2024 CFL offensive line rankings: Montreal Alouettes come in at No. 1

2RHYRBE Ottawa, Canada. 19 Aug 2023. Nick Callender (62) of the Montreal Alouettes plays in regular season Canadian Football League (CFL) action between the Montreal Alouettes at the Ottawa Redblacks. The Montreal Alouettes won the game 25-24. 2023 Copyright Sean Burges / Mundo Sport Images / Alamy Live News

• Montreal Alouettes come in at No. 1: The Alouettes return their entire Grey Cup-winning offensive line and receive an added boost with Lestage returning from injury.

Ottawa Redblacks have an uphill climb: The Redblacks made a lot of moves to help improve their offense this offseason. Ultimately, it may be all for naught if their offensive line struggles as badly as it did last season.

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With the 2024 CFL season just about to get underway, the starters are all but locked in. Let’s take a look at how all nine offensive lines rank.

More CFL position rankings here:
QB | RB | WR | OL

1. Montreal Alouettes

Projected Starting Lineup
  • LT: Nick Callender
  • LG: Pier-Olivier Lestage
  • C: Justin Lawrence
  • RG: Kristian Matte
  • RT: Jamar McGloster

The Alouettes return their entire Grey Cup-winning offensive line and receive an added boost with Lestage returning from injury. Nick Callender anchors the unit as the highest-graded left tackle in the league last season. Callender, Kristian Matte and Pier-Olivier Lestage each ranked first at their positions in pass-blocking grade in 2023.

Montreal tied for the league lead in pressure percentage allowed as a unit and finished second among the CFL's nine units in run-blocking grade. With Montreal losing some key offensive weapons, this offensive line will be the key to defending their championship.


2. Toronto Argonauts

Projected Starting Lineup
  • LT: Isiah Cage
  • LG: Ryan Hunter
  • C: Darius Ciraco
  • RG: Peter Nicastro
  • RT: Dejon Allen

Toronto has a legitimate argument for having the top-ranked offensive line in the league, as they return their entire starting lineup from a dominant 2023 season.

Dejon Allen leads the group fresh off a season in which he led all CFL tackles in pressure percentage allowed of just 2.6%. The Argos also have right guard Peter Nicastro, the highest-graded player at the position a season ago.

Last year, the Argonauts tied for first in pressure percentage allowed as a unit and were also the third-highest graded run-blocking line. With the uncertainty around the Argonauts' offense this season, this offensive line should be this team's anchor.


3. Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Projected Starting Lineup
  • LT: Brendan Bordner (Joel Figueroa)
  • LG: Brandon Revenberg
  • C: David Beard
  • RG: Coulter Woodmansey
  • RT: Jordan Murray

There is some uncertainty around this TiCats offensive line, as presumed starting left tackle Joel Figueroa may not be ready to start the season. In his absence, it looks as though rookie Brendan Bordner will start to open the campaign.

The good news is that Bordner will have the best left guard in the game lining up next to him. Revenberg was the highest-graded offensive lineman in the CFL last year and was one of only a few players to generate a pass-blocking efficiency score above 98.0. Woodmansey just barely missed that mark, too, coming in at 97.9.

If Figueroa returns healthy, this offensive line could challenge for the top spot in the league.


4. Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Projected Starting Lineup
  • LT: Stanley Bryant
  • LG: Liam Dobson
  • C: Chris Kolankowski
  • RG: Patrick Neufeld
  • RT: Eric Lofton

The Blue Bombers fielded one of the very best offensive lines in the league last season, and there’s not a whole list of reasons to think that won’t happen again.

While Stanley Bryant isn’t the dominant left tackle he used to be, the 38-year-old still finished the 2023 season with the third-highest pass-blocking grade among CFL left tackles. \

An intriguing player to watch is Liam Dobson, who has graded well the past two years as a sixth offensive lineman, and he now gets a chance to start full-time at guard between two top veterans.

The Blue Bombers offensive line earned the highest run-blocking grade in the league last year, and they should rank right near the top again this year.


