It’s that time of year once again! Football Absurdity will bring you a breakdown of every notable fantasy football-relevant player throughout June, July, and August. We start off with the quarterbacks. For years, many who didn’t know ball doubted Matthew Stafford’s abilities, as he languished in Detroit on subpar squads. The Lions freed him from purgatory and moved him to Los Angeles, where he proved to everyone that he’s #goodatfootball by leading the Rams to a Super Bowl title. With Robert Woods a Titan, Odell Beckham in the wind, and Allen Robinson a Ram, what can we expect as a follow-up from Stafford in a Rams uniform? Let’s take a look at his 2022 player profile!
Matthew Stafford ADP and AAV:
Average Draft Position: QB11, 80 overall
Average Auction Value: $3.2
Matthew Stafford Statistics:
| Year | G | GS | Att | Comp | Comp% | Yds | TD | Int | Comp/G | Att/G | Yds/G | TD/G | INT/G |
| 2021 | 17 | 17 | 404 | 601 | 67.2% | 4886 | 41 | 17 | 23.8 | 35.4 | 287.4 | 2.4 | 1.0 |
| 2020 | 16 | 16 | 528 | 339 | 64.2% | 4084 | 26 | 10 | 33.0 | 21.2 | 255.3 | 1.6 | 0.6 |
| 2019 | 8 | 8 | 291 | 187 | 64.3% | 2499 | 19 | 5 | 36.4 | 23.4 | 312.4 | 2.4 | 0.6 |
| Year | 4 PPTD | 6 PPTD | 4 PPTD/G | 6 PPTD/G | Year | Att | Yd | TD | YPC | Att/G | Yd/G | |
| 2021 | 329.7 | 411.7 | 19.4 | 24.22 | 2021 | 32 | 43 | 0 | 1.3 | 1.9 | 2.5 | |
| 2020 | 260.6 | 312.6 | 16.3 | 19.54 | 2020 | 29 | 112 | 0 | 3.9 | 1.8 | 7.0 | |
| 2019 | 166.6 | 204.6 | 20.8 | 25.58 | 2019 | 20 | 66 | 0 | 3.3 | 2.5 | 8.3 |
| Year | Air Yards | aDOT | aDOT+ | Y/A | TD% | INT% | Sacks | Yds/Sack |
| 2021 | 5092 | 8.47 | 8.47 | 8.10 | 10.1% | 4.2% | 30 | 8.10 |
| 2020 | 4560 | 8.64 | 0.91 | 7.73 | 4.9% | 1.9% | 38 | 6.68 |
| 2019 | 3085 | 10.60 | 2.42 | 8.59 | 6.5% | 1.7% | 18 | 7.61 |
aDOT+ represents a player’s depth of target compared to the league average for that season. Air yards data is from FTNFantasy.com/air-yards
2022 Matthew Stafford Fantasy Football Overview:
Matthew Stafford finished the 2021 fantasy football season as the QB5, which was a return-to-form for Stafford, who finished top-ten at the position six out of seven times between 2011 and 2017. But, it was also a return to the highest heights Stafford has seen as a fantasy football quarterback, as he averaged over 20 fantasy points per game for just the third time in his career, and the second time he did it without missing significant time with an injury.
This is, of course, because he and Sean McVay were a match made in heaven for the Rams, with a sprinkling of Cooper Kupp as an archangel sent to enact heaven’s will. McVay let Stafford just cook, as Matty Snapbacks ranked top-five in air yards and red zone pass attempts. The offense was firmly in Stafford’s hands, as it should be in 2022, as well. This is because Stafford rewarded McVay’s faith by posting top-ten in pressured completion percentage, deep ball percentage, and true passer rating, according to PlayerProfiler.com.
Here’s the thing, too: there’s room to grow for Stafford. The Rams threw the ball about 34 times last season, which ranked middle-of-the-pack. With a (hopefully) fully healthy Cam Akers in tow, I don’t see them growing that number, but they could just let Stafford air it out to Kupp and Allen Robinson.
2022 Matthew Stafford Fantasy Football Draft Strategy:
Matthew Stafford Auction Value: $8
Draft Ranking: Find out for your league settings in a Beersheet! (coming in early July)
In salary cap drafts, Stafford sits alongside Dak Prescott and Russell Wilson as perfectly cromulent fallback quarterback options at about $3. Though this class of quarterback lacks the upside of guys like Trey Lance, their narrower range of outcomes are mostly good, which means you can pick Stafford, Dak or Russ and feel perfectly happy with the outcomes that they give you. If it’s me, I’m looking toward Stafford over Russ (new squad) and Dak (overhauled receiving corps) if I’m looking for a guy with a narrow range of outcomes that I just need to not lose me weeks. Stafford and Prescott both finished as a QB1 two-thirds of the time last year, but Stafford has everything returning for him; Dak does not. If you want solid but unspectacular certainty, then go Stafford there. But, if you want to shoot the moon, then go for Russ. Dak is a consolation prize to them both.
In snake drafts, Stafford is QB10, at pick 82 overall. That’s a little rich for my blood there, considering Tom Brady goes a full round later (pick 94). But, if you don’t trust Brady, then Stafford and Russell Wilson (pick 84) are your last chance at solid QB1 tier players.
Best Case Scenario:
Stafford and the Rams continue to roll on offense, and he barely misses Robert Woods and Odell Beckham, as Allen Robinson more than makes up for their lost production. Cam Akers returns to form, and Tyler Higbee develops as a viable option. The Rams cruise and Stafford is a top-five quarterback.
Worst Case Scenario:
Matthew Stafford wakes up, he looks out the window at the Detroit cityscape. He checks his phone, no Rams contacts in there. He checks with his wife, she is too busy screaming about Gretchen Whitmer’s overreaching tyranny to answer his questions. He tracks down Sean McVay’s phone number. They’ve never spoken. Despondent, he checks the internet. He’s still a Lion, and Matt Patricia is still his coach. He never won the Super Bowl. It was all a dream.
Check out all our 2022 player profiles, here.
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For more analysis like these player profiles, check out these links!
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