CFL quarterback rankings ahead of week 4 and 3 stars of the week for week 4. At this point the rankings of 1-5 are considered to be very close.
Stars of the Week:
1st Star: Chad Kelly
29 attempts, 23 completions, 79% completion, 249 yards, 1 touchdown, 3 rushes, 25 rushing yards in the win against BC.
2nd Star: Tyrie Adams.
20 attempts, 14 completions, 70% completion, 185 yards, 1 touchdown, 3 rush, and 31 rushing yards in the win against Edmonton.
3rd Star: Zach Collaros.
23 attempts, 15 completions, 65% completion,, 177 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception, 1 rush, and 4 rushing yards in the win against Montreal.
1. Zach Collaros, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Previous Ranking #QB1
Collaros completed 15 of his 24 passes (65%) for 177 yards with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. It was the second week in a row that he was held to under 200 passing yards.
On the interception, Collaros targeted Dalton Schoen who was running a comeback route. Schoen did seem to slip a little bit coming back to the ball but the coverage was good by Montreal’s Najee Murray who broke up the pass before it was intercepted by Kordell Rodgers. Collaros seemed to lock on to his primary target and not go through his progressions in this particular play. On the left side of the field, Jeremy Murphy was wide open but Collaros attempted to force it into his primary target.
Overall it was a good game for Collaros on a wet field. It is a bit surprising to see the back-to-back MOP have 2 games in a row with under 200 passing yards although they were both against teams who have done a very good job defending the pass so far this season in BC and Montreal. Winnipeg will play Calgary at home in week 5.
2. Cody Fajardo, Montreal Alouettes, Previous Ranking #QB2
Cody Fajardo played a pretty good game against Winnipeg who was bringing a very fierce pass rush. Fajardo was sacked 5 times by Winnipeg and was under pressure early and often. There were multiple plays where Winnipeg’s pass rush looked like it was going to get a sack on Fajardo but he was elusive in the pocket and would turn an impending sack into a positive rushing play. Fajardo completed 17 of his 27 attempts for 270 yards and had 1 interception. He also added 40 rushing yards on 6 carries.
Fajardo’s high point was a 69-yard completion to Kaion Julien-Grant. Unfortunately, the next play was the low point as he made a bad read and threw an interception to Brandon Alexander who was returned 62 yards into Montreal territory. The red-zone opportunity was flipped into Winnipeg getting the ball in great field position and Winnipeg went on to score a touchdown on the drive that followed.
Fajardo played a good game but Montreal needed him to be just a bit better. He may want to work on spreading the ball around more as he only targeted a receiver who was not Kaion Julien-Grant or Austin Mack 5 times out of his 22 passes to wide receivers. As good as both of those receivers have been, defenses will easily catch on to those tendencies and adjust accordingly if it continues.
3. Trevor Harris, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Previous Ranking #QB4
On the bye week in week 4. Harris has had a very strong last 2 games against Winnipeg and Calgary after a slow start against Edmonton. After week 3 he was the league leader in passing yards. Saskatchewan hosts Edmonton in week 5.
4. Chad Kelly, Toronto Argonauts, Previous Ranking #QB6
Honestly coming into this game I was expecting Chad Kelly to have one of the worst games a quarterback has had on the season so far. The BC Lions before this game have not allowed a quarterback to pass for over 200 yards. Chad Kelly was pressured a lot by BC, who have been one of the best pass rushing teams so far. Kelly was very impressive on Monday night and looked like a veteran.
This is the game that I became a true believer in Chad Kelly. He completed 23 of his 29 passes for 249 yards. That’s 79.3% against the team that’s defended the pass this year better than anyone. He also had 1 touchdown and 0 turnovers. Kelly also added 25 rushing yards on 3 carries. All 5 of the starting receivers for Toronto had between 4-6 targets which I believe is a possible indicator of him having a great ability to go through his progressions and scan for the open receiver quickly.
5. Vernon Adams Jr., BC Lions, Previous Ranking #QB3
Watching Vernon Adams Jr. was an absolute spectacle in this game. I oohed and aahed, I laughed and cried.
Let’s start with positive. He completed 24 passes on 39 attempts (61.5%) for 388 yards. No one threw more passing yards than him this week. He connected with Keon Hatcher for a touchdown who had over 100 yards in his first game of the season after missing the first 3 due to injury. Dominique Rhymes had two receiving touchdowns building on his amazing level of production so far.
The negative. VA3 threw not one, not two, not three… he threw 6 interceptions. In all honesty he cost BC the game with his turnovers. He played a game with poor risk management. It was awful risk management. The risks he took were absolutely unnecessary, just chucking balls up on first downs at times. He was frankly reckless. Having said that, do not hit the panic button on VA.
Adams Jr. has been among the best quarterbacks in the first 3 weeks of the season and I do believe this is a correctable pattern. He simply has to be more careful and not take unnecessary risks. He still showed us a lot to like in this game outside of the six interceptions. He’s done something I never thought I would see in a football game and that is to throw an astonishing 6 interceptions and still look like a really god quarterback a lot of the game.
Despite the fact I moved him down in the ranking, I am still a believer in Vernon Adams Jr.
6. Jeremiah Masoli, Ottawa Redblacks, Previous Ranking #QB5
The hope for Ottawa is that Masoli can play his first game of the season in week 5 on the road against Hamilton.
7. Jake Maier, Calgary Stampeders, Previous Ranking #QB7
On the bye week in week 4. In week 3 he threw 3 interceptions. Calgary plays Winnipeg on the road in week 5.
8. Bo Levi Mitchell, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Previous Ranking #QB8
Calgary is on the bye in week 4. Bo Levi Mitchell was placed on eh 6-game injured list following the loss in week 3.
9. Tyrie Adams, Ottawa Redblacks, Previous Ranking #11
Tyrie Adams got his first start of the season against Edmonton and helped Ottawa break a 14-game at-home losing streak in a dominant win. Adams completed 14 of his 20 passes (70%) for 185 yards and a touchdown. He also added 31 yards on 3 rushes. He will return to a backup role if Jeremiah Masoli is able to play in week 5 at Hamilton.
10. Taylor Cornelius, Edmonton Elks, Previous Ranking #QB9
Edmonton’s quarterback room is an absolute mess. In week 3 Cornelius had a good game going at the half completing 14 of 18 for 130 yards and a touchdown. Edmonton pulled him and put in Kai Locksley who fumbled the ball on his first play. Edmonton pulled Kai Locksley from the game and released him following the game. Edmonton then had Jarret Doege play most of the rest of the game and also gave Doege the start in week 4, so Cornelius did not play this past week.
Cornelius had a slow start in week 1 which was his first game since he suffered a spleen injury. In week 2 BC’s pass rush gave him no time to do anything. In week 3 Cornelius was finally looking back to his old self passing efficiently and picking up yards with his legs and the Edmonton coaching staff pulled him.
It appears that Edmonton is now going back to General Cornelius who has been taking first team reps in practice this week.
11. Matthew Shiltz, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Previous Ranking #10
On the bye week in week 4. Will play against Ottawa in week 5.
12. Jarret Doege, Edmonton Elks, Previous Ranking #12
Doege completed 19 of his 33 passes for 223 yards and a touchdown with 3 interceptions. Doege started to be more productive in the second half but was often not stepping into his throws properly and was not very accurate in Edmonton’s loss to the RedBlacks.
He had a 50.4 passing efficiency which is the second lowest by a starting quarterback this season.
You might also like:
Mike Mitchell’s Week 5 Power Rankings
My Twitter: @JonathanClink
