• Top five remains unchanged: The Argonauts and Roughriders hold on to the top two spots, although Toronto had a down week by its standards.
• Redblacks move up one spot: Lorenzo Mauldin IV led CFL defensive linemen with seven quarterback pressures in Week 7. He also earned a 70.2 pass-rush grade, good for the eighth-best mark among defensive linemen.
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Estimated Reading Time: 4 minutes
1. Toronto Argonauts (No Change)
Base Defensive Set: Even Front
Field EDGE: Robbie Smith
Field DI: Jake Ceresna
Boundary DI: Jared Brinkman
Boundary EDGE: Derek Parish
• It was a down week for the Argonauts by their standards. The defensive line posted its worst single-week overall grade (65.9) and run-defense grade (61.6), and its second-worst pass-rush grade (63.0).
• For the first time this season, no Argonauts defensive lineman earned a PFF game grade above 70.0.
2. Saskatchewan Roughriders (No Change)
Base Defensive Set: Even Front
Field EDGE: Anthony Lanier II
Field DI: Micah Johnson
Boundary DI: Miles Brown
Boundary EDGE: Malik Carney
• EDGE Malik Carney was a star this past week for the Roughriders. He led this unit in every grading category, with an 82.4 overall mark, a 77.9 run-defense mark and an 88.1 pass-rush mark.
• Carney posted the top run-defense grade in the CFL among defensive linemen. The Roughriders earned a 69.0 unit run-defense grade.
3. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (No Change)
Base Defensive Set: Even Front
Field EDGE: Nick Usher
Field DI: Dewayne Hendrix
Boundary DI: Casey Sayles
Boundary EDGE: Brandon Barlow
• Dewayne Hendrix was an elite pass-rusher in Week 7, earning a 90.2 PFF pass-rush grade with a sack and four total pressures. He was the top pass-rushing defensive lineman in the CFL.
• The Tiger-Cats' edge defenders struggled to a 56.9 PFF pass-rush grade with a 10.6% pressure rate and a 12.0% pass-rush win rate.
4. British Columbia Lions (No Change)
Base Defensive Set: Even Front
Field EDGE: Pete Robertson
Field DI: Marcus Moore
Boundary DI: Josh Banks
Boundary EDGE: Sione Teuhema
• Edge defender Sione Teuhema (77.7) and interior defender Marcus Moore (70.2) recorded 70.0-plus run-defense grades and were top-six run-defending defensive linemen this week.
• British Columbia defensive line ranked last in the CFL with a 60.4 pass-rush grade this past week. This group posted an 18.9% pressure rate and a 30.0% win rate on 37 pass-rush snaps.
5. Montreal Alouettes (No Change)
Base Defensive Set: Odd Front
Field EDGE: Mustafa Johnson
NT: Derek Wigan
Boundary EDGE: Dylan Wynn
• The Alouettes, who were on a bye this week, stay put.
6. Ottawa Redblacks (Up 1)
Base Defensive Set: Even Front
Field EDGE: Bryce Carter
Field DI: Cleyon Laing
Boundary DI: Michael Wakefield
Boundary EDGE: Lorenzo Mauldin IV
• Lorenzo Mauldin IV led CFL defensive linemen with seven quarterback pressures in Week 7. He earned a 70.2 pass-rush grade, good for the eighth-best mark among defensive linemen, and notched a sack, three quarterback hits and three hurries across 45 pass-rush snaps.
• Ottawa fielded the second-best defensive line in the CFL in Week 7. The unit earned a 69.4 overall grade, a 65.9 run-defense grade and a 65.0 pass-rush grade.
7. Calgary Stampeders (Down 1)
Base Defensive Set: Even Front
Field EDGE: James Vaughters
Field DI: Mike Rose
Boundary DI: Charles Wiley
Boundary EDGE: Clarence Hicks
• The Stampeders dropped a spot after struggling mightily in the run game last week. The unit earned a 52.7 PFF run-defense grade, the worst mark in the CFL.
• After excelling in his first game as a regular contributor along the boundary, Clarence Hicks regressed in his second. Hicks finished with poor grades of 47.4 overall, 46.8 in run defense and 57.0 in pass rush in Week 7.
8. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (No Change)
Base Defensive Set: Even Front
Field EDGE: Owen Hubert
Field DI: Jamal Woods
Boundary DI: Jake Thomas
Boundary EDGE: Willie Jefferson
• Interior linemen Woods (51.2) and Thomas (46.5) had very poor showings in the run game this week. They each earned a sub-52.0 run-defense grade, ranking in the bottom four at the position leaguewide.
• Winnipeg also had an off week in the passing game. The unit had the lowest pass-rush win rate in the CFL (26.5%) on 34 pass-rush snaps, and no defensive lineman tallied a pass-rush grade above 68.0.
9. Edmonton Elks (No Change)
Base Defensive Set: Odd Front
Field EDGE: Elliott Brown
NT: Shawn Oakman
Boundary EDGE: Noah Taylor
• Edmonton again graded out as the CFL's worst defensive line this week (60.7). They continue to rank last in overall defensive grade (64.1), run-defense grade (62.8) and pass-rush grade (65.5) on the season.
• Edge defender Noah Taylor was excellent individually. He earned an 80.2 overall grade, a 70.6 run-defense grade and a 70.7 pass-rush grade.
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