Top-graded CFL players of Week 20: 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 20. 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: LB Jaiden Woodbey, Winnipeg Blue Bombers

It’s rare for a CFL linebacker to post consistently high grades. The position demands a unique blend of range, physicality, and awareness — covering vast space sideline to sideline while impacting all three phases of the defense. Even Montreal’s Tyrice Beverette, the CFL’s highest-graded linebacker this season, has managed just one game above 80.0.

That’s what makes Winnipeg’s Jaiden Woodbey’s performance so impressive. From his WILL linebacker spot, Woodbey made positive contributions in every phase of the game, earning an outstanding 87.5 overall grade.

As a run defender, Woodbey didn’t record a tackle, but he still made his presence felt. He disrupted multiple plays by winning blocks and forcing the running back off his intended path, earning positive grades for his effort. He also recovered a fumble on a muffed exchange by Saskatchewan, adding another plus to his performance.

Winnipeg sent Woodbey on the blitz 11 times in the game, and he was highly effective when doing so. While he didn’t notch a sack, he registered a quarterback hit, a hurry, and three additional pass-rush wins. Those five successful pressures on just 11 snaps helped him earn a league-best 88.7 pass-rush grade.

Coverage is often the toughest challenge for a linebacker, as they’re frequently tasked with defending quicker, shiftier players across a wide field. But Woodbey handled the challenge exceptionally well this past week. He was targeted four times, allowing three catches for just 22 yards and one first down. He made solo tackles on two of those receptions, while the lone incompletion came on a second-down slant that he broke up himself.

By game’s end, Woodbey earned a 70.5 run-defense grade, an 88.7 pass-rush grade and a 78.5 coverage grade. Excelling in all three phases of the game led to his outstanding 87.5 overall mark.

Quarterback

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Nathan Rourke	B.C. Lions	55	91.0
Davis Alexander	Montreal Alouettes	51	87.7
Vernon Adams Jr.	Calgary Stampeders	36	78.5
Max Duggan	Toronto Argonauts	24	76.9
Zach Collaros	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	52	71.1
Jake Maier	Saskatchewan Roughriders	32	64.4
Tyrie Adams	Ottawa Redblacks	69	63.7
Jarret Doege	Toronto Argonauts	31	63.7
Cody Fajardo	Edmonton Elks	60	55.6
Quincy Vaughn	Calgary Stampeders	23	54.4

Running Back

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Dedrick Mills	Calgary Stampeders	33	87.7
Stevie Scott III	Montreal Alouettes	49	83.8
James Butler	B.C. Lions	49	75.0
Justin Rankin	Edmonton Elks	53	71.6
Zander Horvath	B.C. Lions	20	71.1
Brady Oliveira	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	57	67.5
Spencer Brown	Toronto Argonauts	58	58.3
Mario Anderson Jr.	Saskatchewan Roughriders	37	53.4
William Stanback	Ottawa Redblacks	55	49.4

Wide Receiver

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Jalen Philpot	Calgary Stampeders	42	79.9
Keon Hatcher	B.C. Lions	56	75.1
Mitchell Picton	Saskatchewan Roughriders	43	73.7
Tyler Snead	Montreal Alouettes	52	73.3
Austin Mack	Montreal Alouettes	51	71.2
Kurleigh Gittens Jr.	Edmonton Elks	57	70.6
Charleston Rambo	Montreal Alouettes	31	67.4
Justin McInnis	B.C. Lions	55	66.7
Jake Herslow	Toronto Argonauts	65	66.6
Kalil Pimpleton	Ottawa Redblacks	48	66.6

Tackle

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Stanley Bryant	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	57	74.7
Kendall Randolph	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	57	71.4
D'Antne Demery	Calgary Stampeders	50	71.0
D.J. Jones	Ottawa Redblacks	69	68.3
Preston Nichols	Calgary Stampeders	50	65.5
Martez Ivey	Edmonton Elks	61	65.1
Darius Washington	Saskatchewan Roughriders	45	64.9
Payton Collins	Saskatchewan Roughriders	45	64.0
Jarell Broxton	B.C. Lions	56	63.9
Dino Boyd	Ottawa Redblacks	69	63.9

Guard

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Christy Nkanu	Calgary Stampeders	50	70.6
George Una	B.C. Lions	56	66.9
Shane Richards	Toronto Argonauts	65	64.9
Sam Carson	Ottawa Redblacks	69	63.9
Pier-Olivier Lestage	Montreal Alouettes	54	63.1
Gabe Wallace	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	57	62.5
Philippe Gagnon	Saskatchewan Roughriders	45	61.5
Gregor Mackellar	Edmonton Elks	33	60.9
Carter O'Donnell	Edmonton Elks	29	60.7
Patrick Neufeld	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	57	59.7

