{"id":681377,"date":"2026-05-20T07:05:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T07:05:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/681377\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T07:05:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T07:05:13","slug":"3downnation-cfl-power-rankings-how-teams-stack-up-entering-full-preseason-slate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/681377\/","title":{"rendered":"3DownNation CFL power rankings: how teams stack up entering full preseason slate"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPhoto courtesy: Matt Smith\/CFL.<\/p>\n

With the CFL set to enter its first full slate of preseason games this weekend, it\u2019s time to take stock of where they stand after a long offseason.<\/p>\n

We haven\u2019t published any power rankings since January \u2014 before free agency, the draft, and a slew of retirements. It only seems right to review how the league\u2019s nine teams stack up prior to the preseason.<\/p>\n

3DownNation\u2019s power rankings are created by having our contributors rank each team from No. 1 to No. 9 independently, then averaging out the scores. Each team\u2019s most recent ranking is listed in brackets.<\/p>\n

Enjoy the rankings and\u00a0feel free to roast us on social media\u00a0for anything you think we got wrong.<\/p>\n

1) Saskatchewan Roughriders (1)<\/p>\n

The defending Grey Cup champions are still atop the pyramid after keeping most of their roster intact from last year\u2019s title run. Despite a tight loss to Calgary in their preseason opener<\/a>, Saskatchewan got an encouraging performance from quarterback Brayden Schager, who joined the team late last year and remains only 22. The Riders will need a few newcomers to step up along the defensive line, but otherwise appear poised to pace the West Division again in 2026.<\/p>\n

2) B.C. Lions (3)<\/p>\n

Having the league\u2019s best player at the game\u2019s most important position is a major asset, which is exactly what the Lions have in franchise quarterback Nathan Rourke. Kory Woodruff appears primed to take over at left tackle for free-agent departure Jarell Broxton<\/a> and the rest of the offence seems set. Darnell Sankey should upgrade an already strong front-six on defence<\/a>, though there are questions about the aging secondary behind him.<\/p>\n

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Photo: Reuben Polansky\/3DownNation. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

3) Montreal Alouettes (2)<\/p>\n

Montreal went 9-1 with Davis Alexander in the starting lineup in 2025, a remarkable feat considering he fought through a hamstring injury all season long. Now fully healthy<\/a>, he\u2019ll look to lead the Alouettes to a first-place finish with a new-look receiving corps that lost Austin Mack and Charleston Rambo. Geoffrey Cantin-Arku is set to start at linebacker after two highly-productive seasons as a depth player, though Micah Awe has been signed to provide some veteran guidance.<\/p>\n

4) Hamilton Tiger-Cats (4)<\/p>\n

The Tiger-Cats have a hole at running back, where head coach Scott Milanovich recently emphasized the importance of pass protection<\/a> over pure running ability. The rest of the offence is chock-full of proven talent, however, including franchise quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell and star receiver Kenny Lawler. Defensively, the NFL departure of Devin Veresuk<\/a> at linebacker was mitigated by the addition of two-time All-CFL selection Wynton McManis.<\/p>\n

5) Calgary Stampeders (5)<\/p>\n

The league\u2019s best running game remained almost entirely intact this offseason and should be productive again in 2026. Clarence Hicks was a breakout edge rusher last season, though the Stampeders lost two top defenders to the NFL in Jaylon Hutchings and Jacob Roberts. With that said, the biggest concern in Calgary is arguably the depth behind Vernon Adams Jr. as projected backup Josh Love looked shaky in early preseason action against Saskatchewan.<\/p>\n

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Photo courtesy: Winnipeg Blue Bombers\/CFL<\/p>\n

6) Winnipeg Blue Bombers (6)<\/p>\n

Our voters weren\u2019t moved by Winnipeg\u2019s slew of big-name free-agent signings, which included Tim White, Tommy Nield, Jarell Broxton, Jake Ceresna, and Jonathan Moxey. Four of those five players are over 30, which is likely part of the skepticism given the team\u2019s roster was relatively old to begin with. If the Blue Bombers can get one of their young quarterbacks to step up behind Zach Collaros<\/a>, that may boost the faith doubters have in this team.<\/p>\n

7) Edmonton Elks (7)<\/p>\n

The Elks added Austin Mack, Malik Carney, and three starting offensive linemen in free agency, but that hasn\u2019t moved them up a single spot. The team\u2019s secondary is full of rising talent, while Noah Curtis and Darien Newell could be the best Canadian duo of interior defenders in the league<\/a>. Given the team has started slow the last few seasons, it appears our voters aren\u2019t willing to trust the Elks until they prove they can start off strong.<\/p>\n

8) Ottawa Redblacks (8)<\/p>\n

The nation\u2019s capital was home to the CFL\u2019s worst team in 2025, leading to the hiring of Ryan Dinwiddie as head coach and general manager<\/a> and a roster-wide overhaul that saw the addition of over a dozen veteran players. There are reasons for optimism in Ottawa \u2014 the receiving corps is excellent on paper and A.J. Allen is one of the league\u2019s best ratio-breaking defenders \u2014 but it\u2019s hard to trust a team that has missed the playoffs in five of the last six seasons.<\/p>\n

9) Toronto Argonauts (9)<\/p>\n

Chad Kelly was the CFL\u2019s Most Outstanding Player the last time he played a full season but he hasn\u2019t done it since 2023. It appears he\u2019s now fully healthy<\/a>, though he\u2019ll have to prove he can get back to All-CFL level. The addition of Dakoda Shepley should help his protection, while Damonte Coxie has solidified himself as one of the league\u2019s best receivers. The return of Adarius Pickett should provide a boost on defence, while Lirim Hajrullahu remains an elite kicker.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo courtesy: Matt Smith\/CFL. With the CFL set to enter its first full slate of preseason games this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":681378,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[437],"tags":[166835,166836,11137,49,943,48,521,522,520,13264,15655,941,14967,40714,24854,19731,4400,82,15656,7504],"class_list":["post-681377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cfl","tag-3down","tag-3downnation","tag-b-c-lions","tag-ca","tag-calgary-stampeders","tag-canada","tag-canadian-football-league","tag-canadianfootballleague","tag-cfl","tag-edmonton-elks","tag-hamilton-tiger-cats","tag-montreal-alouettes","tag-ottawa-redblacks","tag-power","tag-power-rankings","tag-rankings","tag-saskatchewan-roughriders","tag-sports","tag-toronto-argonauts","tag-winnipeg-blue-bombers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=681377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/681377\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/681378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=681377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=681377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=681377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}