Nathan Rourke claims Most Outstanding Player: Rourke finished the season with a 92.6 overall grade, which was the highest of any player on offense or defense. He was far and away the most outstanding player in the CFL this season, and this award belongs to him.

Jermarcus Hardrick wins Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Hardrick topped all offensive linemen with an 84.4 overall grade and was the only offensive lineman with an overall mark above 80.0.

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With the CFL regular season wrapped up, it’s time to take a look at some of the awards that are going to be given out. It’s important to note that these are not predictions of who will win each award, but who we at PFF believe should win.

MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER: QB NATHAN ROURKE, B.C. LIONS

Honourable Mentions: QB Trevor Harris, QB Bo Levi Mitchell, DI Jaylon Hutchings

There have been some years where this award is tough to give out. This season saw very strong performances from players like Harris, Mitchell and even Hutchings on defense. In years past, they could have been enough to win the award. But not this year.

No matter how you slice it, Nathan Rourke should be the 2025 Most Outstanding Player. As a passer, Rourke was one of the best in the league. He threw for 5,290 yards and 31 touchdowns to just 16 interceptions. He had a 90.7 PFF passing grade that led the CFL. His 7.0% big-time throw rate ranked first, and his 3.4% turnover-worthy play rate ranked fourth. Simply put, no quarterback made as many big-time throws while keeping his turnover-worthy plays to a minimum like Rourke did. He did that while maintaining the second-highest average depth of target of 10.7 yards. 

If we were looking at just his passing, Rourke would be a favourite for the award. But Rourke isn’t just a passer. He was just as dangerous with his legs as he was with his arm. Rourke carried the ball 61 times for 567 yards and 10 touchdowns. His 30 missed tackles forced and 19 explosive runs ranked fourth and seventh in the league, respectively. That’s among all players, not just quarterbacks.

Rourke finished with a ridiculous 93.7 PFF rushing grade. The second-highest rushing grade for a quarterback was Davis Alexander at 79.1. He was just that much better than any other quarterback.

Rourke finished the season with a 92.6 overall grade, which was the highest of any player on offense or defense. He was far and away the most outstanding player in the CFL this season, and this award belongs to him.

MOST OUTSTANDING DEFENSIVE PLAYER: DI JAYLON HUTCHINGS, CALGARY STAMPEDERS

Honorable Mentions: EDGE Julian Howsare, LB Tyrice Beverette, EDGE Clarence Hicks, CB Tevaughn Campbell

There were a lot of outstanding defensive performances this season in the CFL. Any of the honourable mentions would be deserving of this award. However, what Hutchings did this year for Calgary puts him at the top of the list.

It’s rare for an interior defender in the CFL to be equally as good at run defense as he is at pass rushing. But that’s exactly what Hutchings did this season. As a run defender, Hutchings recorded 41 total tackles, the second-most among non-linebackers. His 19 run stops were the eight-most in the league. He finished with the fourth-best PFF run-defense grade in the CFL at 86.7.

As a pass rusher, Hutchings recorded eight sacks, eight hits and 40 hurries. His 56 total pressures were the fifth-most in the league, and 13 more than the second-best interior defender. His 86.4 PFF pass-rushing grade ranked sixth in the league.

What’s most impressive is that Hutchings did all of this while being double-teamed at the second-highest rate in the league. Hutchings faced a double- or even triple-team on 59.24% of his snaps. Teams tried their hardest to remove him from the play, and they failed week after week.

In the end, Hutchings finished as the highest-graded defender in the CFL at 90.7 overall. He was the best defensive player in the CFL and deserves to be honoured as such.

MOST OUTSTANDING ROOKIE: RET TREY VAVAL, WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS

Honourable Mentions: CB Robert Carter Jr., HB Jaydon Grant, C Cristopher Fortin, S Derek Slywka

This was a close race, with multiple deserving rookies. Players like Carter, Fortin, Slywka and Grant all slotted into starting roles and were solid players all year. While they had success, none of them had the impact that Vaval created for Winnipeg.

On defense, injuries forced Vaval into a starting role for seven games this season at boundary corner, one of the most difficult positions on defense. Vaval held his own in those starts,earning a 66.8 PFF coverage grade that ranked 20th out of 32 defensive backs with at least 10 targets. He also forced five incompletions, tied for second-most in that span. While none of that is overly impressive, his defensive play isn’t the reason he should win this award.

