Pat Fantasy Dog Pound explained that drafting Matthew Stafford as an uncorrelated third quarterback is a sharp way to juice advance equity in single-entry tournaments. Stafford costs almost nothing, carries "a very low bench risk," and gives you weekly 300-yard, multi-TD upside independent of stacking partners, which Pat values when you have already built out correlated Goff and Herbert stacks. By grabbing Stafford late, drafters can cover a potential injury or dud from their primary duo without sacrificing roster spots needed for high-ceiling one-off skill players.

Ryan Noonan flagged Matthew Stafford at 50-1 (40-1 elsewhere) as his favorite deep-board MVP ticket. Noonan expects the Rams to be a double-digit-win playoff team if Stafford stays healthy, noting that Sean McVay’s offense finished sixth in pass rate over expectation after Week 8 and returns every starting lineman. With Cooper Kupp gone, Puka Nacua and Davante Adams give Stafford two alpha-level targets capable of gaudy box scores that voters notice. Noonan conceded the lack of rushing upside compared to Mahomes or Lamar but argued that if the top tier posts merely solid seasons—or misses games—voters could reward the 36-year-old for a 5,000-yard, 35-TD narrative of renaissance on a surprise contender. He urged bettors to lock in the stray 50-1 before it disappears in summer news cycles.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound called Matthew Stafford "one of the best values at quarterback this year," pointing out that he routinely lasts to pick 160 in Underdog rooms. Pat lumps Stafford with Geno Smith as the only late pocket passers who still offer 30-point upside thanks to elite pass-catchers (Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua) and a pass-centric Sean McVay scheme. Pat prefers locking in Stafford as a second QB behind an early elite option or—when the room cooperates—pairing him with a cheap Rams bring-back such as rookie tight end Terrence Ferguson to create inexpensive correlation. In his view, landing Stafford five rounds after the Anthony Richardson tier lets drafters hammer RB and WR depth without sacrificing ceiling at the onesie position.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound said Matthew Stafford is the perfect panic QB2 to tack on after spending big capital on an elite starter like Jalen Hurts. Stafford is currently going in the same draft pocket as far riskier names such as Sam Darnold and Bryce Young, yet he carries almost no bench risk because Sean McVay still lets him air it out 35-plus times whenever he is healthy. Pat argued that Eliminator drafters cannot afford a zero at quarterback during any of the head-to-head coin-flip rounds, so anchoring Hurts teams with Stafford’s bankable 16-20 weekly points materially boosts advance probability. He reminded listeners that the last time Stafford logged at least 15 games he cleared 4,000 yards and 29 touchdowns, giving Hurts rosters true spike-week upside if the Eagles draw a brutal matchup. Because the Rams passer costs only a double-digit pick, Pat views him as cheap roster insurance and called the Hurts–Staffy combo "very sharp" for back-to-front roster construction.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound labeled Matthew Stafford a "good advance-rate click" after watching him slide more than 15 picks past his 154 ADP in Eliminator drafts. Vegas has already posted a 24.5-touchdown prop for Stafford; Pat noted that in every season he’s played at least 15 games under Sean McVay he has thrown 30-plus scores and averaged 4,439 yards. With both Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp healthy and the Rams ranking 10th in offensive DVOA over the final eight weeks of 2023, Pat sees a clear path to low-end QB1 production. He argued Stafford would be drafted near rookie J.J. McCarthy if age bias were stripped away, calling any line close to 24.5 TDs "a gift." Because Eliminator rewards weekly stability as much as Week-17 upside, Pat is happy to roster Stafford as a standalone QB2 or QB3, expecting him to outproduce cost and single-handedly win a coin-flip round when he spikes for 300 yards and three scores.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound believes Matthew Stafford is "too cheap for what he is" after the Rams added Davante Adams and pass-catching tight end Terrance Ferguson. Stafford already finished top-7 in EPA per dropback when both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua were healthy last year, and the expanded weapon set only raises his weekly ceiling. Pat is grabbing Stafford whenever he drifts past pick 160 and pairs him with last-round 2-2 Atwell, noting that two Atwell spike weeks are all a BBM roster needs from its WR8.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound highlighted Matthew Stafford as one of the most mis-priced quarterbacks after the switch from 20-round to 18-round drafts pushed middle-tier passers down the board. Stafford has slid nearly a full round, often lasting into the QB24-QB26 range, yet still comes with weekly four-touchdown upside in a Sean McVay offense that ranked sixth in neutral-situation pass rate last season. Pat noted that Stafford stacked with either Puka Nacua or Cooper Kupp posted above-average advance rates in 2023 BBM5 and said he is the perfect safety-net QB2 when early stacks dry up—especially on two-quarterback builds where drafters want floor and ceiling without spending an early pick.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound threw down an open 'beer bet' that Matthew Stafford finishes the season with more fantasy points than Cam Ward, noting the market currently lets you draft the proven Rams quarterback almost a full round later (ADP ~160 vs. Ward’s 153). Pat’s logic: Los Angeles kept its high-end weapons intact—Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua and Kyren Williams—and Sean McVay ranked top-10 in neutral-situation pass rate last year. By contrast, Pat expects Tennessee to protect its rookie by leaning on the run, making Ward a low-volume passer who will struggle to match Stafford’s weekly yardage and touchdown totals. Because both QBs go in the same late-round neighborhood, Pat sees Stafford as pure closing-line value and is aggressively scooping him as a QB2 in Best Ball Mania builds.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound called Matthew Stafford the ideal "advance-rate" target in the pick-130 neighborhood. Stafford still goes a round after rookies like Bo Nix and Drake May despite averaging 257 yards and 1.7 passing touchdowns in games where both Puka Nacua and Cooper Kupp were active last season. Pat likes pairing Stafford with an elite quarterback such as Hurts, then stopping at two passers; that roster construction avoids the crowded QB window between picks 80 and 140 and frees an 18th-round slot for an upside skill player. Given Stafford’s proven 300-yard, multi-TD ceiling and a Rams offense that projects top-10 in pace, Pat expects the market to nudge his ADP up a full round once drafters realize how neatly he completes elite-plus-mid two-QB builds.