Centre

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Chris Kolankowski	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	57	72.8
David Beard	Edmonton Elks	61	70.4
Christopher Fortin	Calgary Stampeders	50	62.2
Braydon Noll	Saskatchewan Roughriders	45	60.2
Michael Couture	B.C. Lions	56	59.5
Peter Nicastro	Toronto Argonauts	65	57.7
Justin Lawrence	Montreal Alouettes	53	54.5
Peter Godber	Ottawa Redblacks	69	53.8

Interior Defender

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Jake Thomas	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	20	79.5
Jaylon Hutchings	Calgary Stampeders	45	77.3
Jonah Tavai	B.C. Lions	20	76.9
Muftah Ageli	Ottawa Redblacks	28	75.0
Mustafa Johnson	Montreal Alouettes	52	74.9
Dylan Wynn	Montreal Alouettes	34	71.9
Cameron Lawson	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	20	71.3
Jared Brinkman	Edmonton Elks	39	70.7
Mike Rose	Saskatchewan Roughriders	30	67.9
Joseph Wallace	Toronto Argonauts	32	67.7

Edge Defender

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Levi Bell	B.C. Lions	44	90.0
Brandon Barlow	Edmonton Elks	43	78.0
Bryce Carter	Ottawa Redblacks	44	77.8
Joshua Archibald	Montreal Alouettes	30	69.7
Noah Taylor	Edmonton Elks	27	69.0
Clarence Hicks	Calgary Stampeders	38	68.2
Michael Wakefield	Ottawa Redblacks	47	67.9
Mathieu Betts	B.C. Lions	42	67.1
James Vaughters	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	38	63.4
Malik Carney	Saskatchewan Roughriders	29	62.4

Linebacker

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Jaiden Woodbey	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	43	87.5
Jacob Roberts	Calgary Stampeders	34	85.6
Adam Bighill	Calgary Stampeders	23	77.7
Tony Jones	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	44	77.4
Kyle Wilson	Calgary Stampeders	25	77.2
Derrick Moncrief	Calgary Stampeders	63	77.0
A.J. Allen	Saskatchewan Roughriders	43	76.7
Redha Kramdi	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	44	76.1
Najee Murray	Montreal Alouettes	69	73.9
Aubrey Miller Jr.	Saskatchewan Roughriders	25	71.5

Cornerback

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Lorenzo Burns	Montreal Alouettes	69	78.5
Robert Carter Jr.	B.C. Lions	60	78.1
J.J. Ross	Edmonton Elks	56	74.1
Kabion Ento	Montreal Alouettes	69	72.5
Adrian Greene	Calgary Stampeders	51	72.1
Benny Sapp III	Saskatchewan Roughriders	57	71.9
Demerio Houston	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	44	66.2
Jamal Parker Jr.	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	44	65.9
Nafees Lyon	Saskatchewan Roughriders	26	64.1
C.J. Coldon Jr.	Ottawa Redblacks	54	62.0

Halfback

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
DaMarcus Fields	Saskatchewan Roughriders	57	79.8
Deatrick Nichols	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	45	73.8
Kordell Jackson	Edmonton Elks	56	72.5
Jaydon Grant	Calgary Stampeders	65	71.6
Ciante Evans	Montreal Alouettes	62	66.6
Mark Milton	Ottawa Redblacks	49	65.1
T.J. Lee	B.C. Lions	59	63.1
Evan Holm	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	45	62.5
Wesley Sutton	Montreal Alouettes	68	62.0
Ronald Kent Jr.	B.C. Lions	41	61.7

Safety

Name	Team	Snaps	Overall Grade
Cam Allen	Winnipeg Blue Bombers	44	74.9
Jackson Findlay	B.C. Lions	58	72.9
Marc-Antoine Dequoy	Montreal Alouettes	66	70.5
Bailey Devine-Scott	Calgary Stampeders	51	69.6
C.J. Reavis	Saskatchewan Roughriders	57	64.1
Tyshon Blackburn	Toronto Argonauts	23	59.9
Chelen Garnes	Edmonton Elks	56	58.8
Deandre Lamont	Ottawa Redblacks	53	58.3
Derek Slywka	Toronto Argonauts	27	39.3