OUT OF THE TUNNEL: 2020 CFL QB RANKINGS
BY: RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF
And we come to the end of yet another tough week to be a football fan. The CFL is still stuck in the mud, the Canadian Junior Football League (which includes the PFC) officially cancelled their season and this weekend NCAA FBS conferences began to postpone their fall sports schedule beginning with the Mid-American Conference (MAC). This included schools like Kent State, Bowling Green and Central Michigan.
Yes, this is one of the smaller (group of five) conferences but it’s the first step in seeing the stoppage of college football in 2020.
All we have left to hope for is the NFL which are deep into training camps.
The bright part of the football week was watching Vernon Adams Jr. on The Rod Pederson Show. He was dynamic, fun and honest and in 10 years when his football career is done he can proceed directly (if he wants) to the broadcast booth.
Adams was on the show to discuss the CFL but he also broke down his top 10 quarterbacks. It was great to see a current quarterback’s perspective on who really is a great quarterback in the CFL. Especially coming from Adams, who has been around the league for awhile and finally got his shot at being a starter and was incredible.
Rod also added his top ten and it reminded us here at Out of the Tunnel that we still haven’t done our post-2019 top-20 list. With the pandemic and all of the football news flying around it slipped our minds. Sorry!
We did our first list after the 2017 season and this will be our third edition and other than a few names there has been a lot of change. On the list in brackets will be the pre-2019 ranking and then a quick rundown.
What caught our eye at first glance is the great group of 30-and-unders on the list. Names like Adams, Cody Fajardo, Dane Evans, Nick Arbuckle and even Bo Levi Mitchell who just turned 30. We used Bo as a thrown in because it feels like he’s been around so long that he should be in his mid-to-late 30’s.
Every team has either a great or very good quarterback on their roster and there are a solid handful of backups as well.
This is a good thing in an 18-game schedule. Not a single pivot played all 18 games in 2019 with Cody Fajardo coming close, playing in all but the final regular season game.
What is also great about the current crop of arms in the CFL is that there is always something to cheer for, or love, about each of them. Once the CFL gets back on the field in 2020 or more than likely 2021 we can’t wait to see them all in action.
Here is the 3rd annual Out of the Tunnel Top-20.
1. (1) Bo Levi Mitchell – Calgary Stampeders
The 2019 season was one to forget for the king of CFL quarterbacks. He missed time because of injury for the first time since becoming a fulltime starter in 2014. In football it’s only a matter of time before the injury demon hits you. Between that, add in injuries across the Stampeders offence, a loss of weapons and BLM had a lot to overcome in 2019. One little hiccup over an already Hall of Fame career doesn’t sway us from leaving the pride of Katy, Texas in the number one spot.
2. (3) Trevor Harris – Edmonton
We are on the same track as Adams with Harris as our number two quarterback in the CFL. He has slowly climbed the quarterback lists since becoming a starting pivot in Toronto in 2015. Harris would have easily surpassed the 5,000-yard mark in 2019 if it wasn’t, and this will be a theme, for the injury on September 7th. He was always a great game manager and has always kept interceptions down to a minimum. He is starting to get up there in age (34) but he still has a few years left in him with the way he plays.
3. (2) Mike Reilly – B.C. Lions
Nothing really changes with our top three over a season of football but with the young guns breathing down Mitchell’s, Harris’ and Reilly’s necks, this is soon to change. Reilly was having a solid season on a woeful Lions club in 2019. He had the absolute crap beat out of his 35-year-old body. The Lions led the CFL in sacks given up with a whopping 58 times. When the CFL returns in 2021 he will be 36-years-old but still the league’s residing gunslinger and we are confident he will still be able to get it done. Let’s hope the Lions protect one of
the league all-time best quarterbacks.
T4. (NR) Vernon Adams Jr – Montreal Alouettes
T4. (18) Cody Fajardo – Saskatchewan Roughriders
Two of the biggest jumpers will be tied at the hip for a stretch. Adams and Fajardo both had incredible breakout seasons in 2019. It’s tough to pick which one had the more incredible 2019 so we copped out and put them both in the number four spot.
Adams finally got his shot at being a fulltime starter with the Alouettes in 2019 and he used his arm and legs to push his club back into the playoff discussion in the East Division. The former Oregon Duck and Eastern Washington Eagle took his opportunity and was a top-five passer, rolled up another 394 yards rushing and threw in some incredible leadership at such a young age.
It’s almost a carbon copy for Fajardo.
