Certain plays hit a soft spot for Willie Jefferson.
It was the beginning of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ second possession during last week’s home game against Toronto when Chris Streveler’s pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage by Argonauts defensive end Anthony Lanier and caught by linebacker Cameron Judge, who returned the interception 47 yards to the house to give the visitors an early lead.
It was a tremendously athletic and instinctual play by Lanier, who peeled off his pass rush and leaped with his 6-5 frame at the perfect moment to disrupt the throw.
MIKE SUDOMA / FREE PRESS
Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ Willie Jefferson had a single-game career-high four pass knockdowns in the club’s Week 9 victory over the Toronto Argonauts.
Jefferson had to hide his appreciation for a good football play made by two men he knew well.
“Two of my guys. I wasn’t happy for the play during the game. Afterwards, I was able to celebrate with Anthony Lanier and Cam Judge,” he said Wednesday.
Jefferson played with Judge in Saskatchewan from 2017-18 and knew Lanier before he entered the CFL in 2021.
“Him making one of my plays and then Judge finishing the play, it was good to see those guys.”
Indeed, Jefferson has earned the right to call a batted pass “his play.”
There’s been no one better at getting their mitt on the ball since he entered the league in 2014, and he’s the best to ever do it at the line of scrimmage.
The CFL’s active leader in career pass knockdowns with 85 also ranks third all-time behind Hall of Fame defensive back Eddie Davis (111) and Adrion Smith (105). Jefferson is also the only defensive lineman in league history to crack the top 10 in that stat.
Jefferson, who even at 34 years old still has a knack for wrecking games, also got his in that 40-31 Week 9 victory. Along with a single-game career-high four pass knockdowns, he registered one sack, one forced fumble, eight quarterback pressures and one defensive tackle.
His dominance was recognized by Pro Football Focus — an analytics company that tracks every player in the CFL — which gave Jefferson a 99.3 grade, the highest single-game mark 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.
“It was never a thing for me in college. It was either just rush the quarterback and make tackles or sacks. Same thing in the NFL (with the Houston Texans), it was never an emphasis on knocking a ball down,” said Jefferson, who will travel with the rest of his teammates to face the Calgary Stampeders at McMahon Stadium on Saturday (6 p.m. CT).
It wasn’t until he arrived north of the border that the product of Beaumont, Texas, learned about the art of swatting passes.
“Once I came to the CFL… the mindset was to get to the quarterback — win your one-on-ones, win on first down, we play in the backfield — but there was an emphasis on, ‘If you can’t get to the quarterback and you see the quarterback pulling up to throw the ball, get your hands in the throwing lane,’ especially when we went zero (a blitz concept that leaves no safety help). It was, ‘Get blocked, stay blocked, and if you have the opportunity to get your hands up, just get your hands up in the throwing lanes.’”
Make no mistake, batting balls is not as easy as Jefferson can make it look at times. His 6-7, 244-pound frame certainly makes him a more viable threat to disrupt throwing lanes, but players and coaches agree that it’s an art that the future Hall of Famer has refined.
“It’s a game-changing ability,” said James Vaughters. “It’s a combination of height, co-ordination and anticipation. Understanding how the game works, understanding how teams can and want to beat us, and it’s a great tool to have in our repertoire as a defence.”
Added defensive co-ordinator Jordan Younger: “The timing of it is something you got to have a knack for, but the understanding of what gaps that the team likes to throw through, the timing of when they like to get rid of the ball, when to get your hands up, when you’re in proximity to the quarterback, we work that, we talk about it, we practice it.”
“Willie’s gift is God just gave him great size — very tall, very, very long arms — and that element of his game is unparalleled. I haven’t seen anybody like that in my time in the CFL.”
Jefferson became the Bombers’ franchise leader in pass knockdowns years ago. His 61 as a member of the Blue and Gold is 21 better than the next closest player — current teammate Deatrick Nichols — and 26 better than third-place Jovon Johnson.
As for players who play a similar position, that’s where it can become humorous: Jake Thomas, who has four career knockdowns, is the active defensive lineman teammate nearest to Jefferson — a difference of 57. Vaughters is third with two for his career.
“I’ve heard people jokingly call him the human net before,” Thomas said. “I don’t know if I would use that term, but I think it’s just, he has that intuition of knowing when to do it. Anyone can just stand there and put their hands up all day, but usually, when he’s doing it, he’s usually pretty spot on when to put his hands up.
“I don’t know if I really have the vocabulary for one word to describe it, but it’s definitely impressive to watch.”
Jefferson said he got better at timing his reach from 2014-15 while playing against Bo Levi Mitchell (with Calgary at the time) and Zach Collaros (Hamilton) — two quarterbacks who have a tendency to throw the ball quickly. Eventually, he figured out which formations and downs-and-distances they were most likely to get rid of the ball quickly, and that’s when he began to feast.
“Once you see the quarterback pull his second hand off the ball — they get it with two hands, and then when they pull the ball away and get ready to throw the ball — you know you can’t get around, so you just want to stop them and get your hands up,” he said. “That’s pretty much the art.”
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Jefferson has already professed that his goal is to reach 100 pass knockdowns and 100 sacks for his career. Perhaps it would go down as one of those “untouchable stats” if he were to accomplish that feat.
He’s at 76 sacks currently, which is still a long way from his dream 100. But, unfortunately for opposing quarterbacks, Jefferson has no designs on slowing down.
“Where I’m at right now, nobody’s done this,” he said. “I’m still chasing the 100 sacks, but the 100 sacks are a lot harder than 100 knockdowns. So once I get the 100 knockdowns, I’ll try to extend that. But once I get to 100 sacks, I’m trying to extend that until I get to the point where I want to retire.”
joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca
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Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh.
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