[IMPORTANT: Make this 4 times longer with much more detail]
Pat Steinberg CFL.ca @Fan960Steinberg The 2025 CFL Combine is now behind us. The 2025 CFL Draft is just over a month away. And we’re about six weeks from the start of training camps across the league. Yep, the dog days of the off-season are almost over! RELATED » 1 under the radar Canadian on every CFL team » 3 high-impact Canadian players from every CFL team » 5 comeback stories waiting to be written in 2025 » Subscribe to the CFL’s official YouTube channel » Subscribe to the CFL’s newsletter for exclusive offers and league updates And as the countdown to a new season really begins, it’s time to bring back our MMQB Positional Rankings for a second year. Over the next number of weeks, and not always in the exact same format, we’ll go through our top players at each position to help get you primed for the 2025 campaign. And we’re starting with one of the highest profile positions in the sport: defensive end. 1. FOLARIN ORIMOLADE | CALGARY STAMPEDERS Folarin Orimolade tracks down Maier and strips the ball! 👀 #CFLGameDay : LIVE on TSN 📲: Stream on CFL+ pic.twitter.com/DDqR0Duoui — CFL (@CFL) August 10, 2024 One of the biggest acquisitions of the off-season gets top honours as the Stamps brought in Orimolade from Toronto in exchange for linebacker Cameron Judge in January. Now back where his CFL career began in 2018, Orimolade will be a focal point in a Calgary defence looking for a big bounce back after missing the playoffs last season. In two seasons and 29 appearances with the Argos, Orimolade recorded 16 sacks, 53 defensive tackles three forced fumbles, and one interception. Last year also saw the 29-year-old Orimolade finish second in Pro Football Focus’s player grades for edge defenders. With his combination of speed and power, Orimolade looks poised for another outstanding season in his return to the red and white. 2. MALIK CARNEY | SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS THAT’S A DEFENSIVE LINEMAN IN COVERAGE! Malik Carney makes the play for @sskroughriders ! #GCPlayoffs on TSN & RDS 📱: Stream on CFL+ pic.twitter.com/zijzIjn8M8 — CFL (@CFL) November 10, 2024 As part of Saskatchewan’s resurgent 2024, Carney established himself as one of the most feared edge rushers in the league. Ranked as the top outside defensive lineman by PFF, Carney recorded four sacks, one forced fumble, and 26 defensive tackles in 13 games as part of his first season with the Roughriders. It was a no-brainer for Sask to sign Carney back for another season, which is exactly what they did in mid-January. A menace to opposing offensive linemen and quarterbacks, Carney also excels in run defence and is perhaps better than anyone at his position in that regard. After three solid seasons with Hamilton, it felt like Carney truly arrived last year and will now be a crucial part of a Riders’ defence with legitimate Grey Cup aspirations. 3. WILLIE JEFFERSON | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS CAN’T STOP BIG WILLIE 🙌 Willie Jefferson grabs that ball and gets his offence back on the field. #GreyCup LIVE on TSN, CTV, RDS & CBSSN 📱: Stream on CFL+ pic.twitter.com/SJvU6tE6gy — CFL (@CFL) November 18, 2024 Goodness was the margin between these three players razor thin, as was the gap from Jefferson to our honourable mentions below. That said, Jefferson’s stunning level of high-end consistency over the last decade means I just can’t leave him off a list of the CFL’s best defensive ends. Back for a sixth season with the Bombers, Jefferson is coming off a 2024 campaign that saw him record 25 defensive tackles, six sacks, and one forced fumble in 18 appearances. And perhaps putting him over the top were Jefferson’s ten pass knockdowns last season; he was one of just seven players to register double digits in the category and the only defensive lineman. Honourable mentions: Laurenzo Mauldin IV, Ottawa REDBLACKS. Bryce Carter, Ottawa REDBLACKS. ALL EYES ON APRIL I encourage you to go check out our comprehensive coverage of the 2025 CFL Combine, which wrapped up Sunday in Regina after three productive days. Now we get to see how these CFL Combine performances impact the CFL Scouting Bureau’s final rankings, which are due sometime next month. Then it’s the 2025 CFL Draft on April 29th. And after the CFL Combine, there are a few players I’m interested in tracking heading into the final rankings and draft weekend. University of Calgary defensive back Nate Beauchemin is undoubtedly one of them. Slotted 19th in January’s rankings, Beauchemin scored strong in almost all of Friday’s testing categories while landing as a day one Coaches’ Pick by the assembled combine coaching staff. Furthermore, our Marshall Ferguson highlighted Beauchemin as a standout from Saturday’s practice session. Named U SPORTS National Defensive Player of the Year in 2024, Beauchemin recorded 39 tackles, four interceptions, and one forced fumble in eight appearances last season. And it was hard not to notice the work of University of Ottawa defensive back Eric Cumberbatch. Not listed in the Scouting Bureau’s January rankings, Cumberbatch was a testing standout as he tied for third in the 40-yard dash (4.51), was second in the vertical jump (39 inches), and first in the broad jump (11’ 2 3/8”). Let’s see if those eye-popping measurables put him more on the radar heading into next month. Get all the top stories from across the league delivered to your inbox.
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