Each week in the regular season I am going to bring you MY top 3 performers in the CFL. Well, it will actually be the top 6 performers as I will be doing separate lists for offense and defense / special teams. These picks will be based on multiple criteria. I will be taking overall performance based against strength of opponent, position on the depth chart and only the current week of football.
Offense:
I know everyone is sick of hearing this, but after Nathan’s return from the NFL halfway through last season went well; to be fair quite mid, we have finally seen the 2022 Nathan Rourke resurface. After a slower first quarter he seemed to really take control of the new Buck Pierce offense. He was almost surgical in the 2nd half of the opening game against the Elks finishing 27/36 with 324 yards and 3 TDs.
Perfection is a hard thing to obtain in professional sports, but on Thursday in the opening game of the 2025 CFL season, Samuel Emilus caught all 8 passes that Trevor Harris targeted him including a spectacular TD catch while losing one of his cleats.
While no running back was able to cross the 100 yard threshold in week one, Derrick Mills was the closest with 94 yards on 17 rushes. Having a 5.53 yard average is pretty good, but its not the statistic that gives him a top performer award. His 3 TDs helped Calgary open the season with a win.
Defense / Special Teams:
The Saskatchewan Roughriders certainly had a bend but don’t break approach to their defensive gameplay vs the REDBLACKS. While the Riders did allow Dru Brown to throw over 400 yards, Malik Carney and the rest of the front 7 were able to hold Ottawa to a measly 30 yards rushing. Malik himself had 4 tackles and 2 QB sacks.
While the REDBLACKS weren’t able to leave Regina with a win, Adrian Frye had an outstanding game. In the first quarter after Sam Emilus caught a 19 yard pass from Trevor Harris, Frye ripped the ball out and recovered the fumble to silence Mosaic Stadium. Then in the 4th quarter when the Riders were trying to put the game out of reach, he was able to force KeeSean Johnson to put the ball on the turf and give the ROUGE ET NOIR a chance to get back into it.
Everyone loves a kick return TD. Well, except the team that gives up the return that is. In only his 2nd game in the CFL, Isaiah Wooden was able to take a Rene Parades kickoff 105 yards to the house to start the ill fated Hamilton Ticats comeback at McMahon stadium. He had a total of 294 yards in punt / kickoff returns overall.
2 and Out CFL Podcast 