• BC’s Justin McInnis the no-doubt best receiver in the CFL this season: He led the league in first downs gained (68), contested catches (24), explosive receptions (43), yards per route run average (2.34) and receiving grade (82.2).
• Could Saskatchewan’s Rolan Milligan Jr. be the second-ever defensive player to win M.O.P? He led the league with eight interceptions (along with four dropped interceptions), and he ranked fifth with 11 forced incompletions.
• Unlock your edge with a PFF+ subscription: Get full access to all our in-season fantasy tools, including weekly rankings, WR/CB matchup charts, weekly projections, the Start-Sit Optimizer and more. Sign up now!
Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes
Every year, each team nominates a player from its roster to be considered for the Most Outstanding Player award. Some years, there is a player that played so far above the others that he is a shoo-in for the award. This was not one of those years. In a season filled with injuries, benchings and just below-average play by some high-level players, the award is completely up for grabs. Here, PFF will rank all nine players nominated for Most Outstanding Player.
9. WR EUGENE LEWIS, EDMONTON
Lewis has set such a high standard of performance that a season in which he caught 74 passes for 1,070 yards and 10 touchdowns could actually be considered a down year for him. While those 10 touchdowns led the CFL, he ranked sixth in yards and ninth in receptions.
Lewis was still impressive by all accounts, finishing the season with 19 contested catches (second-most). But Lewis ranked 12th in yards per route run (1.69) and eighth in receiving grade (70.9). It was a great season for Lewis, and he should get All-CFL consideration at receiver — just not Most Outstanding Player.
8. WR REGGIE BEGELTON, CALGARY
Another receiver with a very dominant season, just not enough to earn the Most Outstanding Player award. Begelton finished the year as the sixth-highest graded receiver (73.9) and averaged 1.78 yards per route run, good for seventh-best in the CFL. Begelton forced 19 missed tackles after the catch, the fifth-most in the league. What gives Begelton the slight nod over Lewis is that Begelton had his marvelous season despite dealing with poor quarterback play all year long.
Begelton was one of the best receivers in the CFL this season, no doubt about it. Unfortunately, there were a couple of better ones that pushed him down this list.
7. WR JUSTIN HARDY, OTTAWA
The third of four receivers to make this list is Ottawa’s Hardy, who continued his trend of improving every season with a phenomenal third year in the league. Hardy led the CFL with 97 receptions and ranked second with 1,343 receiving yards. Hardy finished the 2024 campaign with 64 first downs gained, 41 explosive receptions, a 2.14 yards per route run average and an 80.2 receiving grade. All of those numbers ranked second in the CFL this year.
He did all that despite catching passes from three different quarterbacks this season. It didn’t matter who was throwing the football — Hardy delivered. He’s a lock for the All-CFL Team. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite the best receiver in the CFL this year, and as such, won’t win the M.O.P. award.
6. RB KA’DEEM CAREY, TORONTO
While another running back has been getting all the attention this season, nobody should forget about Carey and what he’s done for Toronto. Carey finished the season with 1,060 yards, the third-most in the league. He forced 58 missed tackles and had 31 explosive runs, both of which led the league. His rushing grade of 93.0 ranked second.
Carey did all of this while spending the first half of the season as the sole focal point of the Toronto offence thanks to QB Chad Kelly’s suspension. Carey’s strong play helped keep the Argonauts afloat until their offence got on track, and it continued as the team fought its way to a home playoff game. He was far and away the Argonauts’ best player this season, just not the best in the league.
5. WR JUSTIN MCINNIS, BRITISH COLUMBIA
With all the receivers on this list getting deserved praise, there was one who stood ahead of the pack. McInnis started the season on a tear, at one point on pace for a 2,000-yard, 15-touchdown season. He cooled off from that historic run but was still the top receiver in the CFL this season.