Davis Mattek warned that drafters treating Matthew Stafford as a safe QB2 are setting themselves up for a string of 14-point clunkers. He grouped Stafford with Joe Burrow as pocket passers who lose too much value when taken naked, noting the only realistic back-stack options are Tyler Higbee and Jake Ferguson—Ben Skowronek or Tutu Atwell do not move the needle. Because the quarterback pool dries up around QB27, Mattek said Stafford investors should plan on a three-quarterback room that includes a high-variance rusher like Anthony Richardson, Jaxson Dart or Jayden Milroe to retain week-winning upside during the fantasy playoffs. In his view, Stafford’s lack of rushing equity, dependence on perfect health from Puka Nacua and Davante Adams, and the possibility of multiple 14-point weeks make him a fragile anchor in traditional two-QB builds.

Buck said now is the perfect moment to load up on Matthew Stafford because the market has not reconciled his 15th-round Best Ball Mania ADP with the cost of his weapons. Puka Nacua is routinely going in round 1 and newcomer Davante Adams in round 3, a pairing Buck compared to Chase–Higgins in Cincinnati. If first- and third-round receivers are going to pay off, their quarterback has to come along for the ride, yet Joe Burrow costs a fifth-round pick while Stafford is available ten rounds later. Buck predicted Stafford will ultimately slide up several rounds once drafters realize quarterback prices across the board are rising and that he is likely to outscore names being drafted ahead of him such as Tua Tagovailoa, Jordan Love and C.J. Stroud. He framed Stafford as the easiest way to get cheap exposure to what could be a top-five passing offense and urged drafters to take him now before the inevitable ADP correction.

Davis Mattek pushed back hard on Stafford’s upside, noting that the quarterback has produced only two true fantasy outlier seasons: 2011’s 5,000-yard outburst and 2021’s 4,886-yard Cooper Kupp explosion. He argued both came in a very different offensive environment—before the league-wide shift to two-high shells—citing that the 2021 season featured six different QBs over 4,800 yards and multiple players above a 6% TD rate. Even with Kupp’s 2,000 yards in 2021 Stafford averaged just 17.8 fantasy points per game and failed to finish as a top-five QB. Because he offers zero rushing equity, Mattek prefers shooting for ceiling with similarly priced or cheaper options such as Anthony Richardson, Bryce Young, Cam Ward, Geno Smith, or even late rookie flyers. In his view, drafting Stafford as your QB2 is a trap that sacrifices Week 17 upside for middling floor points.

Buck said Matthew Stafford is a bargain-bin version of Joe Burrow and an undervalued QB2 in Best Ball Mania drafts. His argument hinges on Stafford still being one of the league’s few true gunslingers who has already proven he can beat the two-high defensive meta. For the first time in his career Stafford could have two elite receivers simultaneously: Puka Nakua and the newly-acquired Davante Adams. Buck reminded listeners that Adams finished 13th in half-PPR points per game last season despite splitting 14 games between Gardner Minshew and late-career Aaron Rodgers on two offenses that were bottom-eight in total touchdowns. Adams posted individual lines of 9-110-1, 36.3 DK points, and several other 17-22 point outings under those conditions. Moving to Sean McVay’s system with Stafford’s arm should dramatically raise the unit’s scoring ceiling and create weekly spike weeks that matter in Weeks 15-17. Buck framed Stafford as the cheapest path to stacking an offense that could rival Cincinnati’s Chase-Higgins pairing in raw upside, making him an actionable late-round target at current ADP.

Danny Kanell urged drafters to buy back into Matthew Stafford after the Rams re-worked his deal and paired him with Davante Adams. Kanell said Stafford’s efficiency spike late last year (8.1 YPA over his final six games once the O-line settled) should carry into 2025 now that he has an elite X receiver who ranked fourth in targets against man coverage despite the Raiders’ QB carousel. With Stafford healthy and Adams commanding double teams, Kanell expects Sean McVay to lean heavily on play-action shots, projecting 4,600 passing yards and 30-plus TDs. He labeled Stafford a top-12 QB in season-long leagues and likes the Rams’ +200 divisional odds before the market adjusts.