The CFL officially unveiled a new "Best In The League" series Wednesday afternoon, and while many of the elements in it have been seen before, the way they're put together and the one particular extra twist that's been added make this pretty interesting. The idea is to ask a panel of 12 top CFL players, which the league put together this offseason, about who's the best in a variety of different categories. Here's a trailer for the first segment, about the league's best playmaker, that was released Tuesday:

As the full video posted Wednesday shows, the panel mostly mentioned Hamilton's Brandon Banks and Toronto's Chad Owens in this category. That isn't particularly relevatory; both would seem to fit the category well, making plays on special teams and on offence. We've even had plenty of Owens vs. Hamilton returner debates amongst media and fans before, particularly back in the Chris Williams era. (Williams himself is currently back in the league with Ottawa, but hasn't really done enough yet in this most recent CFL stint to be mentioned in this category) but also more recently with Banks.



Asking players for their opinions on the best players isn't staggering, either, as TSN's been doing that for the last five years with their annual player poll. (They didn't have a "Best Playmaker" in the most recent one, but Owens won the similar "Biggest Threat To Score" category.) What's different about this new series, though, is that it strips away the anonymity of the poll, having these players actually put their names and faces to their opinions. That's a unique twist, and it's one that makes this series intriguing.

This series isn't going to solve the question of who's the best any more than media pieces (including TSN's annual Top 50 players), the player poll or fan discussion, but that doesn't mean it isn't valuable. No two people are likely to completely agree on the best player in multiple categories, but those debates can still be interesting, and having players put their names behind their opinions adds a new dimension. If someone argues for Owens over Banks, does that give Banks extra motivation the next time he plays that team? Does someone like Williams who doesn't get much mention in a debate like this take that as a sign of disrespect? Given the reactions we've previously seen to the player poll and the top 50 list, it seems likely some players will use the conclusions from this series as added motivational fuel. With these rankings now coming from identifiable future opponents, that could make it very interesting indeed.

Here's the schedule for future videos in this Best In The League series:

PLAYMAKERS: Wednesday, July 15

PASS RUSHER: Thursday, July 23

SHUTDOWN DEFENSIVE BACK: Thursday, August 6

HANDS: Thursday, August 13

PHYSICAL DEFENDER: Wednesday, August 19

POCKET QB: Wednesday, August 26

FASTEST: Friday, September 4.

And the full list of panelists:

Rob Bagg, Saskatchewan Roughriders

Adam Bighill, BC Lions

Adarius Bowman, Edmonton Eskimos

Marc-Olivier Brouillette, Montreal Alouettes

Stanley Bryant, Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Brian Bulcke, Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Jon Cornish, Calgary Stampeders

Darian Durant, Saskatchewan Roughriders

Andre Durie, Toronto Argonauts

Andy Fantuz, Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Bo Levi Mitchell, Calgary Stampeders

Chevon Walker, Ottawa REDBLACKS