McInnis ranked second with 92 receptions, was first with 1,469 yards and slotted third with seven touchdowns. He led the league in first downs gained (68), contested catches (24), explosive receptions (43), yards per route run average (2.34) and receiving grade (82.2). McInnis pacing the CFL in so many different categories means that he was the only legitimate case for a receiver winning Most Outstanding Player. He deserves that praise, but he just wasn’t quite outstanding enough for the award.
4. LB TYRICE BEVERETTE, MONTREAL
Here we go. The previous five players were all phenomenal this season, but the remaining four all truly have a realistic chance at winning the Most Outstanding Player award. The first is one of the two defensive players nominated.
Beverette was phenomenal this season. He was the most complete defender in the CFL. As a run defender, he finished with 66 total tackles, which ranked fourth in the league. As a pass rusher, he led all linebackers with 29 total pressures and 40 pass-rush wins (second-most had 27). In coverage, he allowed just one touchdown and picked off two passes while breaking up five more. No matter what Beverette was asked to do, he did well. More evidence to that would be that he led the entire CFL with a 91.8 special teams grade this year.
Beverette had an incredible season, and could win Most Outstanding Defensive Player. For this award, though, he ranks just a bit behind a few other leaguemates.
3. HB ROLAN MILLIGAN, SASKATCHEWAN
The second defensive player to be nominated for this award, Milligan should be in serious contention after the season he had. The Roughriders halfback was making plays seemingly every single time he stepped on the field. He led the league with eight interceptions (along with four dropped interceptions), and he ranked fifth with 11 forced incompletions. His 13 solo stops in coverage ranked third. Quarterbacks targeting Milligan had a passer rating of just 48.9, the lowest in the entire league. It’s no wonder Milligan finished the season with a 90.6 defensive grade, the second-highest in the CFL.
On top of that, Milligan made 20 special teams tackles and finished with the third-highest special teams grade in the league at 91.2. Milligan was the only player nominated for three awards this season (he is up for Most Outstanding Defensive Player and Most Outstanding Special Teams Player as well). He could win all three. But here, he ranks just below a couple of offensive players.
2. RB BRADY OLIVEIRA, WINNIPEG
The gap between the top four on this list is so small. Ultimately, what Oliveira has done this season with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ offence was enough to push him near the top of this list.
Oliveira finished the season as the highest-graded non-quarterback on offence at 90.4 overall. He led the league with 1,353 rushing yards and ranked second with 5.7 yards per carry. Oliveira slotted second in explosive runs (30) and first in stuff rate (8.2%). He also ranked second with 476 receiving yards and 14 missed tackles forced after the catch. Oliveira was the No. 1 do-it-all running back this season.
Add in that he did it while Winnipeg’s offence had issues throughout the year. The offensive line took a step back this year, Zach Collaros struggled through the air and the team had multiple receiver injuries. None of that slowed Oliveira down. He was the one constant in that offence, and at times carried Winnipeg to wins. His play this season was absolutely Most Outstanding Player-worthy, though he just doesn’t quite rank No. 1.
1. QB BO LEVI MITCHELL, HAMILTON
Here he is. The only quarterback to be nominated for Most Outstanding Player is also PFF’s pick to win the award. In a year where quarterbacks were injured, struggling, benched, etc., Mitchell stood out.
Despite being benched for a game in a decision that made little sense at the time — and absolutely no sense now — Mitchell managed to throw for a ridiculous 5,451 yards. He became the first quarterback since 2018 to break the 5,000-yard passing mark, and he could’ve had even more if not for the benching and the league-high 27 dropped passes his receivers had. Mitchell led the CFL with 34 big-time throws this year. He had an adjusted completion rate of 73.5% and finished with an overall grade of 89.5.
Mitchell did all that on a team with an inconsistent rushing attack that gave him little help, a receiving corps that struggled to both separate and catch the ball at times and a defence that ranked among the bottom of the league in almost all categories. Yes, Hamilton didn’t make the playoffs. But it’s hard to make the playoffs when your defence ranks last in the league in points allowed. The award is for Most Outstanding Player, and nobody was more outstanding in 2024 than Bo Levi Mitchell.
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.