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Fairly ranking Matthew Stafford and a decade of No. 1 picks

By Michael Kirkland

DETROIT, MI - AUGUST 25: Matthew Stafford #9 of the Detroit Lions looks on from the sidelines while playing the New England Patriots during a preseason game at Ford Field on August 25, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - AUGUST 25: Matthew Stafford #9 of the Detroit Lions looks on from the sidelines while playing the New England Patriots during a preseason game at Ford Field on August 25, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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CLEVELAND, OH – OCTOBER 08: Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates a play in the game against the New York Jets at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 8, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CLEVELAND, OH – OCTOBER 08: Myles Garrett #95 of the Cleveland Browns celebrates a play in the game against the New York Jets at FirstEnergy Stadium on October 8, 2017 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

Number 8 – Myles Garrett, DE

I choose Myles Garrett here, at number eight. Garrett, the 2017 rookie defensive end of the Cleveland Browns, has huge upside. His first year was also shortened by injury, as he did not start the year being able to play. Garrett improved and registered 7.0 sacks in his nine starts, though.

While I would not call him injury-prone, it is likely disconcerting to Browns brass that he missed nearly half of his rookie season. For the number of games played, his production is considerable. If he can play 16 games per season with similar kinds of production, he would no doubt be mentioned in the same sentence as perennial Pro Bowl, Denver Broncos end, Vonn Miller.

Alas, one injury shortened year is not good enough to say that he will end up being thought of in those glowing terms. Early injury problems can be foreshadowing of future disappointment.

I hope that this is not the case, but with how physically demanding the NFL is, no player is beyond their body breaking down or a freak accident. Garrett also had some ankle problems while at Texas A&M, but similarly to Bradford, was healthy for his pro day, where he tested like a #1 overall.

Related Story: Detroit Lions: 15 best first-round draft picks of all-time

Number 7 – Jared Goff, QB

Getting to the middle of this list, I could interchange most of these players with someone else on the list, easily. Again, in terms of production versus potential, I’m going to favor the reality of what they’ve actually done.

Jared Goff, quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams, is next on my list. He’s young and has had one very good season of the two he has been in the NFL. Last year, he passed for 3,804 yards, with 28 touchdowns, seven interceptions, while completing 62% of his passes. No one would hate that stat line. It was good for a 100.7 passer rating, en route to an 11-win, division-winning campaign. Of course, his Rams made a quick exit in the postseason, falling to the Atlanta Falcons in the Wild Card round.

Keep in mind…

His first year was very forgettable. He turned the ball over more than he got into the end zone, which is common for a rookie. Goff also played in less than half of his team’s games, missing nine. Another factor to take into consideration is that his support, namely first team All-Pro running back Todd Gurley, was the best running back in the NFL.

How many other quarterbacks enjoy a top five runner in their backfield? Not only that the Rams defense was near top 10 (number 12) in scoring defense. That might help him just a bit….

Aside from those circumstances, Goff needs to consistently put up similar numbers to be thought of as the gold standard for NFL draft #1’s.

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