Argonauts’ DB Royce Metchie named CFL’s highest-graded player in Week 3 by Pro Football Focus

Photo: Matt Johnson/3DownNation. All rights reserved.

Toronto Argonauts’ safety Royce Metchie was the CFL’s highest-graded player by Pro Football Focus (PFF) following Week 3 action across the league.

The 26-year-old Canadian received a grade of 92.5, the highest grade any player has received thus far in 2023. Metchie was credited with a team-leading seven defensive tackles in a 43-31 win over the Edmonton Elks, while also returning an interception 15 yards for a touchdown to secure the victory.

Montreal Alouettes’ quarterback Cody Fajardo was the highest-graded offensive player in the league, earning a mark of 90.3. He completed 19-of-25 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns, while four times for 11 yards and another score.

The CFL partnered with PFF for the first time ahead of the 2023 season. The American company uses game footage to review every player on the field and grades their individual performances on a scale from zero to 100.

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

The top-graded players from each position are as follows for Week 3.

  • QB | Cody Fajardo | Montreal Alouettes | 90.3
  • RB | A.J. Ouellette | Toronto Argonauts | 81.1
  • REC | Kaion Julien-Grant | Montreal Alouettes | 75.4
  • OL | Dylan Giffen | Toronto Argonauts | 83.5
  • DL | Dewayne Hendrix | Toronto Argonauts | 84.3
  • LB | Adarius Pickett | Toronto Argonauts | 82.0
  • DB | Royce Metchie | Toronto Argonauts | 92.5
  • K/P | René Paredes | Calgary Stampeders | 84.7
  • ST | Charlie Moore | Calgary Stampeders | 90.7

The top five graded performances from the 2023 season thus far are as follows.

  1. 92.5 | Week 3 | DB | Royce Metchie | Toronto Argonauts
  2. 90.8 | Week 1 | QB | Zach Collaros | Winnipeg Blue Bombers
  3. 90.6 | Week 2 | DL | Julian Howsare | Calgary Stampeders
  4. 90.3 | Week 3 | QB | Cody Fajardo | Montreal Alouettes
  5. 90.3 | Week 3 | DB | Loucheiz Purifoy | Edmonton Elks
Photo courtesy: CFL