quarterback
| Name | Team | Snaps | Overall Grade |
| Cody Fajardo | Edmonton Elks | 45 | 92.0 |
| Trevor Harris | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 25 | 91.1 |
| Nathan Rourke | B.C. Lions | 44 | 86.8 |
| Bo Levi Mitchell | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 53 | 82.0 |
| Vernon Adams Jr. | Calgary Stampeders | 57 | 61.7 |
| McLeod Bethel-Thompson | Montreal Alouettes | 51 | 54.4 |
| Jake Maier | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 37 | 53.9 |
| Quincy Vaughn | Calgary Stampeders | 26 | 52.7 |
| Matthew Shiltz | Ottawa Redblacks | 35 | 39.4 |
| Terry Wilson | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 53 | 38.4 |
Running Back
| Name | Team | Snaps | Overall Grade |
| Greg Bell | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 47 | 76.5 |
| Dedrick Mills | Calgary Stampeders | 46 | 73.0 |
| Thomas Bertrand-Hudon | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 45 | 69.8 |
| A.J. Ouellette | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 25 | 67.7 |
| James Butler | B.C. Lions | 38 | 66.9 |
| William Stanback | Ottawa Redblacks | 43 | 64.5 |
| Matthew Peterson | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 50 | 64.2 |
| Tiyon Evans | Montreal Alouettes | 35 | 63.1 |
| Michael Chris-Ike | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 27 | 60.8 |
| Justin Rankin | Edmonton Elks | 28 | 49.6 |
Wide Receiver
| Name | Team | Snaps | Overall Grade |
| Kian Schaffer-Baker | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 28 | 90.1 |
| Erik Brooks | Calgary Stampeders | 59 | 79.5 |
| Keon Hatcher | B.C. Lions | 45 | 78.0 |
| Jevon Cottoy | B.C. Lions | 37 | 76.8 |
| Ayden Eberhardt | B.C. Lions | 29 | 72.6 |
| Tevin Jones | Calgary Stampeders | 60 | 71.3 |
| Tommy Nield | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 62 | 71.1 |
| Tim White | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 52 | 69.0 |
| Jalon Calhoun | Edmonton Elks | 42 | 68.4 |
| Bralon Addison | Ottawa Redblacks | 52 | 67.6 |
Offensive Tackle
| Name | Team | Snaps | Overall Grade |
| Quinton Barrow | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 58 | 86.4 |
| Jarell Broxton | B.C. Lions | 45 | 72.2 |
| Jermarcus Hardrick | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 31 | 68.6 |
| Dino Boyd | Ottawa Redblacks | 56 | 66.8 |
| Des Holmes | Montreal Alouettes | 53 | 66.8 |
| Nick Callender | Montreal Alouettes | 25 | 65.0 |
| D.J. Jones | Ottawa Redblacks | 56 | 64.4 |
| Kendall Randolph | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 58 | 63.0 |
| Preston Nichols | Calgary Stampeders | 34 | 62.4 |
| Dejon Allen | B.C. Lions | 45 | 61.3 |
Offensive Guard
| Name | Team | Snaps | Overall Grade |
| Pier-Olivier Lestage | Montreal Alouettes | 53 | 75.7 |
| Zack Williams | Calgary Stampeders | 60 | 68.5 |
| Gregor Mackellar | Edmonton Elks | 46 | 68.3 |
| Liam Dobson | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 58 | 68.0 |
| Drew Desjarlais | Ottawa Redblacks | 56 | 66.8 |
| Gabe Wallace | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 58 | 65.5 |
| Mark Korte | Edmonton Elks | 46 | 64.2 |
| Jacob Ruby | Ottawa Redblacks | 56 | 63.9 |
| Patrick Neufeld | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 58 | 61.8 |
| Cyrille Hogan-Saindon | Montreal Alouettes | 28 | 59.7 |
Centre
| Name | Team | Snaps | Overall Grade |
| Peter Godber | Ottawa Redblacks | 56 | 70.8 |
| Asotui Eli | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 26 | 67.8 |
| Chris Kolankowski | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 39 | 67.0 |
| David Beard | Edmonton Elks | 46 | 63.6 |
| Coulter Woodmansey | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 58 | 61.3 |
| Braydon Noll | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 39 | 60.1 |
| Justin Lawrence | Montreal Alouettes | 53 | 58.7 |
| Christopher Fortin | Calgary Stampeders | 60 | 56.3 |
| Logan Ferland | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 31 | 55.4 |
| Michael Couture | B.C. Lions | 45 | 49.0 |
