Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Out of curiosity, does Matthew Stafford belong in Canton in your opinion?

If nothing else, he can say he was top ten in career passing yards, completions, and touchdowns at a point in time, and he won a championship as a starting quarterback.

But on the other end of things, he is only a two time pro bowler with no all pro teams (at least not first or second team from AP), and only twice did he ever finish top five in passer rating or adjusted net yards per attempt (2011 for passer rating, 2021 for adjusted net yards per attempt).

To me that sounds like a potential future Hall of Very Good player, but is it unfair to say that he could have an outside shot at the Hall of Fame?

Good question ... being one of the last of an era of throwers--Wilson being the other one--Stafford's throwing ability will give him an outside shot at the HOF, where his championship stands out but I feel another NFC Championship appearance could seal the deal. I feel he is headed towards the HOVG though. He would have to lead his teammates to alot of wins just to be over .500 for his career but in fairness, he didnt have the defenses to win more in Detroit or a running game.

Like I have stated before, the coaches put more pressure on him due to his talent rather than upgrading the talent around him. He got banged up alot but played through the pain.

We all know he was a great thrower but was he a great team leader? The answer to that question could determine if he will get elected in the future.

IMO, he is HoVG. Stafford was a good player on a lot of BAD Lions teams. For the HoF, the accolades aren't there, especially when you compare him to the best QBs of his era. Is he really as good as or better than his peers, like:

Brady
Brees
Eli Manning
Roethlisberger
Rivers
Rodgers
Matt Ryan
Russell Wilson

Brian also makes a good point about his leadership...

There are so many compiler QBs from this era, one might get in but I couldn't tell you which one.

JameisBrownston wrote: ↑Sat Sep 06, 2025 8:16 pm There are so many compiler QBs from this era, one might get in but I couldn't tell you which one.

I would say that the compilers with a ring or two would have the best shots. (ex: whether you agree with it or not, I would argue that Eli, Stafford, and Big Ben all have a better shot than Philip Rivers of getting into Canton)

I would leave out Stafford, Rivers, Eli, Ryan and Cam without any trouble. I'm more partial to Russell Wilson but he belongs in this group, and if they left out all six, I wouldn't argue. I would put Roethlisberger at the top of this group more than at the bottom of Brady/Peyton/Rodgers/Brees, but the only thing holding me back from a full Roethlisberger support are the alleged (and probable, in my view) assaults.

Anyhow, without the first six I named, we have Brady, Rodgers and Brees, plus Peyton/Favre/Warner already in, plus Roethlisberger, plus Mahomes, plus Lamar, plus whatever shakes out with Allen, Hurts and Burrow. That's a ton of overlapping QBs, and I don't think Stafford's career truly stands out from those others.

SeahawkFever wrote: ↑Fri Aug 08, 2025 12:35 pm Out of curiosity, does Matthew Stafford belong in Canton in your opinion?

If nothing else, he can say he was top ten in career passing yards, completions, and touchdowns at a point in time, and he won a championship as a starting quarterback.

But on the other end of things, he is only a two time pro bowler with no all pro teams (at least not first or second team from AP), and only twice did he ever finish top five in passer rating or adjusted net yards per attempt (2011 for passer rating, 2021 for adjusted net yards per attempt).

To me that sounds like a potential future Hall of Very Good player, but is it unfair to say that he could have an outside shot at the Hall of Fame?

readjack wrote: ↑Thu Oct 16, 2025 12:49 pm I would leave out Stafford, Rivers, Eli, Ryan and Cam without any trouble. I'm more partial to Russell Wilson but he belongs in this group, and if they left out all six, I wouldn't argue. I would put Roethlisberger at the top of this group more than at the bottom of Brady/Peyton/Rodgers/Brees, but the only thing holding me back from a full Roethlisberger support are the alleged (and probable, in my view) assaults.

Anyhow, without the first six I named, we have Brady, Rodgers and Brees, plus Peyton/Favre/Warner already in, plus Roethlisberger, plus Mahomes, plus Lamar, plus whatever shakes out with Allen, Hurts and Burrow. That's a ton of overlapping QBs, and I don't think Stafford's career truly stands out from those others.

SeahawkFever wrote: ↑Fri Aug 08, 2025 12:35 pm Out of curiosity, does Matthew Stafford belong in Canton in your opinion?

If nothing else, he can say he was top ten in career passing yards, completions, and touchdowns at a point in time, and he won a championship as a starting quarterback.

But on the other end of things, he is only a two time pro bowler with no all pro teams (at least not first or second team from AP), and only twice did he ever finish top five in passer rating or adjusted net yards per attempt (2011 for passer rating, 2021 for adjusted net yards per attempt).

To me that sounds like a potential future Hall of Very Good player, but is it unfair to say that he could have an outside shot at the Hall of Fame?

Do any of those six quarterbacks you mentioned (Stafford, Rivers, Eli, Ryan, Cam Newton and Russell Wilson) not reach Hall of Very Good for you?

I'm looking now at the HOVG QBs, not counting 1920s/1930s tailbacks:

Albert
Anderson
Brodie
Conerly
Gabriel
Hadl
Jones
Kemp
Lamonica
Morrall
Rote
Stabler*

I would be fine with all six of them in HOVG, but I also need Cunningham, McNabb and McNair, and all of that feels like too many. Even six feels like too many. So I am inclined to leave some out.

I also don't think nearly as much about HOVG, so I would have to think about this more.