Matthew Stafford’s standing among NFL quarterbacks is still strong enough to put him near the top of the league, but not everyone inside the game is ready to place him in the very top tier.
In ESPN’s poll of NFL coaches, executives and scouts, Stafford came in at No. 3 among quarterbacks. That’s a lofty spot for the Rams veteran, who is 38 years old and, according to the source, won the MVP of the league last year. Still, one NFL coach raised the same concern that tends to follow elite quarterbacks in great situations: how much of the success belongs to the player, and how much belongs to everything around him?
“The system helps him,” one NFL coordinator said. “He has an elite offensive coach and elite weapons.
He's great, don't get me wrong. He has advantages that some of the other quarterbacks don't have.”
That doesn’t amount to a direct label, but it does make the point clearly enough. Stafford is viewed by at least some evaluators as a quarterback whose production is boosted by the environment the Rams have built around him.
And it’s not hard to see why that argument exists. Stafford plays for Sean McVay, one of the league’s best coaches, and does it in a dome on a strong team. The Rams’ offensive line is good, and the backfield pairing of Kyren Williams and Blake Corum gives the offense enough balance that the run game isn’t a concern.
The biggest reason, though, is what Stafford has outside. Puka Nacua and Davante Adams might be the best wide receiver duo in the NFL, and that kind of receiving talent changes the conversation fast.
Fowler also noted that some voters are reluctant to push Stafford into the top two because “His surroundings are clean.”
That clean setup is a plus for the Rams, especially as they reload and bolster the roster after coming close last season. But it also explains why Stafford, even with a season that some in the league viewed as the best of any quarterback, still draws a little pushback in rankings.
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