Ever since the day Matthew Stafford was drafted by the Detroit Lions, there has been plenty of debate as to how he compares to the other starting quarterbacks in the National Football League.
Stafford’s ranking seems to depend on who you are asking and those opinions are all over the place.
One person may believe Stafford is a Top 10 signal-caller in the league while another says he is clearly in the bottom-third of the NFL.
In a piece recently published on ESPN.com, Jeremy Fowler reached out to more than 50 league executives, coaches, scouts, and players to help determine the Top 10 quarterbacks in the league.
Topping the list, not surprisingly, is Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs.
As far as Stafford goes, he comes in at No. 10 on the list, which I believe is a few spots too low, but it is not absurd. The highest a voter had Stafford ranked was No. 4 while the lowest was No. 14.
“It’s the Stafford syndrome — he plays in Detroit, so he’s not in a position to maximize his ability,” one NFC exec said. “He’s a major talent who’d probably be a top-five quarterback with an established franchise. He can score from anywhere on the field.”
But Stafford’s No. 10 overall ranking is not what stood out to me in the piece published on ESPN. Instead, it is what multiple NFL executives had to say about him.
“What has he really done?” asked multiple execs, referring to his 0-3 playoff record.
This question, which was somehow asked by people with high positions in the league, is ignorant, to say the least.
It really makes me wonder if they bothered to take a look at how the rest of his team played around him in those three playoff losses. How did the running backs and offensive line perform? Answer: Awful. How did the defense play? Answer: Awful.
Is Matthew Stafford the perfect quarterback? No. But is he capable of winning a Super Bowl if he actually has a running game and a competent defense? Absolutely.
