Saskatchewan Roughriders’ DB Jayden Dalke named CFL’s top performer for Week 7 by PFF

July 25, 2023

Saskatchewan Roughriders’ defensive back Jayden Dalke has been named the CFL’s top performer for Week 7 by Pro Football Focus (PFF) with a special teams grade of 91.8.

The native of Leduc, Alta. recorded one defensive tackle in his team’s 19-9 loss to the B.C. Lions. He also forced a fumble on a B.C. punt return, which was recovered by fellow defensive back C.J. Reavis and led to a field goal from Brett Lauther.

Winnipeg Blue Bombers’ quarterback Zach Collaros was named the top offensive player with a grade of 84.6. He completed 20-of-24 pass attempts for 308 yards and two touchdowns in his team’s 28-14 victory over the Edmonton Elks. His completion percentage (83.3 percent) set a new season-high, while his 70-yard touchdown pass to Nic Demski was his longest completion of the season.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ defensive back Richard Leonard was named the top defensive player after making three defensive tackles and two pass knockdowns over 52 snaps in his team’s 31-15 loss to the Toronto Argonauts. The veteran cover man earned a grade of 86.1.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers had the highest-graded offensive line from Week 7 with a group grade of 79.8. Right guard Patrick Neufeld was the top individual performer (72.2) followed by centre Chris Kolankowski (70.8) and left guard Liam Dobson (68.9).

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 unveils 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 were as follows for Week 7.