If you could walk into a lab and design the ideal CFL quarterback, what would you prioritize?
Accuracy? Athleticism? Arm strength? Experience? The ability to make something out of nothing when protection breaks down in November wind?
Instead of chasing one mythical unicorn, let’s build one using pieces from around the league. Only current players. Only traits that show up on film and in the data. We’re making the rules and we’re building the perfect CFL quarterback.
ACCURACY AND QUICK DECISION-MAKING
Trevor Harris
If the foundation of the position is processing speed and ball placement, you start with Trevor Harris.
Harris has made a career out of winning before the snap and delivering the football exactly where it needs to be once the decision is made. His rhythm passing, timing and willingness to take what a defence gives him are textbook. He’s not hunting highlights, he’s hunting completions and chain-moving efficiency.
If you’re constructing a quarterback who can survive in the CFL’s wide field and complex coverage rotations, his quick-trigger processing is non-negotiable.
PLAYMAKING
Nathan Rourke
When structure breaks, you need chaos control. That’s where Nathan Rourke comes in.
Rourke’s ability to extend plays, escape pressure and create explosive moments off-script is rare. He can win inside structure, but what separates him is what happens when structure dissolves. Second-reaction throws. Improvised deep shots. Scrambles that flip field position.
The perfect quarterback needs that ceiling-raising trait, and Rourke provides it.
RUNNING ABILITY
Tre Ford (with a nod to Rourke)
ANOTHER RUSH by Tre Ford!
🗓️: BC Lions vs. @GoElks LIVE NOW
🇨🇦: TSN, RDS
🌎: CFL+ pic.twitter.com/jTH5dlmjgj— CFL (@CFL) July 13, 2025
You could easily double-dip with Rourke here, but if we’re building a prototype, the pure acceleration and open-field threat of Tre Ford is hard to ignore.
Ford stresses defensive integrity on every snap. Zone-read, scramble drills, broken-pocket escapes, his legs aren’t just an accessory, they’re a system-altering weapon. In today’s CFL, where edge pressure and interior games are relentless, having that kind of mobility changes defensive play-calling.
If this quarterback is escaping the lab, he’s doing it with Ford’s burst.
DEEP PASSING
Vernon Adams Jr.
Explosiveness through the air? That belongs to Vernon Adams Jr.
According to PFF, Adams led the league with a 12.2 average depth of target, an indicator of how aggressively he pushes the ball downfield. He doesn’t just take vertical shots, he hunts them. There’s confidence and conviction in his deep passing profile, and that willingness to challenge coverage stretches the field horizontally and vertically.
The perfect CFL quarterback can’t just manage space. He has to threaten all of it.
ARM STRENGTH
Dru Brown (with Rourke right there)
If we’re measuring pure willingness and ability to drive the football downfield, Dru Brown gets the nod.
Brown finished first in air yards percentage at 65.8 per cent, according to PFF, with Rourke just behind at 64.5. That tells you everything about vertical intent and confidence attacking tight windows beyond the sticks.
Arm strength isn’t just velocity, it’s the ability to access every blade of grass, from the far hash to the boundary, from deep outs to 40-yard go balls. Brown’s profile checks that box.
EXPERIENCE
Bo Levi Mitchell, Trevor Harris and Zach Collaros
When November hits and the margins shrink, experience matters.
Bo Levi Mitchell, Trevor Harris and Zach Collaros combine for five Grey Cup titles as starters. That’s situational mastery. That’s late-game composure. That’s understanding how the CFL calendar is a marathon, not a sprint.
Our lab-built quarterback gets all of it, the calm in the fourth quarter, the playoff scar tissue, the ability to manage emotion and tempo in championship moments.
That’s a trait that takes years to develop and these guys have it.
MOXIE
Davis Alexander
And finally, something you can’t measure cleanly in a spreadsheet.
Call it moxie.
Davis Alexander has lost just one game as a starter in the CFL, the 112th Grey Cup. That’s it. There’s a steadiness and competitive edge to his game that shows up in tight situations. He doesn’t look overwhelmed. He doesn’t blink.
Every great quarterback has a little irrational belief in himself.
The perfect one has Davis Alexander’s.
