Hot starts abound in the CFL in 2026, with headline-grabbers like Montreal receiver Tyson Philpot, Edmonton running back Justin Rankin and, you know, almost every quarterback in the league popping on the stats sheet and game film.
Outside of guys named Philpot and Rankin and Trevor Harris and Nathan Rourke, etc… here are seven players that have caught my eye as they get off to All-CFL starts in 2026.
And you know what? Yeah. I’m gonna start with kickers and an offensive lineman, dammit.
JUDE MCATAMNEY | KICKER | CALGARY STAMPEDERS
Kicker Jude McAtamney has converted 24 of his 25 kick attempts (including converts) in 2026 (Will Thompson/CFL.ca)
A first round pick (sixth overall) in this year’s CFL Global Draft, the 26-year-old from Derry, Northern Ireland was probably expecting to get most of his hoofing done in practice in 2026.
But with veteran René Paredes on the injured list to start the season, Jude McAtamney got the nod in Calgary and he has been class ever since.
His field goal numbers (five-for-six) are humble, but he is currently the man who’s kicked the longest field goal of the season, so far, at 57 yards.
It’s not McAtamney’s fault that the Stampeders keep scoring touchdowns instead of settling for field goal attempts. When you look at his convert numbers McAtamney is 20/20 and that is far, far ahead of anyone else in the CFL.
McAtamney has not missed from inside the 40 when you combine converts and field goals, going 24/24.
Oh, and he’s averaging 68.1 yards per kickoff, too, landing him fourth in the CFL but second among those with at least 20 kick offs (shout out to Montreal’s José Maltos Díaz, at 69.2).
JOHN HAGGERTY | PUNTER | TORONTO ARGONAUTS
Toronto Argonauts punter John Haggerty leads the CFL with a 53.2-yard punting average through the first month of the 2026 season (Arthur Ward/CFL.ca)
John Haggerty leads the CFL with a whopping 53.2 yard punting average, putting him in the same area code as the single season record of 54.0, set by Edmonton’s Jake Julien in 2024.
Haggerty already holds the third and fourth spots on the all-time single season record list, with identical averages of 50.3 in both 2024 and 2025.
Last week, in Calgary, the 31-year-old Australian came away with a 64.6 yard game average on five punts.
Haggerty’s net average per punt stands at 42 yards through four games, almost five full yards better than the league average, and he’s tied for the lead with three punts pinned inside the 10-yard line. That says a little something about the Argos’ punt cover unit as well.
NICK CALLENDER | OFFESIVE LINEMAN | MONTREAL ALOUETTES
Montreal Alouettes offensive lineman Nick Callender has been one of the CFL’s highest-graded pass protectors this season, according to PFF (Minas Panagiotakis/CFL.ca)
Montreal’s outstanding left tackle Nick Callender has never been named an All-CFL starter, and that just doesn’t quite seem right.
The 32-year-old was named an East Division All-CFL team member three times in his first five seasons (2023, ’24 and ’25), and here in his sixth, he’s on track to go league-wide.
Callender is currently tied for second in pass protection in 2026, according to PFF (Pro Football Focus) rankings.
The native of Berkeley, California is grading out at 80.7 on 165 pass protection snaps, tied with Winnipeg’s Jarell Broxton (a 2025 All-CFL tackle), who has the same grade on 25 fewer snaps.
The top-graded pass protector in 2026? Montreal sophomore right tackle Tiger Shanks (81.0 on 165 pass protection snaps) who I admit is unjustly penalized by me for being younger and a right tackle instead of a left in my choosing of a player to highlight here.
Come to think of it, Montreal guard Pier-Olivier Lestage (77.2 on 165 snaps) is top-five as well, so maybe it’s All-CFL for the lot of them.
Honourable mention to Toronto offensive lineman Peter Nicastro, who is fourth in the CFL at 77.8 on 179 snaps.
MARCUS SAYLES | CORNERBACK | SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS
SAYLES WITH THE HIT STICK! 💥
Catch the end of the 1st half on CFL+
🗓️: Bombers vs Riders LIVE NOW
📺: Stream on CFL+#CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/KO7pFSsHRi— CFL (@CFL) May 24, 2026
He’s been there before and so far in 2026, Saskatchewan corner Marcus Sayles is charting a course for a return to All-CFL status.
After getting a league wide nod in 2022 (at halfback) and 2024 (at corner), Sayles was kept off the board in 2025, with division honours going to his teammate Tevaughn Campbell and Calgary’s Adrian Greene.
Sayles is having another banger of a season so far in 2026, among the leaders in knockdowns with four, and while he hasn’t shown up on the turnover sheet yet, he is in the elite when it comes to a couple of defensive back grades kept by PFF.
The 31-year-old from New York City has held opposing quarterbacks to a 50 per cent completion rate (minimum 100 snaps, minimum 10 targets, excluding penalties), meaning he leads the league along with Winnipeg’s Major Williams.
In overall coverage grading (minimum 100 snaps), PFF has Sayles in second among defensive backs at 78.4, back of Montreal halfback Robert Kennedy III (83.7).
MAJOR WILLIAMS | CORNERBACK | WINNIPEG BLUE BOMBERS
Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive back Major Williams has emerged as one of the CFL’s top cover corners through the opening weeks of the 2026 campaign (Andrew Mahon/CFL.ca)
Funny thing. In crunching numbers while looking at Marcus Sayles’ start to the season, the first-year Winnipeg corner jumped out as well.
Beyond Major Williams’ efforts against Hamilton on Sunday, where he seemed constantly targeted by the Ticats (Williams had three knockdowns in the game as well as a critical, fourth quarter interception), the 24-year-old from Florida pops when looking at PFF numbers.
In adjusting the numbers upward in the ‘targets’ category, Williams keeps hanging around with that 50 per cent opponent completion rate, at the head of the class.
15 targets? He’s the sole leader with that 50 per cent mark.
25 targets minimum? He’s still there, the league leader.
Williams is second in the CFL in knockdowns with five, trailing Toronto rookie James Ceasar by one.
CLARENCE HICKS | DEFENSIVE LINEMAN | CALGARY STAMPEDERS
Hicks with his second sack of the game! 🔥
Tune in to catch the remainder of the 4th quarter.
🗓️: Riders vs. Stamps LIVE NOW
📺: TSN, CBSSN and CFL+#CFLGameDay pic.twitter.com/c8rfCUUchp— CFL (@CFL) June 21, 2026
After a 12-sack season in 2025, the third-year veteran is at it again for the Stampeders, among the league leaders with three of them — he’d have four but had one wiped out by a teammate’s penalty in Week 4.
Just four tackles on his stats sheet, so far, and so you might argue that there are more deserving candidates here.
But according to PFF, Clarence Hicks leads the CFL in quarterback pressures, with 23, and only Winnipeg’s Willie Jefferson is close with 21.
Hicks has a forced fumble on his 2026 resume too.
KALIL PIMPLETON | RECEIVER/RETURNER | OTTAWA REDBLACKS
The CFL’s leader in combined yards, Kalil Pimpleton has done it on punt and kick returns as well as chipping in on offence.
The 27-year-old veteran leads the league with an astounding average of 32.2 yards per kick return (515 total), with one of his 16 going 92 yards for a touchdown.
Pimpleton stands fifth in punt return yards with 210 and he has pulled in 143 more yards on receptions, bringing his combined yards total to 868.
His average of 217 combined yards per game charts a course for a total of 3,906 for the season.
That would be a single season record, besting the 3,863 yards gathered by Toronto’s Chad Owens in 2012.
