CFL.ca
CFL.ca Staff
TORONTO — A quarterback that can beat you with his arms and his legs and make plays on the run is a popular commodity in the CFL, but what about the guy that can drop back and pick apart a defence with surgical precision?
Some CFL quarterbacks make it look easy from the pocket and get by on quick reads and accurate passes, and sometimes these are the hardest ones to stop. While quarterbacks like Mike Reilly, Rakeem Cato, Zach Collaros and Henry Burris are always a thrill to watch when they energize an offence and electrify the stadium with their ability to improvise and just flat out beat a defence with the legs, watching a pocket passer go to work is a thrill in itself.
Despite not playing this year yet due to injury, Ricky Ray has to be the first name that comes to mind when we think of pocket passers. He’s not usually a threat to take off and run, but that’s not his game — his game is dropping back, getting through his reads and delivering a pass with just the perfect amount of touch or zip. And once a guy like that gets into his groove, he’s almost impossible to get off his game.
Ray isn’t the only one. Drew Willy has proven he can move but his game is, like Ray’s, dropping back and dissecting a defence. Young pivot Bo Levi Mitchell should get consideration as well and so should Ray’s understudy in Toronto, Trevor Harris. Harris models his game after Ray and early in his career it shows. The 29-year-old leads the CFL with a 115.7 passer rating through eight games this season.
On Wednesday, CFL.ca releases the sixth episode of Best in the League, a series that engages current star players in a discussion about the best players in the CFL. This one focuses on the league’s best pocket passers.
So we ask, who is the CFL’s best pocket passer? We asked the players, but first we want to hear from the fans.
First, our writers weigh in with their picks:
Dunk: Ricky Ray
Steinberg: Ricky Ray
Cauz: Ricky Ray
Nye: Ricky Ray
Landry: Ricky Ray
Pedersen: Ricky Ray
Morris: Ricky Ray
Now it’s your turn to weigh in. Who is the CFL’s most effective pocket passer?
