MMQB: 6 breakout players at the one-third mark

It’s crazy to think, but with Week 7 behind us, we’re now officially one-third of the way through this 2025 campaign. And with every team having at least five games under their belt, we’ve got a large enough body of work to start identifying a few trends.

One of those trends is the number of standout performances from players who wouldn’t have been considered “household names” entering the season. And in a lot of cases, the emergence of these players has been huge for their team’s early season successes.

So, for this week’s MMQB, we’ve identified six breakout players making waves a third of the way through.

DAMIEN ALFORD | REC | CALGARY STAMPEDERS

There’s always going to be expectations attached to being a first overall selection. But it’s safe to say Damien Alford, the number one pick in the 2025 CFL Draft, has exceeded any and all of them early in his rookie CFL campaign. In fact, it’s rare for a top pick to make the type of impact Alford has this quickly.

After going off for his second straight two-touchdown performance in Calgary’s dominant 41-20 win at Winnipeg on Friday Night Football, Alford is up to five on the season, second only to Hamilton’s Kenny Lawler (eight). More and more, Alford is factoring into offensive coordinator Pat DelMonaco’s play-calling and quarterback Vernon Adams Jr.’s decision making, which means his impact should only go up from here.

DAVIS ALEXANDER | QB | MONTREAL ALOUETTES

We’ve known the Als have had something in Davis Alexander for quite some time, which is why it wasn’t a shock when they made room for him as the team’s starter ahead of the season. But I don’t think anyone could have imagined things to have gone as seamlessly as they have for Alexander in his first year on top of the depth chart. That said, Alexander did reaggravate his hamstring injury in Week 7 and was placed on the six-game injured list by the Alouettes.

While on the field though though, Alexander threw for 303 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for another touchdown and 23 yards, in Montreal’s 26-25 comeback win over the Argos on Thursday night. He’s now up to 1,106 passing yards and six touchdowns in four games to go along with a perfect 4-0 record as a starter. To round things out, Alexander sits third overall with a 107.0 quarterback rating.

MARIO KENDRICKS JR. | DT | HAMILTON TIGER-CATS

DT Mario Kendricks Jr. has already tallied four sacks for the Tiger-Cats in 2025 (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca)

The Ticats closed out week 7 with a 30-15 win over Ottawa, their fourth straight to remain tied with Montreal for tops in the East Division. And Sunday’s outing was one of just two this season where Mario Kendricks Jr. didn’t record a quarterback sack. After dressing in just two games with Hamilton last season, 2025 has seen Kendricks Jr. establish himself as an importance piece of the team’s defensive front four.

In six appearances, Kendricks Jr. leads the 4-2 Tiger-Cats with four sacks and sits second overall in the category. He’s been an important part of an interior group that includes the always-disruptive Casey Sayles and Hamilton newcomer Miles Fox.

ANDREW CHATFIELD JR. | DE | TORONTO ARGONAUTS

DE Andrew Chatfield Jr. leads the league in sacks with five (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca)

It would be tough not to put the league’s current sack leader, who had just one game of CFL experience prior to this season, in this conversation. Despite going without one in two straight games, Andrew Chatfield Jr. leads the league with five sacks after recording at least one tally in his first four games of 2025.

Acquired quietly by the Argos in a February trade with Ottawa, where he spent most of his time on the practice roster, Chatfield Jr. has been a revelation thus far. We’ll see if he can keep up his torrid pace as Toronto enters the middle third of their campaign.

JAYLON HUTCHINGS | DT | CALGARY STAMPEDERS

DT Jaylon Hutchings (#96) has recorded a sack in four of the last five games with the Stamps (Dave Chidley/CFL.ca)

Knowing the red hot 5-1 Stamps are the breakout team of the season, it’s no surprise they’re the only team with a pair of players represented in this rundown. And for a team that said goodbye to a swath of their 2024 defensive starters, Calgary was going to need several new faces to step to the forefront. Jaylon Hutchings is unquestionably one of them.

After joining the practice roster late last season, Hutchings appeared in his first two professional games as the Stampeders were playing out the string. But Calgary obviously saw enough in him to say goodbye to mainstay Mike Rose over the winter, and Hutchings has rewarded that faith. The interior force has recorded a sack in four of his last five games and sits tied for second overall with four total.

TEVAUGHN CAMPBELL | DB | SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS

I just couldn’t not include Tevaughn Campbell, despite having 37 games of CFL experience entering this season. But, knowing Campbell went around six years between games north of the border, I thought I could bend the rules a little bit. And honestly, with how good Campbell has been in his return to the league, he deserves it.

Campbell has fit like a glove in Saskatchewan’s defensive backfield. He’s recorded 12 tackles, two interceptions, and a defensive touchdown in five appearances (he had another pick-six called back in Saturday’s win over BC). Sliding seamlessly in at field corner, Campbell has made throwing to either side of the field a challenge for opposition quarterbacks with Rolan Milligan Jr. and Marcus Sayles at boundary.

MMQB: 6 breakout players at the one-third mark

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