Top-graded CFL players of Week 12: Highlighting the league’s best performers

The CFL season is heating up, 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 12. 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: QB Nick Arbuckle, Toronto Argonauts

Another week, another eye-popping box score from a quarterback who didn’t lead the league in PFF grade. This time it was Toronto’s Nick Arbuckle, who completed 27-of-34 passes for 443 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions to earn a 75.7 overall grade that ranked fourth among quarterbacks in Week 12.

First things first, 75.7 is not a bad grade by any means. That grade still reflects a strong outing, and he did many things well. Arbuckle posted an 87.1% adjusted completion rate, made two very impressive big-time throws and helped lead the Argonauts to victory by consistently taking what the defense gave him.

However, his statistical production was heavily boosted by outstanding work from his receivers. We grade quarterbacks simply for the throw they made, so whatever a receiver does after the catch doesn’t affect said grade.

Toronto led the league in both yards after the catch (175) and missed tackles forced (9), neither of which impacts a quarterback’s grade. Arbuckle’s accuracy percentage of 53.3% and 29.4% rate of throws beyond the sticks were middle of the pack. He also had three turnover-worthy plays — two dropped interceptions and a fumble that a teammate recovered — the most of any quarterback this week.

Arbuckle managed the game well and delivered when it mattered, but those mistakes ultimately kept him from a higher grade.

Quarterback

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Trevor Harris	Saskatchewan Roughriders	47	85.0
Vernon Adams Jr.	Calgary Stampeders	48	84.2
Zach Collaros	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	58	83.9
Nick Arbuckle	Toronto Argonauts	63	75.7
Dustin Crum	Ottawa Redblacks	55	72.0
Nathan Rourke	B.C. Lions	49	71.9
James Morgan	Montreal Alouettes	49	67.7
Cody Fajardo	Edmonton Elks	53	63.2

Running Back

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Brady Oliveira	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	61	83.6
Spencer Brown	Toronto Argonauts	49	83.1
James Butler	B.C. Lions	52	75.0
Dedrick Mills	Calgary Stampeders	42	74.1
Justin Rankin	Edmonton Elks	43	71.5
A.J. Ouellette	Saskatchewan Roughriders	44	69.5
William Stanback	Ottawa Redblacks	47	66.2
Travis Theis	Montreal Alouettes	32	59.5

Wide Receiver

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Keon Hatcher	B.C. Lions	52	82.5
Jake Herslow	Toronto Argonauts	62	77.3
Jalen Philpot	Calgary Stampeders	49	73.5
Tyler Snead	Montreal Alouettes	49	72.0
Jevon Cottoy	B.C. Lions	48	71.5
Kevin Mital	Toronto Argonauts	54	70.9
Daylen Baldwin	Calgary Stampeders	38	70.5
Alexander Hollins	Montreal Alouettes	47	69.2
Nic Demski	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	25	68.9
Justin McInnis	B.C. Lions	49	68.9

Offensive Tackle

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Nick Callender	Montreal Alouettes	49	74.5
Jarell Broxton	B.C. Lions	52	73.6
Dino Boyd	Ottawa Redblacks	55	69.7
Joshua Coker	Calgary Stampeders	55	67.9
Brett Boyko	Edmonton Elks	53	63.5
John Bosse	Toronto Argonauts	63	56.4
D’Antne Demery	Calgary Stampeders	49	56.3
Brandon Kemp	Toronto Argonauts	63	55.0
Jermarcus Hardrick	Saskatchewan Roughriders	60	53.1
Stanley Bryant	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	61	52.0

Offensive Guard

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Zack Williams	Calgary Stampeders	49	78.7
Mark Korte	Edmonton Elks	53	76.5
Patrick Neufeld	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	61	75.4
Donald Ventrelli	Montreal Alouettes	49	67.6
Gabe Wallace	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	61	62.8
Dariusz Bladek	Ottawa Redblacks	29	62.5
Kory Woodruff	B.C. Lions	52	61.4
Pier-Olivier Lestage	Montreal Alouettes	49	61.4
Christy Nkanu	Calgary Stampeders	49	59.2
Ilm Manning	B.C. Lions	52	58.0

