Bombers’ OL Jermarcus Hardrick CFL’s highest-graded offensive player in Week 1 by Pro Football Focus

June 13, 2023

Jermarcus Hardrick and Ciante Evans have been recognized as the highest-graded offensive and defensive players in the CFL by Pro Football Focus (PFF) following Week 1.

Hardrick, Winnipeg’s starting right tackle, received a grade of 84.5 following his team’s 42-31 victory over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats during which he worked primarily against edge-rusher Ja’Gared Davis. The Blue Bombers generated 471 yards of net offence over 63 plays (an average of 7.5 yards apiece), including 354 passing yards and 145 rushing yards. The Ticats recorded only one sack in the game.

Evans, Montreal’s field-side halfback, had a monstrous performance in his team’s 19-12 victory over the Ottawa Redblacks. The veteran cover man recorded two tackles, one tackle for loss, two interceptions, and one pass knockdown to earn a grade of 85.7.

The CFL partnered with PFF for the first time ahead of the 2023 season. The company reviews game footage to break down every player on every play to grade their performances on a scale from zero to 100.

The league will unveil the top-graded players each week. Offensive and defensive players must play a minimum of 25 snaps to be eligible and special teams players must play 10. Ties will be broken by the number of snaps played.

The top graded players at each position are as follows.