CFL quarterback rankings ahead of week 7. It was a dramatic weekend with a lot to unpack as 3 of the 4 games came down to the final play of the game.
Stars of the Week:
1st Star: Chad Kelly
25 attempts, 21 completions, 84% completion, 351 yards, 3 touchdowns, 1 interception, and 3 rushes for 13 yards and a touchdown.
2nd Star: Jake Maier
37 attempts, 26 completions, 70% completion, 315 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 1 interception.
3rd Star: Dustin Crum
42 attempts, 26 completions, 261 yards, 62% completion, 1 interception, and 8 rushes for 74 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Other Week 7 Articles:
Mike Mitchell’s Power Rankings
Previous Quarterback Ranking Articles:
Week 1 Fantasy Football Rankings
1. Zach Collaros, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Previous Ranking #QB1
Zach Collaros completed 22 of his 32 passes for 354 yards,2 touchdowns, and an interception. in the overtime loss to Ottawa. It was the 2nd time this season Collaros had over 300 yards, the first time coming in week 1 in which he also had 354 yards.
Collaros played a good game overall. The interception was a key moment of the game as it was returned for a pick 6 by the Ottawa defense. The pass was deflected off the hands of Drew Wolitarsky, but it was a very inaccurate pass thrown far behind him. The play came within the final 3 minutes of the game and turned a 16-point lead into an 8-point lead.
Winnipeg had trouble getting the run game going as Brady Oliveira was held to just 1.8 yards per carry as he rushed 9 times for 16 yards. Collaros put up a lot of yards in a game with minimal run support that ultimately ended in a remarkable comeback victory for the Ottawa Redblacks.
2. Cody Fajardo, Montreal Alouettes, Previous Ranking #QB4
Cody Fajardo had an excellent game but he did throw an interception over the middle that was a really bad read right into the defender’s hands. Luckily for Montreal, the Alouettes’ defense made a stop and got the ball back.
Early on in the season Fajardo has not been the best at going through his progressions and was primarily only targeting two receivers, but this is in large part due to poor pass protection at times. In the last 2 games, Fajardo has done a good job distributing the ball and targeting other receivers as well. Tyler Snead had all 3 of Montreal’s touchdown receptions in what was just his 2nd CFL game.
Fajardo played a really good game against Toronto.
Not many quarterbacks can escape a pass rush as well as he can. This was demonstrated on a 3rd & goal play early in the 4th quarter in which he ducked under a defending player who had their arms around him. Fajardo rolled to his left and completed a touchdown pass.
Fajardo completed 26 of his 36 passes (72%) for 281 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. The final interception was in the dying seconds of the game in the end zone so an interception here was no worse than an incompletion.
3. Vernon Adams Jr., BC Lions, Previous Ranking #QB2
On the bye week for week 6.
4. Chad Kelly, Toronto Argonauts, Previous Ranking #QB5
He made one play that stood out as bad in week 6 and that was the interception in which he was rolling to his right and threw an awkward pass across his body to his left.
Kelly just keeps getting better. He completed 21 of his 25 passes (84%) for 351 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. He also had 13 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown.
He made a lot of big plays such as a 45-yard bomb down the middle that dropped perfectly into the hands of Davarus Daniels. This was on a 2nd and 5 from Toronto’s 38 with 6 minutes left in a tie game.
Kelly averaged 14 yards per attempt. Kelly did a great job putting the ball into tight windows at times and demonstrated spectacular accuracy and throw power. There were 9 passing plays that gained over 20 yards, 3 of which were longer than 30.
5. Jake Maier, Calgary Stampeders, Previous Ranking #QB8
Calgary needed a big game out of Jake Maier and he delivered. Maier completed 26 of his 37 passes 70% with 2 touchdowns and 1 interception. It was the first time this season Maier completed more touchdowns than interceptions. Maier’s interception was on a 2nd and long that wasn’t the best of the decision to put the ball where he did in what was essentially a jump ball into double coverage.
It was a great game for Jake Maier. H brought Calgary 46 yards to extend the lead in under 3 minutes with a field goal. Calgary got the ball back with 36 seconds left and in 5 plays Maier got Calgary 30 yards downfield to set up for a 50-yard game-winning field goal from Rene Paredes.
