Ranking 39 NFL quarterbacks: Where does Matthew Stafford rank?

Tier 1:

These six players display elite physical skill, consistency, and ability to produce:

Matthew Stafford, Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, Matt Ryan, Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson

This is always a tough designation to qualify but beside analytics, these guys give their teams a great chance to win every time they’re on the field.

We’ve selected these players due to either substantial production in a short window or consistency over the last five years where we can. Obviously, Mahomes and Jackson don’t have a five-year window to examine but have proven that they are elite during NFL play.

These players have played and their level of play has stayed near the top in individual DVOA, DYAR, QBR, and general NFL quarterback statistical production.

No Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, or Ben Roethlisberger may trouble some of you but none were in the top-ten in QBR or basic passing yardage stats. Perhaps you don’t like DeShawn Watson missing from the list? Although he ranked seventh in QBR, his overall production just missed our cutoff.

Matt Ryan’s QBR was fourteenth however, his production remains near the top of the NFL. He is in danger of falling into the second tier if his production slips but he has nine 4,000- yard seasons in a row. That bumps him into the top tier to us and Brady is in a similar boat statistically.

Brady looks to be on his way down the list but is just one year removed from a championship and still had a strong statistical year although his analytics show that his value has slipped to near fifteen.

We don’t believe that Wilson, Jackson, or Mahomes need further explanation as all are in their prime and produce big numbers, even if Jackson and Mahomes have smaller career samples to work with. Russell Wilson, in particular, has produced in a very similar way to Stafford although he creates a bit more with his foot speed and improvisational abilities.