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.
Welcome to the latest Quarterback Rankings.
It feels like we clearly have a gap between the top two quarterbacks, and then have a second tier packed with high-end passers all jockeying for a chance to be the king of their respective lands.
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1. (1) NATHAN ROURKE | BC LIONS
Despite throwing five interceptions the past two weeks, Nathan Rourke remains on top of the CFL quarterback hierarchy.
The Lions leader bounced back from a lacklustre Week 17 against Toronto with a dominant, playoff-clinching, 400+ yard, four touchdown day against the Calgary Stampeders. Rourke and Justin McInnis made a 40-yard touchdown connection in the first quarter look easy. Rourke also dropped a perfect 14-yard pass to Jevon Cottoy, who was well covered by Jaydon Grant, to give the home team a 14-3 lead.
Rourke’s best moment was an impressive 98-yard touchdown drive to start the third quarter, highlighted by a scrambling 36-yard hook up with Cottoy against a Stamps defence that had dropped nine in coverage.
2. (2) BO LEVI MITCHELL | HAMILTON TIGER-CATS
The biggest mystery of the 2025 season may be that 40-3 Winnipeg Blue Bombers blowout of Hamilton.
When was the last time Bo Levi Mitchell started and finished a game where his team lost by 37? How do you put up nearly 350 yards, have just one turnover and still manage only three points? You could see the passing game just didn’t have it when Mitchell and Kenny Lawler failed to connect on a couple deep shots.
All those negative Week 17 memories quickly evaporated on Saturday when Bo hit Brendan O’Leary-Orange for an 87-yard touchdown in the first quarter.
3. (5) DAVIS ALEXANDER | MONTREAL ALOUETTES
Great to see Davis Alexander healthy and doing what he does: winning. This time it was a 38-20 triumph over Calgary in Week 17.
Davis announced himself early on his first completion, a scrambling out of trouble, throw across the body to an open Tyler Snead. His best moment was in the third when a bobbled snap led to him retreating 15+ yards behind the line of scrimmage. With one defender in his face and the rest of the Stamps defence closing in, he still found a way to hit Tyson Philpot for a 28-yard gain.
4. (4) TREVOR HARRIS | SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
That’s a beauty!
Trevor Harris connects with KeeSean Johnson late into the 4th!#CFLGameday
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The last two weeks have been up and down for Trevor Harris.
In the team’s 27-25 Week 17 loss to the Edmonton Elks, Harris put up good numbers, but he missed on so many throws. One play that will get overlooked was Trevor missing KeeSean Johnson on a corner route early in the fourth quarter with the Elks leading 11-9. What could have been a touchdown ended up as a short field and in a game decided by two points it was those “small” moments that stood out.
The fourth quarter of their 20-13 win over the Ottawa REDBLACKS saw Harris fumble the ball away late with his team in position to seal the game. Then on the next possession, his completions to Johnson for 14 yards and a 25-yarder on second-and-long to Dohnte Meyers allowed the Roughriders to come away with an important victory.
5. (8) CODY FAJARDO | EDMONTON ELKS
Cody Fajardo’s ability to hit on several deep shots to Kaion Julien-Grant and OJ Hiliare was critical in that Week 17 upset win over the Riders.
Fajardo is hitting on a ridiculous 77 per cent of his passes and leads the league in touchdown to interception ratio.
6. (9) ZACH COLLAROS | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
Now that is the Zach Collaros we have been waiting for.
Collaros only needed to put the ball up 25 times in that blowout win over the Tiger-Cats, but we saw several vintage Zach moments. The first being his 44-yard, rolling out to his right, accurate deep shot to Dillon Mitchell for a touchdown. Later in the third we saw a similar downfield strike to Nic Demski for 45 yards. It is worth noting that Collaros did not throw an interception.
The league is in a better place if we continue to see this version of the Bombers quarterback.
7. (7). VERNON ADAMS JR. | CALGARY STAMPEDERS
ARE YOU KIDDING ME VA??!!
Vernon Adams Jr. somehow dodges numerous defenders and delivers a DART for an INCREDIBLE play!#CFLGameDay
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It’s been a tough two-week stretch for both the team and the quarterback.
I appreciated that Vernon Adams Jr. made sure that Jalen Philpot got a touchdown early in their game against Montreal, ensuring that Jalen would win the battle of Philpots against his brother Tyson.
Because it’s not exactly been smooth sailing for the team, I’ll point out the best moment any quarterback has had since the start of Week 17. In the fourth quarter of the Stampeders 38-30 loss to Montreal, the centre fumbled the snap sending the ball deep into the Calgary end zone. Adams Jr. collected it, broke a couple tackles, avoided another rusher, and somehow found Dominique Rhymes for a 20-yard gain and a first down.
8. (6) DRU BROWN | OTTAWA REDBLACKS
While I am writing this, Southern Ontario is experiencing just a gorgeous stretch of sunny weather, so I would rather not summarize what happened in the REDBLACKS 20-13 loss to Saskatchewan, which eliminated any faint chances of making the playoffs.
That was easily the toughest moment for Dru Brown in the 2025 season.
9. (-) JARRET DOEGE | TORONTO ARGONUATS
Jarret Doege uses his legs for the first down!#CFLGameday
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With Nick Arbuckle spending most of Saturday afternoon with a sling on his right arm, I think it is safe to say Jarret Doege will be going up against Saskatchewan on Friday night.
While the yardage total was well over 300 yards for the Argo backup, there were just too many mistakes from Doege, which is why I must place him at the bottom. His first interception was a pass that never should have been released, and it led to a Greg Bell touchdown, giving the Tiger-Cats an insurmountable 24-3 lead.