Willie Jefferson has authored a long list of truly dominant performances in a decorated Canadian Football League career which now spans a decade in three different uniforms.
He’s a six-time CFL All-Star, was saluted the league’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2019 and has had a recurring role as an absolute menace in the nightmares of offensive tackles, offensive coordinators and quarterbacks all across the league.
And there was Jefferson in the 2024 Grey Cup loss to the Toronto Argonauts racking up six tackles, a tackle for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble AND an interception in what was arguably the most dynamic and complete performance in his many days in the three-down game. Unfortunately, that MVP-worthy performance was lost in the wake of the Blue Bombers implosion in the fourth quarter of that championship game.
Still, it’s an effort we’ll lean into heavily now as we begin the fourth instalment of our Positional Preview series with a look at the Blue Bombers defensive line because Jefferson is, simply put, a ferocious presence up front and important voice in the locker room as a valuable leader. And there’s not a scintilla of evidence the 34-year-old vet is letting up after once again leading the team in sacks for a third straight season while earning a spot on the All-CFL Team.
James Vaughters
What will be interesting to watch unfold over the course of 2025 is how the addition of one of the team’s key offseason acquisitions — veteran end James Vaughters, who comes over from Calgary — might help Jefferson become even more of a force, if that’s possible. Constantly double-teamed despite moving around the defensive front, Jefferson might earn a little less attention with Vaughters now opposite him the same way Jackson Jeffcoat opened up space for his compadre during their days together. Vaughters had five sacks last season and five in just six games in 2023 before being hurt and in his 24 games since returning to the CFL from the NFL has had 10 quarterback take-downs.
The Blue Bombers started five different ends opposite Jefferson a year ago — Celestin Haba, Devin Adams, Ali Fayad, Owen Hubert and TyJuan Garbutt — and while Garbutt was steady in the spot over the last 14 games, including the playoffs, he hadn’t yet established himself as a consistent pass-rushing threat to draw the spotlight off Jefferson. Garbutt, FYI, is one of four defensive linemen who suited up for the club last year who has since moved on, joining Hubert and defensive tackle Miles Fox in Hamilton, while Haba signed with Toronto. A fifth — former first-round draft pick Anthony Bennett, who missed all of last year due to injury — has landed in Montreal.
Jefferson and Vaughters solidify the two ends spots, and with a healthy Cam Lawson returning from injury to join Jake Thomas and promising second-year men Jamal Woods and Devin Adams at the tackle spots — plus a swack of Canadians offering depth in Tanner Schmekel, Kyle Samson, Brock Gowanlock and Collin Kornelson — the Blue Bombers seem more than set along the defensive front.
A storyline to also track this season as it relates to the defence and defensive coordinator Jordan Younger’s scheme that often sees the team rush just three or four up front while dropping more into coverage:
The Blue Bombers ranked first in the critical defensive statistical categories including fewest points allowed (19.9), fewest touchdowns (33), lowest opponent net offensive yardage (328.6) and lowest opponent passing yards (234.8), while finishing sixth against the run (104.2). Yet, here’s the number so many fixate on: the defence ranked last in quarterback sacks with 26. Just to put that sack total into perspective, the Blue Bombers had 53 in 2023 — third most in the CFL.
Question is, with a still-dominant Jefferson, the arrival of Vaughters, a healthy Lawson and a projected second-year jump for Woods and Adams, will Younger be more tempted more tools to bring more heat as part of a versatile defence that often flummoxed opposition QBs? However it may look, it’s guaranteed Jefferson will be front and center again.
POSITIONAL PREVIEW ’25
The Defensive Line
Jamal Woods
The Returnees:
Starters: Willie Jefferson, Jake Thomas*/Cam Lawson* (missed all of 2024 due to injury), Jamal Woods
Returning vets: Devin Adams, Tanner Schmekel*, Jay Person (practice roster addition late last year)
CFL vets: James Vaughters (Calgary), Brock Gowanlock* (Montreal)
2025 CFL Draft pick: DE Trey Laing* (Rd 7, 63rd overall)
2025 CFL Global Draft pick: Kemari Munier-Bailey (Rd 1, 2nd overall)
Newcomers: Ends — Marquise Lawson-Greenwood, Brandon Wright, Ryan Johnson, Dreydon Hall; Tackles: Collin Kornelson* (2023 draft pick), Camron Peterson
Departed: TyJuan Garbutt (Hamilton), Celestin Haba (Toronto), Miles Fox (Hamilton), Owen Hubert (Hamilton), Anthony Bennett (Montreal)
*Indicates Canadian
Keep an eye on:
DE James Vaughters, #93
There is no mystery to Vaughters’ game — what you see is what you get from the veteran end and the Blue Bombers liked what they saw last season when, after missing a good chunk of 2023 due to injury, he found his form as the year unfolded with his five sacks coming in the final 13 contests. ICYMI from January, here’s our conversation with Vaughters after he signed with the club.
Did you know?
The last time the Blue Bombers led the league in sacks was 2018, when they tied with four other teams with 48. And the last time the defence led the league in sacks outright was 2011, with 55.
The team record for sacks in a season is 75, set in 1984 (with the stat first tracked by the league in 1980). Tyrone Jones led the team that year with 20.5 sacks (back when the CFL credited half sacks), a record that stood until Elfrid Payton had 22 in 1993.
Notable Number:
An aspect to Jefferson’s game that shouldn’t be overlooked: he is now one pass knockdown away from third spot on the CFL’s all-time list (first tracked by the league in 1994). Jefferson is at 78 pass knockdowns, just behind Shannon Garrett’s 79, while Adrion Smith is second at 90 and Eddie Davis is the all-time leader at 111.
Not surprisingly, that list is dominated by defensive backs, making Jefferson’s presence among them impressive. The fact that he is one knockdown away from third spot is, frankly, astonishing.
