• Alouettes continue to impress: This unit earned 71.5 overall defensive, 70.0 run-defense, and 72.9 pass-rushing grades.
• Redblacks soar in rankings: After their first game of the season, Ottawa jumps up into the upper echelon of defensive lines in the CFL. This unit earned 77.5 overall defensive, 74.9 run-defense and 72.8 pass-rushing grades.
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Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
The post-Week 1 rankings include players who played the most at each position and highlighted red players are those with a season PFF grade under 60.0.
1. Toronto Argonauts (No Change)
Base Defensive Set: Even Front
Field EDGE: Folarin Orimolade
Field DI: Jake Ceresna
Boundary DI: Jared Brinkman
Boundary EDGE: Robbie Smith
- The Argonauts were on a bye this past week.
2. Montreal Alouettes (No Change)
Base Defensive Set: Odd Front
Field EDGE: Shawn Lemon
NT: Mustafa Johnson
Boundary EDGE: Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund
- Another excellent week for the Alouettes' defensive line. This unit earned 71.5 overall defensive, 70.0 run-defense and 72.9 pass-rushing grades.
- DI Mustafa Johnson, once again, was the best player on this defensive line this week. He earned a 75.2 overall defensive, 71.1 run-defense and 70.6 pass-rushing grades. He accumulated three QB hits, four total pressures, and a TFL.
- The Alouettes run a unique defense in the CFL. They love to blitz and drop defensive linemen behind. They have by far the most coverage snaps by defensive linemen, with 28, and it hurts their unit overall grades, as they sit with a 55.2 coverage grade amongst defensive linemen.
3. Ottawa Redblacks (New to Rankings)
Base Defensive Set: Even Front
Field EDGE: Bryce Carter
Field DI: Michael Wakefield
Boundary DI: Cleyon Laing
Boundary EDGE: Lorenzo Mauldin IV
- After their first game of the season, Ottawa jumps up into the upper echelon of defensive lines in the CFL. This unit earned 77.5 overall defensive, 74.9 run-defense and 72.8 pass-rushing grades.
- EDGE Lorenzo Mauldin IV was the star of the show in Week 2. He was the top pass-rush of this unit; he earned a 74.5 pass-rush grade with a sack, seven total pressures, a 21.9 pressure rate and a 22.9% win rate.
4. Saskatchewan Roughriders (No Change)
Base Defensive Set: Even Front
Field EDGE: Bryan Cox Jr.
Field DI: Anthony Lanier II
Boundary DI: Micah Johnson
Boundary EDGE: Malik Carney
- The Roughriders defensive line was elite last week against the run. This unit earned a 91.5 run-defense grade with five defensive stops and a forced fumble.
- They were led by DI Anthony Lanier II (90.0) and EDGE Malik Carney (84.0), the top two run-graded defensive linemen in Week 2.
- The aspect holding this unit back from climbing higher in the rankings is its lack of pass-rush productivity. Their unit pass rush grade this week was 59.5, dropping their season grade to 62.8.
5. Hamilton Tiger-Cats (Up 2)
Base Defensive Set: Even Front
Field EDGE: Nick Usher
Field DI: Dewayne Hendrix
Boundary DI: Casey Sayles
Boundary EDGE: Brandon Barlow
- The Tiger-Cats completely switched from an overall negative group to a positive one. This past week, this unit earned 73.6 overall defensive, 68.9 run-defense and 75.2 pass-rush grades.
- The EDGE defenders made a much bigger impact in the passing game last week. From their 55.0 pass-rush grade in Week 1, they produced a 71.1 pass-rush grade with three sacks, 10 total pressures, a 16.3% pressure rate and a 33.3% win rate.
- EDGE Brandon Barlow was the Week 2 star for the defensive line. He collected three sacks, five total pressures and an 11.1% pressure rate to grade out at 71.4 pass-rusher.
6. British Columbia Lions (Down 3)
Base Defensive Set: Even Front
Field EDGE: Pete Robertson
Field DI: Christian Covington
Boundary DI: Josh Banks
Boundary EDGE: Sione Teuhema
- The Lions' defensive line is split between the EDGE and the DI. When looking at the grades split by their positions, it is stark. The DIs finished with a 78.1 defensive, 70.0 run-defense and 76.9 pass-rush grades in Week 2. Compared to the EDGE, who posted 53.0 defensive, 54.8 run-defense, and 59.4 pass-rush grades.
- Eight-year NFL veteran and CFL rookie DI Christian Covington is a handful for opposing offensive lines. He was a top run-defender this week, earning a 74.6 run-defense grade.
7. Calgary Stampeders (Down 2)
Base Defensive Set: Even Front
Field EDGE: James Vaughters
Field DI: Mike Rose
Boundary DI: Kwadwo Boahen
Boundary EDGE: Julian Howsare
- The Stampeders' interior defensive line struggled against the run again this week. Kwadwo Boahen slightly improved from last week, grading out just slightly positive at a 60.9 run-defense grade, whereas Mike Rose struggled even more this week, earning a 47.1 run-defense grade.
- The Stampeders' defensive line also struggles to make much of an impact in the passing game. They earned a 63.8 pass-rush grade as a unit, ranking seventh out of eight teams in Week 2.
8. Edmonton Elks (No Change)
Base Defensive Set: Odd Front
Field EDGE: Elliott Brown
NT: Robert Nkemdiche
Boundary EDGE: Romeo McKnight
- In Week 2, the Elks switched to using an odd front more predominantly. The switch seems to have helped the unit perform better; this unit earned 66.6 defensive, 67.9 run-defense and 68.2 pass-rush. grades
- This group impacted the run game for the first time this year. It improved on its zero tackles in Week 1 to make 10 in Week 2, with five resulting in defensive stops.
9. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (Down 2)
Base Defensive Set: Odd Front
Field EDGE: Devin Adams
NT: Jake Thomas
Boundary EDGE: Willie Jefferson
- The Blue Bombers' poor start to the season continues. Through two games, this unit has failed to positively impact the defense. They have earned 58.8 defensive, 57.9 run defense and 59.6 pass-rushing grades.
- EDGE Willie Jefferson was the only member of this group who made a true impact in the passing game. He earned a 75.6 pass-rush grade with a sack, five total pressures, a pressure rate of 14.7% and a 23.7% win rate.
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