Top-graded CFL players of Week 21: Highlighting the league’s best performers

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