5. Saskatchewan Roughriders

Projected Starting Lineup
  • LT: Trevor Reid
  • LG: Philip Blake
  • C: Peter Godber
  • RG: Logan Ferland
  • RT: Jermarcus Hardrick

The Roughriders fielded a solid offensive line last season, but they upgraded in a big way when they signed free-agent tackle Jermarcus Hardrick. The former Blue Bomber was the highest-graded right tackle in the CFL last season and posted identical pass-block and run-block grades (71.4).

The questions come on the left side, where the Riders will roll with a rookie as their starting left tackle. Reid had a solid preseason, allowing just one pressure on 25 pass-blocking snaps, but he struggled as a run-blocker.

This line is littered with high-level veterans like Hardrick and Peter Godber, so the hope is they can guide Reid along as they go and become a top-notch unit.


6. Edmonton Elks

Projected Starting Lineup
  • LT: Martez Ivey
  • LG: David Foucault
  • C: Mark Korte
  • RG: Thomas Jack-Kurdyla
  • RT: Brett Boyko

The Elks' 2023 offensive line went exactly as their season went. For the first eight games, they struggled mightily. They were then magnificent over their following six games before struggling again over the campaign's final month.

They had one of the top tackle duos in the league last year, as Brett Boyko and Martez Ivey both finished as the third-highest-graded players at their position.

Edmonton will need more consistency from its interior, though, as none of those guys graded in the top four at their position. As a unit, the Elks graded out fifth in both pass-blocking and run-blocking grades, so they need some players to take that next step if they want to vault into that top echelon.


7. British Columbia Lions

Projected Starting Lineup
  • LT: Jarell Broxton
  • LG: David Knevel
  • C: Michael Couture
  • RG: Sukh Chungh
  • RT: Kent Perkins

The Lions have one of the best offensive linemen in the game right now, with Jarell Broxton finishing last season as the fourth-highest-graded offensive lineman in the league.

But one man isn’t enough when it comes to fielding a strong offensive line. Unfortunately, the other four starters posted grades that ranked eighth or worse at their positions.

The group particularly struggled in the ground game, where they graded seventh as a unit. Keep an eye on first-round rookie guard George Una, who graded well in the preseason and allowed just one pressure on 27 pass-blocking snaps. If this line struggles early, Una could see himself slotted into the starting lineup to spark some improvement.


8. Calgary Stampeders

Projected Starting Lineup

  • LT: D’Antne Demery
  • LG: Bryce Bell
  • C: Sean McEwen
  • RG: Zack Williams
  • RT: Joshua Coker

The best thing about this Stampeders' offensive line going into the 2024 season is that they are getting another season of chemistry playing together.

They have to hope chemistry as a unit can help them improve from last year’s struggles. Last season, they ranked last in the CFL in pressure percentage allowed as a unit, while their run-blocking grade ranked a little below average.

Joshua Coker and Zack Williams performed admirably, but this unit lacks a star lineman who can elevate the rest of the line’s play. Perhaps rookie Christy Nkanu can be that player, but it won’t be right away.

The Stampeders will need to find a way to improve as a unit if they want to compete this season.


9. Ottawa Redblacks

Projected Starting Lineup
  • LT: Dino Boyd
  • LG: Drew Desjarlais
  • C: Cyrille Hogan-Saindon
  • RG: Dariusz Bladek
  • RT: Zack Pelehos

The Redblacks made a lot of moves to help improve their offense this offseason. Ultimately, it may be all for naught if their offensive line struggles as badly as it did last season, with the offensive line grading last in both run-block and pass-block grades.

Signing veteran Dariusz Bladek was a good move, but he won’t be enough alone. The Redblacks need guys like Zack Pelehos (lowest-graded pass-blocking grade among left tackles in the CFL last year) and Cyrille Hogan-Saindon (lowest-graded center overall) to really take a big step forward in their development. If they can do that, perhaps this offensive line will finally get out of the basement of these rankings.

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