Centre

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
David Beard	Edmonton Elks	53	74.5
Cyrille Hogan-Saindon	Montreal Alouettes	49	71.5
Chris Kolankowski	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	61	65.4
Peter Godber	Ottawa Redblacks	55	61.8
Peter Nicastro	Toronto Argonauts	63	53.2
Logan Ferland	Saskatchewan Roughriders	60	52.7
Christopher Fortin	Calgary Stampeders	49	44.1
Andrew Peirson	B.C. Lions	52	43.1

Interior Defender

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Jake Ceresna	Edmonton Elks	44	80.9
Michael Wakefield	Ottawa Redblacks	39	80.8
Jaylon Hutchings	Calgary Stampeders	43	78.2
Caleb Sanders	Saskatchewan Roughriders	33	77.8
Dewayne Hendrix	B.C. Lions	22	77.6
Miles Brown	Calgary Stampeders	48	74.6
Jared Brinkman	Edmonton Elks	46	72.3
Micah Johnson	Saskatchewan Roughriders	27	69.4
Ricky Correia	Toronto Argonauts	26	69.3
J-Min Pelley	Toronto Argonauts	24	66.2

Edge Defender

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Mathieu Betts	B.C. Lions	51	89.4
Clarence Hicks	Calgary Stampeders	43	86.0
Folarin Orimolade	Calgary Stampeders	48	84.6
Noah Taylor	Edmonton Elks	35	78.7
Shawn Lemon	Montreal Alouettes	32	72.4
Andrew Chatfield Jr.	Toronto Argonauts	46	70.2
Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund	Montreal Alouettes	59	69.1
Kemoko Turay	B.C. Lions	30	66.7
Malik Carney	Saskatchewan Roughriders	36	66.5
Brandon Barlow	Edmonton Elks	39	66.4

Linebacker

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Tony Jones	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	46	76.1
Jameer Thurman	Saskatchewan Roughriders	49	70.7
Joel Dublanko	Edmonton Elks	42	69.8
Jacob Roberts	Calgary Stampeders	50	66.8
Tyrice Beverette	Montreal Alouettes	61	65.9
Adarius Pickett	Ottawa Redblacks	53	65.7
A.J. Allen	Saskatchewan Roughriders	49	65.0
Cameron Judge	Toronto Argonauts	52	63.8
Micah Teitz	Calgary Stampeders	23	63.1
Chelen Garnes	Edmonton Elks	54	62.6

Cornerback

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Godfrey Onyeka	Calgary Stampeders	58	72.6
Trey Vaval	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	47	72.1
Delonte Hood	Toronto Argonauts	48	70.9
Kabion Ento	Montreal Alouettes	61	68.5
J.J. Ross	Edmonton Elks	55	68.1
Dexter Lawson Jr.	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	47	66.9
Ronald Kent Jr.	B.C. Lions	63	66.4
Benjie Franklin	Toronto Argonauts	52	64.6
Lorenzo Burns	Montreal Alouettes	57	64.0
Alijah McGhee	Ottawa Redblacks	34	63.6

Halfback

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Kobe Williams	Edmonton Elks	55	74.4
Gavin Heslop	Ottawa Redblacks	41	73.0
Darrius Bratton	Toronto Argonauts	52	72.0
Rolan Milligan	Saskatchewan Roughriders	49	68.3
Redha Kramdi	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	47	67.3
King Ambers	Ottawa Redblacks	53	67.1
Evan Holm	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	49	66.2
Sheldon Arnold II	Calgary Stampeders	58	66.1
Ciante Evans	Montreal Alouettes	52	63.6
Deatrick Nichols	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	49	61.8

Safety

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Arthur Hamlin	Montreal Alouettes	53	74.8
Cam Allen	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	37	72.1
Royce Metchie	Edmonton Elks	55	67.5
Cristophe Beaulieu	B.C. Lions	63	61.8
Damon Webb	Calgary Stampeders	60	61.4
Deandre Lamont	Ottawa Redblacks	53	53.7
Derek Slywka	Toronto Argonauts	47	52.3
Jaxon Ford	Saskatchewan Roughriders	48	37.6