What Vaval did as a kick returner was outstanding. He led the league with four return touchdowns, and got one in every phase (kick return, punt return, missed field goal return). He also paced the CFL with 47 missed tackles forced on punt returns and averaged a league-high 133.3 return yards per game. Vaval’s impact on special teams helped lead Winnipeg to the playoffs, and he deserves to be named Most Outstanding Rookie.

MOST OUTSTANDING CANADIAN: QB NATHAN ROURKE, B.C. LIONS

Honourable Mentions: EDGE Mathieu Betts, CB Tevaughn Campbell, WR Nic Demski

Since Rourke was our pick for Most Outstanding Player, it’s obvious that he should win Most Outstanding Canadian as well. So instead of talking about him again, we’ll look at three other impressive Canadian players from the 2025 season.

B.C.’s Mathieu Betts finished the year with 13 sacks, the second-most in the league. He also had 13 hits and 44 hurries, while racking up an additional 39 pass-rush wins. His 70 total pressures ranked second in the CFL, and his 90.1 PFF pass-rush grade placed fourth. 

Prior to his injury before Week 15, Saskatchewan CB Tevaughn Campbell was arguably the top corner in the CFL. He generated a league-leading 89.9 PFF coverage grade and had allowed a first down or touchdown on just 23.4% of his targets, one of the top marks in the league. He also led the CFL in interceptions with six, and also forced an additional six pass breakups.

Winnipeg’s Nic Demski missed two games, had to catch passes from multiple different quarterbacks and still managed to finish with a 1,000-yard season. He made 14 contested catches and averaged 2.11 yards per route run, one of the highest figures in the CFL. He ended the season with the third-highest PFF receiving grade in the league at 79.4.

MOST OUTSTANDING OFFENSIVE LINEMAN: RT JERMARCUS HARDRICK, SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS

Honourable Mentions: LT Jarell Broxton, LT Nick Callender, RG Liam Dobson

This award essentially became a two-horse race down the stretch, with Jermarcus Hardrick and Jarell Broxton separating themselves from the pack. While it was a tough decision, Hardrick ultimately did just enough to deserve this award most.

While Broxton had the best pass-blocking season, Hardrick was no slouch himself when it came to protecting his quarterback. On 579 pass-blocking snaps, Hardrick surrendered just 17 total pressures. His 2.9% pressure rate was the second-best among tackles, and his 76.0 PFF pass-blocking grade ranked third in the league.

Hardrick was even more special as a run blocker, anchoring a rushing attack that gained the third-most yards in the CFL. Hardrick was defeated on just 8.2% of his run-blocking snaps and finished with an 85.5 PFF run-blocking grade that led the CFL. Hardrick topped all offensive linemen with an 84.4 overall grade and was the only offensive lineman with an overall mark above 80.0.

JOHN AGRO SPECIAL TEAMS AWARD: PK LIRIM HAJRULLAHU, TORONTO ARGONAUTS

Honourable Mentions: RET Trey Vaval, PK Jose Maltos Diaz, RET Isaiah Wooden

While this award could have easily been won by Vaval after his performance as a returner, what Hajrullahu did for a struggling Argonauts team was special. 

Hajrullahu made the second-most field goals in the CFL this year at 57. That included a league-record 12 field goals of 50-plus yards. He kicked two game winners, and sank another to pull his team to within one score late in the fourth quarter. Hajrullahu played seven games with more than four field goals made, and six contests in which he scored more points than the Argonauts’ offense. 

He finished as the league’s highest-graded kicker at 97.0 overall and was one of the lone bright spots in a tough season for the Argonauts.

ANNIS STUKUS TROPHY (COACH OF THE YEAR): COREY MACE, SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS

Honourable Mentions: Dave Dickenson, Scott Milanovich

While PFF doesn’t grade or analyze coaching decisions, we can still appreciate what Mace has done with Saskatchewan. He has taken a team that struggled mightily in 2022 and 2023 and turned it into the most well-rounded team in the CFL.

The Roughriders’ offense finished this campaign with the fourth-most rushing yards gained and the fourth-most passing yards tallied. The group did that despite several key injuries throughout the season. 

On defense, the Roughriders ranked first in points allowed, second in yards allowed, first in first downs allowed, second in interceptions made, third in fumbles forced and third in sacks. They were the best defense in Canada and had no real weaknesses. 

While not all of that is on the coaching, some of the credit has to go to Mace for what he’s done in helping develop his team and lead the group to the top record in the CFL this season.Â