Who's in the running for the CFL's awards?

Heading into the weekend of the CFL's sixteenth week, the playoff picture's starting to shape up. But what about the individual awards? Here's a look at potential division nominees and eventual winners for each of the CFL's top awards.

Most Outstanding Player: 

East nominee: Henry Burris, quarterback, Ottawa Redblacks. (Also considered: Trevor Harris, QB, Toronto; Chris Williams, WR, Ottawa; S.J. Green, SB, Montreal.)

West nominee: Bo Levi Mitchell, quarterback, Calgary Stampeders. (Also considered: Eric Rogers, WR, Calgary; Andrew Harris, RB, B.C.; Jerome Messam, RB, Saskatchewan.)

Winner: Henry Burris. Burris is having a phenomenal season at age 40, throwing for a league-leading 4,365 yards so far and completing 71.6 per cent of his passes; he's never been over 70 per cent in completion percentage in a full season before. He has 18 touchdowns against nine interceptions and has been a huge factor in the Redblacks' turnaround from a 2-16 record last year to a 8-6 mark so far. Mitchell (second in the league with 3,808 passing yards) and Rogers (first in the CFL with 1,184 receiving yards) would also be good candidates, but this seems like Burris' award to lose at this point.

Most Outstanding Defensive Player: 

East nominee: Emanuel Davis, defensive back, Hamilton Tiger-Cats. (Also considered: John Bowman, DE, Montreal; Abdul Kanneh, DB, Ottawa; Winston Venable, LB, Montreal.)

West nominee: Jamaal Westerman, defensive end, Winnipeg Blue Bombers. (Also considered: Charleston Hughes, DE, Calgary; Johnny Adams, DB, Winnipeg; Patrick Watkins, DB, Edmonton.)

Winner: Emanuel Davis. Davis has been terrific for a Hamilton defence that's been crucial to the Tiger-Cats' success so far. He's recorded five interceptions (tied for the league lead), a fumble recovery, three defensive touchdowns, a sack and 43 defensive tackles. Westerman (who leads the league with 12 sacks), Adams (five picks, a touchdown and 52 tackles), Kanneh (four interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a sack) and Watkins (four picks, two sacks and a touchdown) would also be strong choices.

Most Outstanding Canadian: 

East nominee: Brad Sinopoli, slotback, Ottawa Redblacks. (Also considered: Courtney Stephen, DB, Hamilton; Cleyon Laing, DT, Toronto; Antoine Pruneau, DB, Ottawa.)

West nominee: Jamaal Westerman, defensive end, Winnipeg Blue Bombers. (Also considered: Andrew Harris, RB, B.C.; Jerome Messam, RB, Saskatchewan; Sam Hurl, LB, Winnipeg.)

Winner: Jamaal Westerman. NFL veteran Westerman (which is why he won't be eligible for rookie of the year) has been terrific in his first CFL season, recording a league-leading 12 sacks so far as well as 50 tackles. He'll face tough competition from the likes of Sinopoli (863 receiving yards so far, fourth in the league), Harris (a league-high 819 rushing yards, plus 408 receiving yards) and Messam (818 rushing yards, 451 receiving yards), but if he can keep producing sacks down the stretch, he may pick this up.

John Agro Special Teams Award: 

East nominee: Brandon Banks, punt returner/kick returner, Hamilton Tiger-Cats. (Also considered: Stefan Logan, PR/KR, Montreal; Justin Medlock, P/K, Hamilton; Boris Bede, P/K, Montreal.)

West nominee: Kendial Lawrence, punt returner/kick returner, Edmonton Eskimos. (Also considered: Deon Lacey, cover teams, Edmonton; Rene Paredes, K, Calgary; Troy Stoudemire, PR/KR, Winnipeg.)

Winner: Brandon Banks. Banks has 728 punt return yards and four touchdowns this year, plus 553 kick return yards. There are other good candidates, including Logan (a league-high 1,889 combined return yards), Lawrence (1,472) and Bede (a league-best 91.2 per cent field-goal percentage), but Banks' touchdowns would seem to give him an edge.

Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman: 

East nominee: Josh Bourke, left tackle, Montreal Alouettes.

West nominee: Jovan Olafioye, left tackle, B.C. Lions.

Winner: Jovan Olafioye. The offensive line awards are always tough to call, and it can be difficult to separate individual play at that postion, but B.C.'s allowed a league-low 21 sacks this year and Montreal's allowed 26, second-best in the league. Bourke and Olafioye have long been recognized for their quality play, winning this award in 2011 and 2012 respectively, and they seem like decent bets.

Most Outstanding Rookie: 

East nominee: Abdul Kanneh, defensive back, Ottawa Redblacks.

West nominee: Derel Walker, wide receiver, Edmonton Eskimos.

Winner: Derel Walker. Top rookie can be a tough award to call, as many first-year players are disqualified by having played in a regular-season NFL game, but Kanneh and Walker both were only on NFL teams in the preseason, so they should be eligible. Kanneh did sign with Ottawa last year, but it doesn't appear he played; the CFL's site lists him as being in his first season. He's been great this season, recording four picks, two fumble recoveries and a sack. Walker has been perhaps even better, though, notching 777 receiving yards so far and becoming a critical piece of the Eskimos' offence.

Have your own predictions? Have thoughts on these? Share them in the comments, or let me know on Twitter or by e-mail. Thanks for reading!