• The Argonauts still lead the way: The Argonauts' unit earned an 81.9 pass-blocking grade; no other unit finished above 70.0.
• Stability everywhere down the stretch: Every team maintained its ranking from last week in this iteration.
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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
Week 17 of the 2024 CFL season is in the books.
These post-Week 17 lineups include players who played the most at each position, and highlighted in red are those with a season-long PFF grade below 60.0.
1. Toronto Argonauts (No Change)
LT Ryan Hunter
LG Dylan Giffen
C Peter Nicastro
RG Anthony Vandal
RT Dejon Allen
It was an excellent week in pass protection for the Argonauts, who earned an 81.9 PFF pass-blocking grade; no other unit finished above 70.0.
Without left tackle Isiah Cage this week, Ryan Hunter was kicked out to left tackle. He finished with a 56.1 overall grade in a mixed-bag performance. His run-blocking was very poor, ending with a 46.2 run-blocking grade. On the other hand, his 75.7 pass-blocking grade is something many CFL teams would want from a left tackle.
2. Montreal Alouettes (No Change)
LT Nick Callender
LG Pier-Olivier Lestage
C Justin Lawrence
RG Philippe Gagnon
RT Josh Donovan
Montreal was the second highest-rated group of Week 17. The Alouettes finished with grades of 69.2 overall, including 71.8 in run blocking (their highest single-game mark of the season) and 63.3 in pass blocking.
A huge cause for concern in La Belle Province is that star left tackle Nick Callender went down with an injury and did not return. Before that, he was performing as the top lineman of the week, finishing with grades of 75.7 overall, 77.1 in run blocking and 72.6 in pass blocking on 32 of Montreal's 46 snaps.
3. Edmonton Elks (No Change)
LT Martez Ivey
LG David Foucault
C Mark Korte
RG Shane Richards
RT Brett Boyko
Edmonton was the top-graded unit in Week 17. The Elks finished with grades of 69.6 overall, 68.6 in run blocking and 67.6 in pass blocking.
With this performance, the Elks' season-long unit grade has increased to 71.8, the top mark in the CFL. However, I still find it difficult to justify moving them up higher than three due to the discrepancy between their run-blocking grades (77.4) and pass-blocking grades (59.5) in such a pass-heavy league.
4. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (No Change)
LT Brendan Bordner
LG Brandon Revenberg
C David Beard
RG Coulter Woodmansey
RT Jordan Murray
It was a solid week for the Tiger-Cats as they continued their late-season push for the playoffs. The Tiger-Cats’ offensive line earned grades of 69.2 overall, 74.0 in run blocking and 61.7 in pass blocking in an overtime win over the Lions.
Each guard for the Tiger-Cats starred in one facet of the game. Brandon Revenberg was a top-eight pass protector in Week 17, finishing with a 78.7 overall grade and zero pressures allowed. Meanwhile, Coulter Woodmansey was the second highest-graded run-blocker of Week 17, earning a 79.5 mark in that department.
5. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (No Change)
LT Stanley Bryant
LG Liam Dobson
C Chris Kolankowski
RG Patrick Neufeld
RT Eric Lofton
It was a solid week for the Blue Bombers in a dominant win where they clinched a playoff spot for the eighth straight season. The Bombers' offensive line earned grades of 66.6 overall, 66.3 in run blocking and 61.6 in pass blocking.
Chris Kolankowski starred this week for the Blue Bombers’ offensive line; he was the highest-graded offensive lineman in the CFL who completed a full game. Across his 51 snaps, Kolankowski earned grades of 73.4 overall, including 71.8 in run blocking and 65.2 in pass blocking.
6. Saskatchewan Roughriders (No Change)
LT Trevor Reid
LG Noah Zerr
C Logan Ferland
RG Jacob Brammer
RT Trevon Tate
Saskatchewan fell back to earth a bit after its stellar week before. The Roughriders’ run blocking remained positive, finishing with a 65.3 run-blocking grade. However, their pass blocking could not keep up to the high level, falling to a 56.5 pass-locking grade this past week.
Trevon Tate continued his excellent play, building on his previous elite week. He did not perform to that level again, but he was the top-graded Roughriders offensive lineman once more this week. Tate’s 71.0 overall grade with marks of 74.2 in run blocking and 60.3 in pass blocking made him a top-five lineman in the CFL this week.
7. Calgary Stampeders (No Change)
LT D’Antne Demery
LG Zack Williams
C Sean McEwen
RG Christy Nkanu
RT Joshua Coker
The Stampeders remain at No. 7 after being on a bye in Week 17.
8. Ottawa Redblacks (No Change)
LT Jacob Ruby
LG Drew Desjarlais
C Eric Starczala
RG Dariusz Bladek
RT Zack Pelehos
Ottawa graded out at 69.0 overall this past week against the Roughriders, its second-highest single-game grade this season, which was driven by a 76.2 unit run-blocking grade, the highest mark in the CFL. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to see the Redblacks climb the rankings, due mainly to their negative effort in pass protection (58.2 pass-blocking grade).
Zack Pelehos returned this week and was elite in the run game, finishing with a 90.4 run-blocking grade.
Again, despite the chaos around him, star left guard Drew Desjarlais returned to his stellar pass-blocking form. Desjarlais was the top-graded pass protector of Week 17, finishing with an 86.7 pass-blocking grade with zero pressures allowed across 39 snaps.
9. British Columbia Lions (No Change)
LT Chris Schleuger
LG Tyler Packer
C Michael Couture
RG Sukh Chungh
RT Kent Perkins
British Columbia was able to string together three straight positively graded games for the first time this season. The Lions’ offensive line earned grades of 60.2 overall, 56.7 in run blocking and 61.4 in pass blocking.
Right guard Sukh Chungh had a stellar week in pass protection against a fearsome Tiger-Cats defensive interior. Chungh earned an 80.7 pass-blocking grade with zero pressures allowed across 41 snaps.
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