Edmonton Elks’ RB Justin Rankin named CFL’s top performer for Week 14 by PFF

Photo courtesy: Edmonton Elks

Edmonton Elks’ running back Justin Rankin has been named the CFL’s top performer for Week 14, according to Pro Football Focus (PFF).

The 28-year-old native of Oberlin, Ohio rushed 16 times for a season-high 204 yards and two touchdowns in a 31-19 win over the Calgary Stampeders. The Stampeders entered the game with the CFL’s fourth-ranked rush defence, allowing 4.8 yards per attempt.

Rankin has now rushed for 688 yards, caught 43 passes for 533 yards, and scored eight touchdowns through 12 games this season. He is the first running back to earn this honour from PFF in the 2025 season.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats’ defensive lineman Julian Howsare was the highest-graded defensive player of the week, earning a grade of 87.7. The veteran recorded four defensive tackles, two sacks, one forced fumble, and one pass knockdown in his team’s 26-9 win over the Montreal Alouettes.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders had the highest-graded offensive line in the CFL this past week with a group grade of 74.6. Right tackle Jermarcus Hardrick was the top-graded individual (75.2) followed by left tackle Payton Collins (69.7) and centre Logan Ferland (66.6).

The CFL partnered with PFF for the first time ahead of the 2023 season. The 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 14.

• QB | Cody Fajardo | Edmonton | 86.7
• RB | Justin Rankin | Edmonton | 92.6
• REC | Justin McInnis | BC | 77.0
• OL | Cyrille Hogan-Saindon | Montreal | 81.3
• DL | Julian Howsare | Hamilton | 87.7
• LB | Jovan Santos-Knox | Ottawa | 77.1
• DB | DaShaun Amos | Hamilton | 80.6
• RET | Seven McGee | BC | 80.2
• K/P | Mark Vassett | Calgary | 82.5
• ST | Kordell Jackson | Edmonton | 90.4

Below are the top-graded offensive and defensive performances of the season, dating back to Week 1.

1. 99.3 | W9 | DL | Willie Jefferson | Winnipeg
2. 93.9 | W11 | QB | Nathan Rourke | B.C.
3. 93.0 | W7 | QB | Trevor Harris | Saskatchewan
4. 92.6 | W7 | DB | Destin Talbert | Hamilton
5. 92.6 | W14 | RB | Justin Rankin | Edmonton
6. 91.6 | W13 | DL | Malik Carney | Saskatchewan
7. 91.6 | W3 | QB | Davis Alexander | Montreal
8. 91.5 | W10 | QB | Vernon Adams Jr. | Calgary
9. 91.0 | W5 | DL | Julian Howsare | Hamilton
10. 90.9 | W6 | DB | Jamal Peters | Hamilton