MMQB: 5 biggest impressions from Week 1

Week 1 is in the books and it gave us three outstanding games to sink our teeth into.

Football is officially back and because I’m still buzzing from the first three regular season games of 2026, I figured I’d just blurt out a bunch of different observations to kick off this week’s article.

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So, after a pair of walk-off finishes and some standout individual performances, here they are in no particular order.

• One of head coach Mark Kilam’s off-season goals was to avoid an uphill climb due to a slow start. As such, it was great to see Edmonton start the year on a winning note as they look to return to the playoffs for the first time in six seasons. Led by Justin Rankin’s 196 offensive yards, the Elks looked solid with the ball, while the names you’d expect came to play on defence including Nick Anderson, Malik Carney, and Joel Dublanko.

• Welcome to Winnipeg, Jake Ceresna. One of the biggest free agent signings of the winter made his presence felt in a big way Friday night. Ceresna finished his Bombers debut with three sacks and five defensive tackles while forming quite the duo with Willie Jefferson. We all know how disruptive Ceresna can be, which could be a huge boost for a Winnipeg line that didn’t apply as much pressure as they’d have liked last year.

• Davis Alexander is a gamer. And it’s not like that’s a surprise, but he underlined it again as the Alouettes got the season going with a 30-27 overtime win in Hamilton. I love watching Alexander hang tough in the pocket as much as I enjoy seeing him extend plays with his deceiving footspeed. And when it was all said and done, Alexander put together Week 1’s best quarterback performance with 336 yards, two touchdowns, and a sparkling 113.5 rating.

• The Stampeders didn’t hassle Zach Collaros as much as they’d like in their 30-28 loss to Winnipeg, but help is on the way. With Folarin Orimolade and Jaylon Hutchings likely to play in Week 3 (Calgary has a bye this week), this defensive line is poised to be one of the league’s best. As it was, Clarence Hicks picked up his first sack of the season and should be that much more impactful once Hutchings and Orimolade are ready to go.

• The entire league knows Hamilton’s bread and butter is their passing game. And even with that in mind, it’s still fun to watch them do their thing. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell yet again went over 300 yards in Thursday’s loss to Montreal and spread the ball around impressively. All of Kiondré Smith, Kenny Lawler, Keric Wheatfall, and Kurleigh Gittens Jr. were targeted at least six times by Mitchell.

TAKING OFFENCE

We’re down to just two groupings as our 2026 MMQB positional rankings are almost complete. After filling out defensive end and defensive tackle last week, you can see where things stand below.

This week we’re focusing on the offensive line, with some really difficult decisions and extremely small gaps.

LEFT TACKLE

NICK CALLENDER | MONTREAL ALOUETTES

Only one team allowed fewer sacks than Montreal’s 26 last season (BC allowed 20), and Nick Callender was one of the biggest reasons why. Now in his sixth season with Montreal, Callender has been named to the East Division All-CFL team for three years running. Combining power with impressive movement, Callender was also ranked the league’s number two left tackle in 2025 by our friends at Pro Football Focus.

2. Stanley Bryant | Winnipeg Blue Bombers
3. Payton Collins | Saskatchewan Roughriders

RIGHT TACKLE

JERMARCUS HARDRICK | SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS

Jermarcus Hardrick capped a dominant 2025 season with a Grey Cup title and Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman honours (Matt Smith/CFL.ca)

This one was almost too close to call. With Jarell Broxton moving to right tackle in Winnipeg and a healthy Dejon Allen in BC, this position is one of the league’s most stacked. But it’s hard to overlook all that Jermarcus Hardrick accomplished last year. If a Grey Cup, a Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman award, and a number one PFF ranking among all CFL offensive lineman doesn’t break a tie, I’m not sure what does.

2. Jarell Broxton | Winnipeg Blue Bombers
3. Dejon Allen | BC Lions

GUARD

LIAM DOBSON | HAMILTON TIGER-CATS

Hamilton guard Liam Dobson anchors one of the CFL’s premier offensive line units alongside Brandon Revenberg (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca)

The Tiger-Cats were part of a top tier of offensive lines last year and finished 2025 by allowing just 27 sacks. And the strength of this Hamilton front is the interior, with Liam Dobson and Brandon Revenberg forming the league’s top guard duo. We’re giving the edge to Dobson, a third overall selection in 2021, but it’s close.

2. Coulter Woodmansey | Edmonton Elks
3. Brandon Revenberg | Hamilton Tiger-Cats

CENTRE

LOGAN FERLAND | SASKATCHEWAN ROUGHRIDERS

Two-time All-CFL centre Logan Ferland continues to anchor Saskatchewan’s offensive line in 2026 (Kevin Sousa/CFL.ca)

With Woodmansey starting the season at guard in Edmonton, it made giving Logan Ferland the top nod at centre that much easier. Anchoring the middle of Saskatchewan’s line, Melfort product Ferland has been a mainstay since becoming a CFL regular in 2021. And if you need more evidence of that, Ferland has been named to the All-CFL team the last two years.

2. David Beard | Edmonton Elks
3. Chris Kolankowski | Hamilton Tiger-Cats