6. Dustin Crum, Ottawa RedBlacks, Previous Ranking #9
Dustin Crum is Ottawa’s 4th quarterback to start a game at just 5 games into the season. He completed 26 of his 42 passes for 261 yards and an interception. Over 200 of Crum’s passing yards came in the 2nd half in what was a game to remember for RedBlack fans. Ottawa was trailing 18-3 at the half and scored 19 points in the fourth quarter. Crum also added 74 rushing yards on 8 carries and 2 touchdowns. His first rushing touchdown was a 12-yard rush to make it into the endzone to tie that game which included him juking around Winnipeg’s middle linebacker Adam Bighill before charging into the end zone. The comeback also included 2 successful 2-point converts. The final touchdown was a 29-yard run in overtime for a game-winning walk-off touchdown.
7. Mason Fine, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Previous Ranking Unranked
Mason Fine came into the game following the injury to Trevor Harris with just over 9 minutes left in the game. Harris will be missing an extended amount of time.
Fine completed 6 of his 8 passes for 116 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also added a very nice 24-yard scramble. His last play of the game was an unbelievable 69-yard pass that was caught by Tevin Jones after a deflection on a wild play and taken into the endzone for the go-ahead touchdown with 36 seconds left. Tevin Jones was in double overage and it looked like it was going to be an interception before the ball bounced back into the air as the Calgary defenders fell to the ground. It was a lucky play on a 3rd and 26 but as the saying goes, you have to be good to be lucky.
Fine will likely be the starter for Saskatchewan during the absence of Trevor Harris. Last year Fine started the last 2 games for Saskatchewan. Over last season he attempted 102 passes of which he completed 67 for 690 yards with 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
8. Matthew Shiltz, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Previous Ranking #QB6
Shiltz left the game late due to an injury late in the third quarter and did not return to the game. Hamilton’s starting quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell is already on the 6-game injured list. If Shiltz has to miss an extended period of time Hamilton could be in some trouble. Taylor Powell played the 4th quarter for Hamilton who threw a touchdown on his first pass.
Shiltz completed 10 of his 17 passes (59%) for 184 yards. He also added 10 yards on 2 rushes. Hamilton won the game pushing Edmonton’s at-home losing streak to 20. The passing game was not really good or bad for Hamilton’s win against Edmonton. Shiltz did have a 54-yard play connecting with Tim White but the passing game was not very dangerous most of the game. They really won the game based on James Butler’s 9.1 yards per carry on 14 rushes.
9. Taylor Cornelius, Edmonton Elks, Previous Ranking #QB7
Cornelius had a game to forget. He was pulled from the game for the 2nd time this year. He completed 11 of his 20 passes with 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. He showed his willingness to take the ball downfield and had a nice pickup for a first down on a 7-yard rush.
The first interception was a drop by Steven Dunbar Jr. on a play that would have been an awkward catch as it was thrown behind him. The 2nd interception was terrible. A Hamilton defender had him wrapped up and instead of taking the sack Cornelius lobbed the ball up into the air and it was intercepted and taken back the 33 yards for a pick 6.
10. Jarret Doege, Edmonton Elks, Previous Ranking #QB10
Doege came into the game at the start of the fourth quarter. He had a pretty good stat line with 14 completions on 21 attempts for 201 yards and a touchdown. For 1 quarter of play that is an absolutely fantastic level of production.
There were however 2 or 3 times where he forced the ball to a terrible location and it would have been an interception if not for the Hamilton secondary dropping the ball. On one of the interceptions, he was lucky to have the play be broken up accidentally by a Hamilton player as he threw it into a spot where there were 2 defenders and one happened to knock the other hard enough to drop the ball.
Doege seems like a player with great potential but has shown poor decision-making often so far this season. He has often been put late in the game and trailing which could be a factor in the tendency to take a lot of risks.
Injured List
Players with long-term injuries are not included in this ranking but are listed below with their previous ranking.
(IR) Trevor Harris, Saskatchewan Roughriders, Previous Ranking #QB3
Trevor Harris completed 16 of his 22 passes (73%) and 115 yards before leaving the game due to an injury in week 6. He will need to undergo surgery to repair a tibial plateau fracture and it is not yet clear if he will return later this season.
(IR) Jeremiah Masoli, Ottawa Redblacks, Previous Ranking #QB5
Masoli completed 6 of his 10 passes for 37 yards and an interception before going down with a non-contact injury. Masoli’s season was ended by a ruptured achilles in week 5 which was his only game played this season.
(IR) Bo Levi Mitchell, Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Previous Ranking #QB8
On the 6-game injured list following the week 2 loss to Toronto.
(IR) Tyrie Adams, Ottawa Redblacks, Previous Ranking #11
In his week 4 start he helped end Ottawa’s 14-game at-home losing streak. He completed 14 of his 20 passes in that game for 185 yards. Unfortunately, he suffered a season-ending injury during the game.
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