Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford is coming off his best-ever season, marked by his winning the 2025 NFL MVP award. But one league-wide QB ranking seems to be punishing him for his production in past seasons.

Despite the MVP win and leading the Rams to the NFC Championship Game, Stafford was not amongst the top ten players in Pro Football Network’s latest Top 100 NFL player rankings. Instead, he was ranked 14th in the league.

“The only reason he doesn’t come in higher is because he finished outside of the top 10 in WB impact scoring in 2024 and 2023,” reasoned NFL analyst Jacob Infante on the Pro Football Network YouTube channel. “And remember, we do have that three-year evaluation window that’s factoring into this.”

In 2023, Stafford was ranked No. 15 and then ranked No. 19 in 2024. However, in 2025, he was ranked No.2. However, in Infante's July 13 ranking of the Top 100 NFL players, he mentions how Stafford could very easily still rise higher in the rankings.

“Stafford led the league in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and total first downs thrown for, and he finished third in both EPA per dropback and success rate,” wrote Infante. “He’s currently sixth in NFL history in all-time passing yards, and even though he’s 38, he’s still in his prime right now. If he plays two more years, he’ll likely crack the top three and cement his legacy as one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game.” 

Along with Stafford, who ranked fifth amongst quarterbacks, Rams offensive guard Kevin Dotson was ranked 91st, defensive tackle Kobie Turner was ranked 66th, and wide receiver Puka Nacua was ranked fifth in Infante's list.

Meanwhile, the Rams' new edge rusher and former Browns star, Myles Garrett, was ranked as the third-best player in the league.  

However, one NFL analyst has Stafford ranking higher amongst quarterbacks.

NFL analyst ranks Stafford as a top 3 quarterback

Stafford might have been ranked only fifth amongst quarterbacks in Infante’s rankings, but the same cannot be said for Sports Illustrated writer Matt Verderame’s preseason QB rankings.

Stafford was named the third-best quarterback in the league, only trailing Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs and Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills.

“Stafford is coming off the best year of his career, winning MVP honors for the first time while leading the NFL with 4,707 yards and 46 touchdowns,” wrote Verderame. “He goes into 2026 as the favorite to win it all, surrounded by a host of weapons led by receivers Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, and running back Kyren Williams.”

Verderame did voice his concerns regarding Stafford’s age and his durability. However, he argued that if Stafford could get past it and win his second title, he would have to be regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks.

If Stafford were to win another Super Bowl, he would be just the eighth quarterback in NFL history to win two Lombardi trophies and have an MVP award.

It will certainly be interesting to see how Stafford plays in his 18th NFL season and whether he can lead the Rams to the Super Bowl again.

Which ranking of Stafford would you agree with? Let us know in the comments!

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Written by

Dhruv Vishnu Nair

Edited by

Arundhoti Palit