Photo: Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ defensive lineman Willie Jefferson has been named the CFL’s top performer for Week 9, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF), and earned a pretty remarkable accolade in the process.

The 34-year-old earned a single-game grade of 99.3 this past week, which is by far the best PFF has awarded since the organization began grading CFL games in 2023. The previous single-game high was 94.6, which was awarded to Vernon Adams Jr. while he was playing for the B.C. Lions in 2024.

Jefferson recorded one defensive tackle, one sack, one forced fumble, and a career-high four pass knockdown to help the Blue Bombers defeat the Toronto Argonauts by a score of 40-31. The forced fumble was recovered by rookie defensive lineman Jay Person and returned for a touchdown.

Saskatchewan Roughriders’ quarterback Trevor Harris was the highest-graded offensive player of the week as he completed 19-of-27 pass attempts for 289 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions. The 39-year-old has now earned three honour roll selections from PFF this year.

The Riders also had the highest-graded offensive line of the week with a group score of 75.1. Right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick was the top-graded individual at 72.4, followed by left tackle Payton Collins (71.5) and right guard Jacob Brammer (69.2).

The CFL partnered with PFF for the first time ahead of the 2023 season. The company uses game footage to review every player on the field and grades their individual performances on a scale from zero to 100.

The league unveils the top-graded players from PFF each week. Offensive and defensive players must play a minimum of 25 snaps to be eligible and special teams players must play at least 10. Ties are broken by the number of snaps played.

The top-graded players from each position were as follows for Week 9.

• QB | Trevor Harris | Saskatchewan | 87.7
• RB | Justin Rankin | Edmonton | 77.9
• REC | Kiondré Smith | Hamilton | 80.7
• OL | Kendall Randolph | Winnipeg | 73.7
• DL | Willie Jefferson | Winnipeg | 99.3
• LB | Jameer Thurman | Saskatchewan | 90.6
• DB | Tarvarus McFadden | Toronto | 83.5
• RET | Trey Vaval | Winnipeg | 92.5
• K/P | Joseph Zema | Montreal | 74.9
• ST | Brock Mogensen | Edmonton | 90.4

Below are the top-graded performances of the season dating back to Week 1.

1. 99.3 | W9 | DL | Willie Jefferson | Winnipeg
2. 93.0 | W7 | QB | Trevor Harris | Saskatchewan
3. 92.6 | W7 | DB | Destin Talbert | Hamilton
4. 91.6 | W3 | QB | Davis Alexander | Montreal
5. 91.0 | W5 | DL | Julian Howsare | Hamilton
6. 90.9 | W6 | DB | Jamal Peters | Hamilton
7. 90.8 | W1 | QB | Nathan Rourke | B.C.
8. 90.6 | W7 | DB | Damon Webb | Ottawa
9. 90.6 | W9 | LB | Jameer Thurman | Saskatchewan
10. 90.5 | W3 | DL | Caleb Sanders | Saskatchewan