It appears that Matthew Stafford will not be in the NFL Top 100, or even close

One year after he was ranked 27th and one season removed from throwing 41 touchdowns and winning the Super Bowl, it seems that L.A. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is no longer considered by his peers to be one of the top-100 players in the NFL. Or even in the top 110.

With only 30 names left to be revealed according to Sharp Football Analysis, Stafford has not been named in either the NFL Top-100 or the 10 who “just missed.” The only player on the Rams who has made it so far is receiver Cooper Kupp, who has his own “disrespected” label to handle after only being 47th on the list, and the only one I expect to be left is Aaron Donald.

I know that the list doesn’t matter. I know that Stafford and Kupp missed half of the season last year. I know that the Rams offense didn’t perform as well as anyone expected or hoped.

And I know that Matthew Stafford is a better quarterback than Justin Fields, Tua Tagovailoa, and Jared Goff. I know that when healthy, there definitely aren’t 50 more valuable players in the NFL and I know that there might not even be 20.

The players most recently listed include Saquon Barkley, Christian McCaffrey, Jalen Ramsey, Jason Kelce, and Khalil Mack.

I know that I’d take Stafford over all of them.

Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

I know that about 18 months ago, Stafford led the Rams to fourth quarter playoff victories against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the San Francisco 49ers, and the Cincinnati Bengals in the Super Bowl. I know that less than a year ago, the L.A. offensive line was constantly injured and failed to adequately protect him or give him time to throw. I know that Allen Robinson was a poor free agent acquisition and I know that Rams coaches didn’t put him or Stafford in position to succeed. I know that when he did have time to throw, Stafford played just as well in 2022 as he did in 2021.

I know that over 12 years with the Detroit Lions, Stafford was underrated and rarely got the help that he needed to show off his talent. I know that the Rams changed that for Stafford in 2021 and he excelled, then when the franchise turned into the Lions for one season, he was predictably not as successful...and that he posted a career-high 68% completion percentage anyway and gave Cooper Kupp all the opportunities he needed to be on pace for another 1,500 yard season.

And I’m just going to repeat this part again...KHALIL MACK AT 38?!?

I know that not all football players keep up to date with how players played most recently, otherwise Mack would not be 38, so if they’re giving some of these players so much credit for what they did in the past...why are they so low on Stafford and Kupp based on not playing in the second half of the most recent season?

I know that “we” are doing this whole thing where we vastly overrate young quarterbacks based on how fast they can run and how far they can throw. But I know that when it came down to picking an actual quarterback to be on your team, players would choose the one who knows how to accurately deliver it to the right players at the right time, the right speed, and making the right decision. Stafford doesn’t always do that, but he does it more often than most of the quarterbacks on this list. A lot more often.

So I know that Matthew Stafford isn’t going to be on the top-100 or top-110.

Do “we” know how wrong that is?