He bounced around the CFL as predominantly a third down quarterback but when he won the job in Saskatchewan in 2019 he led the Roughriders to a game away from a Grey Cup appearance. If it wasn’t for a late-season injury he would have had the Green and White in the big game. He keeps interceptions to a minimum, extends play and with Jason Maas coming on board as the Riders offensive coordinator the sky’s the limit.
Our heart gushes in the hopes of a Montreal and Saskatchewan Grey Cup again with these two players leading the way.
6. (4) Jeremiah Masoli – Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Another quarterback who, like Bo Levi Mitchell, was on an incredible healthy string before succumbing to a season ending injury in 2019. Masoli is the prototypical CFL quarterback which is now the prototype for all quarterbacks. He can move the sticks with both his arm and his legs. He will replace Reilly as the CFL’s resident gunslinger once the Lions quarterback steps away from the game. Because of this Masoli is prone to throwing a game-breaking interception along with making the game-changing big play.
7. (19) Dane Evans – Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The 26-year-old former Tulsa Hurricane quarterback got his chance to finally guide a CFL offence with the unfortunate injury to Masoli. Evans put together an incredible 2019 season throwing for almost 4,000-yards in just 13 games. Once he cuts down on the interceptions, which an inexperienced CFL quarterback is prone to do, he will be a top-five pivot. Evans is incredibly efficient completing 72% of his passes at over nine yards per attempt. With his stellar play and how solid Masoli has been over the past five seasons, the Ticats would have had the best quarterback battle in training camp and well into this season. Hamilton is in a fantastic position in regards to its quarterbacks.
8. (5) Matt Nichols – Toronto Argonauts
Before joining the Toronto Argonauts Nichols was well on his way to leading the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to the top of the CFL mountain but injuries over the past two seasons have really hampered his career. 2019 was going to be a season to remember personally and team-wise for Nichols but he had to watch as Zach Collaros and the now departed Chris Streveler led Winnipeg to their first title in almost 30 years. When healthy, Nichols is a top-five CFL quarterback and is a great leader on and off the field. All we want to see is what Nichols can do in a full 18 game season and playoffs with Toronto.
9. (NR) Nick Arbuckle – Ottawa Redblacks
Like Evans, Arbuckle got his chance to shine with an injury to a great quarterback. Once Bo Levi Mitchell went down with an injury, Arbuckle stepped up and proved that he can be a solid CFL starter including a 37-10 thumping of the Roughriders at Mosaic Stadium on July 6, 2019. His solid play with limited mistakes turned into a free agent deal with the Redblacks to be their starter when the CFL returns to the field.
10. (6) Zach Collaros – Winnipeg Blue Bombers
The most unlikely story of 2019 was Zach Collaros rising from the ashes and leading Winnipeg on an incredible four game stretch (last regular season game and three playoff games) to the Grey Cup title. Collaros showed stretches of brilliance with Hamilton before becoming very pedestrian in Saskatchewan. That may be more a product of the offence than Collaros but his four game stretch at the end of 2019 showed what Collaros could be as a quarterback. The 31-year-old has the reins with the Blue Bombers and he will have to be very good and stay healthy because there isn’t much behind him now in Winnipeg.
11. (13) McLeod Bethel-Thompson – Toronto Argonauts
McLeod Bethel-Thompson wasn’t the starter for the Argonauts to begin the 2019 season as that was won by James Franklin. Franklin stumbled and Bethel-Thompson took over and showed flashes of great play. There were times where he was great with a pair of 400+ yard passing games but there were also times where the Argos offence stalled as well. It was going to be another great training camp battle to watch between him and the newly signed Matt Nichols.
The best of the rest:
12. (NR) Logan Kilgore – Edmonton
13. (NR) Isaac Harker – Saskatchewan Roughriders
14. (12) James Franklin – Saskatchewan Roughriders
15. (17) Dominique Davis – Ottawa Redblacks
16. (NR) Montell Cozart – Calgary Stampeders
17. (NR) Matthew Shilz – Montreal Alouettes
18. (NR) Dakota Prukop – Calgary Stampeders
19. (16) Antonio Pipkin – Edmonton
20. (NR) Hayden Moore – Hamilton Tiger-Cats
There are a lot of other young arms dotted across CFL rosters and we yearn to talk about them again when the league returns to stadiums across Canada.
Stay healthy everyone and we’ll chat again next week.
(RODPEDERSEN.COM STAFF/PHOTO: STAMPEDERS.COM)
