Quarterback Rankings: Who is the No. 1 pivot in the CFL?

Quarterback Rankings is a bi-weekly series that breaks down the top signal-callers in the CFL. The ranking of starters heading into each week reflects recent performance, statistical indicators, team success, and overall on-field evaluation.

Since the dawn of time football fans have loved one exercise above all others, ranking quarterbacks!

Oh, sure you have hipsters and intellectuals who proclaim they focus on guard play above all other positions. I have no problem geeking out every now and then on Logan Ferland or Ryan Hunter but if we’re being honest fighting over quarterbacks is the essential building blocks to being a football fan. The best (and sometimes worst) part of ranking passers is there is no definitive correct answer.

How much do you factor in team success, pure statistics, and the degree of difficulty of the opponent? This is as much an art as it is a science, and I’m thrilled to be given this corner. I’m guessing I’ll get 100 percent approval ratings from all you kind fans out there with my selections—but if you think a certain East Division MOP is ranked too low (spoiler) or someone destined to be a backup is too high (spoiler), I’m always here for your constructive criticism. Who’s kidding who? I have no problem with your over-the-top emotional reactions as well!

Let’s be honest, rating quarterbacks always kicks your sports emotions to the highest of levels, just try and keep it PG-13. Without further adieu let’s dip our toes into the turbulent waters of grading the 2025 CFL quarterbacks!

1 (-). TREVOR HARRIS | SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS

For another year in a row, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are dealing with injuries to their offensive line—yet it doesn’t impact Trevor Harris, who just keeps dropping back and hitting the open man. In Week 1, he’s threading passes between the uprights to Samuel Emilus in a victory over the Ottawa REDBLACKS. Then, against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Harris puts on a masterful display in the fourth quarter, making the 2025 Tiger-Cats defence look like the 2024 version—thanks in large part to his connection with KeeSean Johnson.

2 (-). CHRIS STREVELER | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS

Is this the last time you will see Chris Streveler in these rankings? Possibly. Is there an excellent chance Zach Collaros is on the medal podium the next time these rankings come out? Absolutely. But for this week let’s all celebrate the man who bounced back from three torn ligaments in his knee this past September to throwing three touchdowns in the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 34-20 win over the BC Lions. Streveler’s biggest throw was that 30-yard score he gunned to Keric Wheatfall but the most significant was his final touchdown of the game to Nic Demski giving Winnipeg a 34-20 lead. With it being second-and-goal and Winnipeg with an eight-point lead I expected a bully ball quarterback plunge. Instead, the Bombers trusted Streveler’s arm and it paid off.

3 (-). NATHAN ROURKE | BC LIONS

Talk about a roller-coaster start to the season. No quarterback had a better Week 1 than Nathan Rourke, who threw for 324 yards and three touchdowns while adding 54 yards on the ground against the Edmonton Elks. The next week, Rourke completed less than 50 percent of his passes and had to leave the game with an oblique injury. Even in that loss, he still connected on a couple of impressive deep shots—including a 77-yarder to Keon Hatcher that traveled over 50 yards in the air.

4 (-). VERNON ADAMS JR. | CALGARY STAMPEDERS

I am going to ignore the fact that the Calgary Stampeders new quarterback has yet to throw a touchdown. Dedrick Mills already has four rushing touchdowns, and the Stampeders have put up 67 points in back-to-back wins. Vernon Adams Jr. is second in passing and rushing yards among quarterbacks. He uncorked a couple beauty deep balls to rookie Damien Alford and Jalen Philpot in the team’s win over the Toronto Argonauts.

5 (-). DAVIS ALEXANDER | MONTREAL ALOUETTES

Through two weeks, Davis Alexander has proven the entire Alouettes coaching staff right for giving him the keys to the car. The only reason he isn’t ranked higher is that, thanks to their stellar defensive play, the team hasn’t needed him to be Superman. His best moment so far came in the fourth quarter against Ottawa, with Montreal up by one score. A deep shot to Austin Mack was followed by a patient, field-scanning throw to James Letcher Jr. for a 19-yard touchdown that ended any chance of a REDBLACKS comeback.

6 (-). DRU BROWN | OTTAWA REDBLACKS

(Arthur Ward/CFL.ca)

This ranking may seem unfair considering Brown put up the season’s first 400+ yard game in Ottawa’s 31-26 loss to Saskatchewan. Brown was brilliant on the team’s opening possession but after that the team would not score again until midway of the third quarter with Brown’s team trailing 24-7.

7 (-). BO LEVI MITCHELL | HAMILTON TIGER-CATS

I know the 2024 leader in passing yards is currently leading again in 2025—but Bo Levi Mitchell also has 16 more pass attempts than any other quarterback. I get that this ranking will have people screaming, “Team wins aren’t a quarterback stat,” and sure, if you put Mitchell in Montreal, maybe he’s 2–0 instead of 0–2. But I just can’t shake that third-quarter pick-six Bo threw to Rolan Milligan Jr., which gave the Roughriders their first lead of the game. Mitchell tried to force a pass to Tim White , and Milligan Jr. easily stepped in front of it for his first interception and touchdown of the season. In that moment, the 2024 Most Outstanding Defensive Player got the better of the 2024 East Division Most Outstanding Player.

8 (-). TRE FORD | EDMONTON ELKS

An underwhelming performance by Tre Ford and the entire Edmonton offence in their Week 1 loss to BC has Ford near the bottom of these rankings. On the plus side the play of the year so far was Ford scrambling for his life from Mathieu Betts and an army of BC pass rushers on third down, eventually finding Justin Rankin for a 37-yard completion. Ford went from chaos to calm in a split second.

9 (-). NICK ARBUCKLE | TORONTO ARGONAUTS

(Mark Blinch/CFL.ca)

The good news for Toronto is that Arbuckle is the reigning Grey Cup MVP. The bad news? He’s already committed five turnovers, and his wide-side throw that led to Adrian Greene’s interception return touchdown in their home-opening loss to Calgary is a decision you simply can’t make.

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