The Los Angeles Rams added Myles Garrett in a massive trade. There’s even chatter about Aaron Donald potentially returning to the defensive line. The front office is clearly going for it all in 2026. But none of that matters if the quarterback can’t deliver.
Matthew Stafford just did, though. He threw for 4,707 yards, 46 touchdowns and only eight interceptions last season. He won NFL MVP. He took the Rams to the NFC Championship. And according to ESPN’s annual quarterback rankings published Monday, that still only lands him at No. 3.
Jeremy Fowler’s list, which polls coaches, scouts and executives around the league, slots Stafford behind Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. So the reigning MVP is third. That’s the reality.
“Stafford’s MVP campaign vaulted him into the top three in convincing fashion,” Fowler wrote. “He earned an impressive 17% of the first-place votes. He has not been a fixture in the top half of the voting since the inception of our top 10 lists in 2020.”
Here’s the thing: Stafford’s 2025 season was historically weird. He became just the fourth quarterback in NFL history to throw at least 45 touchdown passes with fewer than 10 interceptions. The other three seasons belong to Aaron Rodgers (twice) and Tom Brady. That’s elite company.
But the voters still put Allen and Mahomes ahead. One NFL head coach wasn’t having any of it, though.
“Nobody played better than him last year, and it wasn’t even close,” an anonymous head coach told ESPN.
That’s a strong statement. And it raises the obvious question: What does a guy have to do to get the top spot? Stafford turns 38 next February. He’s coming off the best season of his career at an age when most quarterbacks are thinking about retirement. Maybe he just needed the right team around him. The Rams certainly believe that’s the case, given the Garrett trade.
Can he do it again in 2026? That’s the whole question. Repeating an MVP season is hard. Doing it at 38 is harder. But Stafford just proved he can play at a level nobody expected from him this late in his career. So it’s not crazy to think he could do it again.
The Rams report for training camp on July 25 at Loyola Marymount University. Their first open practice for fans is July 27. That’s where the real work starts.
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