Quarterback Rankings: Who is the No. 1 pivot heading into Week 9?
By Matthew Cauz, CFL.ca, @mcauz56
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.
There is a new rule I’m going to be following going forward when doing my bi-weekly quarterback rankings.
I will no longer bring up the possibility of near 100 per cent quarterback health among the nine franchises.
I did that last week and since then we have seen a rise in injuries among the starters and a setback with the return date for Chad Kelly.
So instead of any medical speculation, let’s just take the temperature of the current state of starting quarterbacks.
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| Rank (Last) | Name | Team |
| 1 (1) | Bo Levi Mitchell | Hamilton Tiger-Cats |
| 2 (5) | Trevor Harris | Saskatchewan Roughriders |
| 3 (4) | Nathan Rourke | BC Lions |
| 4 (8) | Nick Arbuckle | Toronto Argonauts |
| 5 (-) | Chris Streveler | Winnipeg Blue Bombers |
| 6 (-) | McLeod Bethel-Thompson | Montreal Alouettes |
| 7 (7) | Dru Brown | Ottawa REDBLACKS |
| 8 (-) | Cody Fajardo | Edmonton Elks |
| 9 (-) | P.J. Walker | Calgary Stampeders |
1. (1) BO LEVI MITCHELL | HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
Not only is Bo Levi Mitchell staying in the top spot, but he is starting to put a little distance between himself and the rest of the league.
Mitchell was solid against the Ottawa REDBLACKS in Hamilton’s Week 7 30-15 victory, but it’s what he did late against the BC Lions in Sunday’s 37-33 win that truly stands out.
I’ll be honest, I thought the Lions were going to win after a short yardage Jeremiah Masoli touchdown gave BC a 10-point lead with around four minutes to go.
Instead, Mitchell went full MOP on the Lions defence, completing 13 of 14 passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns. The highlight of this comeback was that gorgeous 44-yard touchdown toss to Brendan O’Leary-Orange. Bonus marks as the Hamilton passer excelled even with the Lions defence focused on shutting down Kenny Lawler.
2. (5) TREVOR HARRIS | SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
In the past two weeks we have seen two very different versions of the Roughriders starting quarterback.
Against Edmonton it was ruthlessly efficient Trevor Harris in an 21-18 win. Beyond a well placed, over the shoulder, 34-yard completion to Samuel Emilus with the Riders pinned deep in the third quarter there was nothing overly spectacular about Harris’ night. But the team didn’t need him to be. He just slowly chewed up the Elks defence.
A week prior we saw the gunslinging side as Harris hit on four passes of over 30 yards and finished with nearly 400 yards against the Lions.
3. (4) NATHAN ROURKE | BC LIONS
I’m still shocked Nathan Rourke and the Lions could not close out Hamilton.
Rourke hit Ayden Eberhardt in stride on a 43-yard pass that led to the Masoli touchdown plunge and a 10-point lead. Rourke has put up good numbers the last two weeks, but the Lions lost both games and many of his statistics in Week 7 against Saskatchewan came with his team down 33-11 late in the third quarter.
4. (8) NICK ARBUCKLE | TORONTO ARGONAUTS
Time to give some love for the quarterback with a better completion percentage than Bo Levi Mitchell, has thrown for more yards than Vernon Adams Jr., and has one more touchdown pass than Nathan Rourke.
Did Nick Arbuckle falter down the stretch against Montreal in a one-point loss to the Alouettes in Week 7? Yes, yes, he did.
However, he bounced back with an interception-free beauty of a game against the Blue Bombers with his best moment being pump faking Damonte Coxie open for a 33-yard touchdown giving Toronto the early lead and setting the tone for their 31-17 win.
5. (-) CHRIS STREVELER | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
Generally, I stay away from any religious topics in this space, but hey, Football Gods is it asking too much to have a month of health for our quarterbacks?
Thankfully the league is filled with capable backups and Chris Streveler can certainly keep the Bombers ship afloat. His last two appearances came in relief of Zach Collaros, so it is difficult to properly process his performance and overall statistics.
However, way back in Week 2 in his start against the BC Lions, Streveler put in a solid day’s work in the team’s 34-20 win.
6. (-) MCLEOD BETHEL-THOMPSON | MONTREAL ALOUETTES
I would like to tell McLeod Bethel-Thompson that though I work for TSN, I do not share any of their feelings in regard to criticism they may have of him as a quarterback.
I would like to say that, but unfortunately the internet lives forever. Jokes aside, congratulations on helping the Alouettes to a 23-21 win over the Stampeders and let me say if not for a couple big drops, MBT easily would have finished with over 300 yards last week.
7. (7) DRU BROWN | OTTAWA REDBLACKS
Dru Brown is so hard to properly rank due to his snakebit start to the 2025 season.
We see all the potential and the flashes of stardom, but every week his production has gone down. Both things can be true. Ottawa was right to hand him the keys, but I have no idea if it will be a smooth ride.
8. (-) CODY FAJARDO | EDMONTON ELKS
Cody Fajardo was in a tough position going into Week 8 without the benefit of an entire week of first team reps.
No one said life of a starting CFL quarterback was easy. If you strictly looked at the box score you would be impressed with Fajardo’s day. Again, I hate to temper any excitement, but 169 of those yards and both of his touchdowns came in the fourth quarter with the Elks down by 17.
9. (-) P.J. WALKER | CALGARY STAMPEDERS
Sticking with the theme of a quarterback parachuting into a difficult situation, that is exactly what happened with P.J. Walker after Vernon Adams Jr. left the game on Thursday night late in the third quarter against the Montreal Alouettes. The Stampeders were up 21-14 at that time but would not score again falling 23-21.
Walker was lucky not be picked off by Marc-Antonie Dequoy, who dropped an easy interception, and the game ended with two inaccurate throws.