Interior Defender
| Name | Team | Snaps | Overall Grade |
| Shawn Oakman | Montreal Alouettes | 36 | 90.1 |
| Tyreek Johnson | Edmonton Elks | 39 | 86.1 |
| Caleb Sanders | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 40 | 80.3 |
| Ali Saad | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 35 | 72.3 |
| Cleyon Laing | Ottawa Redblacks | 41 | 71.7 |
| Casey Sayles | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 47 | 71.6 |
| Tomasi Laulile | B.C. Lions | 47 | 69.1 |
| Tibo Debaillie | B.C. Lions | 24 | 68.0 |
| Dewayne Hendrix | B.C. Lions | 53 | 67.6 |
| Miles Fox | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 49 | 66.5 |
Edge Defender
| Name | Team | Snaps | Overall Grade |
| Levi Bell | B.C. Lions | 39 | 84.3 |
| Clarence Hicks | Calgary Stampeders | 28 | 78.4 |
| Mathieu Betts | B.C. Lions | 54 | 76.9 |
| Habakkuk Baldonado | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 42 | 76.1 |
| Julian Howsare | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 52 | 75.9 |
| Joshua Archibald | Montreal Alouettes | 42 | 75.2 |
| Matt Jaworski | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 21 | 71.2 |
| Elijah Alston | Edmonton Elks | 30 | 70.4 |
| Kydran Jenkins | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 27 | 68.6 |
| Philip Ossai | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 46 | 68.5 |
Linebacker
| Name | Team | Snaps | Overall Grade |
| Geoffrey Cantin-Arku | Montreal Alouettes | 36 | 88.8 |
| Braxton Hill | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 31 | 80.6 |
| Reggie Stubblefield | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 56 | 79.8 |
| Tony Jones | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 21 | 79.4 |
| Najee Murray | Montreal Alouettes | 58 | 77.3 |
| Brock Mogensen | Edmonton Elks | 56 | 73.0 |
| Shayne Gauthier | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 24 | 72.4 |
| Derrick Moncrief | Calgary Stampeders | 46 | 71.7 |
| Tyrice Beverette | Montreal Alouettes | 58 | 71.0 |
| Davion Taylor | Ottawa Redblacks | 25 | 70.5 |
Cornerback
| Name | Team | Snaps | Overall Grade |
| Kabion Ento | Montreal Alouettes | 58 | 75.0 |
| Marquise Bridges | B.C. Lions | 65 | 72.3 |
| Jamal Peters | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 56 | 71.5 |
| Jonathan Moxey | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 56 | 70.2 |
| Robert Carter Jr. | B.C. Lions | 65 | 69.3 |
| Demerio Houston | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 53 | 68.2 |
| Cam Lockridge | Ottawa Redblacks | 58 | 67.6 |
| Dionte Ruffin | Montreal Alouettes | 55 | 66.2 |
| Tyrell Ford | Edmonton Elks | 59 | 63.9 |
| Sheldrick Redwine | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 45 | 60.1 |
Halfback
| Name | Team | Snaps | Overall Grade |
| Evan Holm | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 35 | 88.3 |
| DaShaun Amos | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 55 | 77.4 |
| Robert Kennedy III | Montreal Alouettes | 29 | 76.7 |
| Mark Milton | Ottawa Redblacks | 58 | 73.1 |
| Deatrick Nichols | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 29 | 70.0 |
| Dexter Lawson Jr. | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 32 | 67.8 |
| Kobe Williams | Edmonton Elks | 59 | 66.7 |
| Destin Talbert | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 54 | 63.1 |
| DaMarcus Fields | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 45 | 62.2 |
| Adrian Frye | Ottawa Redblacks | 56 | 61.9 |
Safety
| Name | Team | Snaps | Overall Grade |
| Nelson Lokombo | Saskatchewan Roughriders | 45 | 76.8 |
| Marc-Antoine Dequoy | Montreal Alouettes | 58 | 75.7 |
| Bailey Devine-Scott | Calgary Stampeders | 45 | 74.8 |
| Deandre Lamont | Ottawa Redblacks | 55 | 70.4 |
| Jackson Findlay | B.C. Lions | 65 | 65.9 |
| Stavros Katsantonis | Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 52 | 60.0 |
| Jerrell Cummings | Edmonton Elks | 56 | 57.0 |
| Cam Allen | Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 46 | 52.4 |
