Simms' 2026 QB Countdown: Matthew Stafford
Matthew Stafford comes in at No. 5 in Simms' QB Countdown following an MVP season, and he continues to display a lethal ability to throw the football with an "all time arm."
Video Transcript
And number five was a guy here that is awesome, right?
He's going to the Hall of Fame.
If he wins another Super Bowl, he might be the first ballot Hall of Famer.
And it was, I mean, it was close to making him number four and not putting him at number five.
I know.
But Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams, will be my number five quarterback.
So we know the four that are left, and the four that are left, you know, are special.
They're, they're just- Yes they're, it is hard.
And I'll explain it more when we talk about number four next time, but it was very close.
I really did think about making Stafford number four on this list.
Incredible year, right?
Stafford's ability to throw the football is next level.
It's an all-time arm.
It's an all-time arm.
He can throw it any which way he wants.
So many deliveries.
He's got incredible accuracy, the, no matter what the throw is.
Touch, drop it in a bucket, 40-yard laser down the middle to Puka Nacua, a 40-yard banana ball, like that's a laser that just goes over a linebacker's head 40 yards down the field, right?
Slant routes to Davante Adams where it's like, man, did he throw that from his knee?
You know, the ability to drop the ball back by the back pylon.
I mean, this is one of the more gifted passers, throwers, we've seen in the history of football, and he had an incredible year last year and made a ton of big plays and throws, and that's why he was the MVP.
'Cause they played through him, and that offense was what it was because you had to stop Matt Stafford and the passing game first, and then they could do everything else off of that.
Chris, I think this is maybe the shining example of what you always talk about, the situation and the coach.
Stafford's always been a really good quarterback.
He was in Detroit.
The team stunk.
Exactly.
The team around him stunk.
People are gonna say he had Barry, he had Calvin Johnson.
The coaching staff was a disaster.
The organization, was not very good.
They had no defenses when he was there.
And then he gets to LA, and it's a trade that worked out for both teams.
Goff took the Lions, and has done unbelievable things with them.
But Stafford has now won a Super Bowl.
He's come close to winning a second.
This is the example for me of what a guy can do when put in, even as Matthew Stafford, as, as experienced as he was, and as good as he was, and developed as he was when he got to McVay.
This is an example of a guy and what he can do when he gets to the right r- organization- Yeah right surrounding talent with the right head coach.
No, totally.
and, and I love these stories.
I- Yes.
You're right.
Because you know, too- Yes when we st- started these rankings and he was, was on the Lions, I was sitting there telling people, "Matthew Stafford's so much better than everybody's giving him credit for," right?
Yes.
It's not even close.
Yes.
And, and, you know, and I can even I'll add this story to it.
When the Rams did trade for him, I remember, I got a long voicemail on my phone from Sean McVay.
I don't think he'll have any problem with me sharing this, and the fact that he was just like, "Hey, I've heard everything you've said about Stafford."
And man, he's like, "After studying him before we went and through this trade and all that," he's like, "I just could not agree with you more.
Like, holy crap.
I'm glad we got him."
And he's like, "I'm glad you're saying these things 'cause I don't think people realize it," right?
And that's what I feel- Yeah is my duty at times.
And that's why it's unpopular to be me at times.
I told you two years ago there was a problem with Jalen Hurts throwing the ball.
I was proven right.
Yeah.
Maybe I'm too harsh- Yes but I was proven right.
I told you Blake Bortles couldn't throw the football.
He's out of the league two years later, right?
I mean, I told you, I also was one- Yes to sit here and say, I don't, I'm, I'm not giving up on Sam Darnold or Baker Mayfield because they were in- Right situations that you talked about.
And now here they are- Yeah with teams again, and we're going, "Oh, shit, they are good," right?
Yes.
You know?
My, back to my old saying, when you're around shit, you're gonna smell like shit.
It's gonna get on you- Right and you're gonna be stinky.
And that's the way it is.
Yes.
And so- Yes that's what happened to Stafford in Detroit.
And now he is in a spot, you're right, that can utilize all his tools.
And then of course, with that offense, it presents the ability, again, his reading of coverages, everything there.
And then there's the throwing is, like I said, next level.
The decision-making that he has, for as aggressive a decision maker he is, is incredible.
How many throws I watched yesterday where I went, "Huh.
I, I can't even believe he made that decision to throw it."
And then n- not only to throw it, to go, "Holy shit, it was on the money."
Like, oh my God.
Right?
I mean- Yes he's got so many throws like that where you're like, "Wait, what?
Is he really about to throw the ball down the middle to this guy right now?
There's a guy like this and a guy like this."
And it goes over- Yes everybody's hands by an inch, and it's like right into Davante Adam's face.
And you're like, "Holy crap, what a throw."
Yes, yes.
So there's so much of that.
And then- hey, his biggest n- negative is his in- inability to run, right?
He can't move, and that's really a big reason why he's number five.
He can't do anything that way.
Right.
He's, he is by far- the least athletic quarterback in the top 15.
But he makes up for it in different ways, to where there's plays where you're like, he's about to get hit.
The guy's downfield still running like this, and he's gotta make a right turn at the 20 yard line, and he's like at the 15, and Stafford's like, "I gotta put it perfectly up in the air and drop it there," so when he turns and makes the right turn, it's just like, boom, it's there.
And it's- Yes so many throws like that, with the anticipation and the touch, are off the charts.
Yes.
Maybe better than anybody in football in that department.
Mahomes is really good in that department too.
But yeah, that's, why Matthew Stafford's number five.
He's an, an incredible quarterback.
It's like he's mastered the position.
It really is.
Totally.
That's the way he played there.
Yeah.
The game has slowed down for Matthew Stafford.
And yes, he can't run, but like Tom Brady, he could just step one way or the other- Yeah to buy himself an extra second or The pocket presence is what I'm saying.
You're right.
It's, it's off the charts, Chris.
It, it is.
It's crazy.
He's so good.
You're right.
Yes.
That's what's awesome about quarterback.
You don't always gotta be the best- Right athlete in the world, you know?
Yeah.
And you're right.
I mean, think about Stafford.
You can't you just picture him, like, moving out of the way, and then, like, throwing- Yes one of his sidearm throws like that, and you're just going, "Oh, man."
Yeah.
Right?
We d- Yeah we, we kinda just, like, watch it on TV and go, "Oh, good play."
But I think if we- Yeah sat down and watched film, you'd be like, "Holy crap, what a move."
And then, and then to throw a ball in between the guard and the tackle and it still be on target, and like, he, he's- Yeah just amazing that way.
And, you know- Yeah people gave him way too much flack.
Go back and watch all the damn one-yard touchdowns.
They're Almost every one of them is like, "Holy shit, what a throw."
And I don't care- Yes that they're one yard.
He also led the league in 40-plus yard touchdown passes, too, but, you know, people didn't wanna mention that a whole lot.
And- Yeah he was also the only quarterback I saw that had the Seahawks defense like, "Holy shit, we can't stop this guy."
He was the only guy.
I mean, the whole g- the whole damn league had a problem basically in the second half of the year with the Seahawks defense, except for Matt Stafford, who just moved the ball on them at will.
And he's a special, special football player, and, yeah, I'm a huge fan of, of my man, Matthew Stafford.
Yes.
I, I watch Stafford as a Jet fan, and I say to myself, "How do I get one of those?
I've never had one of those.
I want one of those.
I desperately need one of those, and I'm never gonna get it."
