A Strong Year Should Get Rams Stafford into Hall of Fame

Despite many awful years as a member of a Lions franchise that simply refused to get its act together, Stafford continued to put up amazing numbers, and now, looking at the leaderboards, he's one good season away from confirming the gold jacket.

Stafford is currently tenth on the NFL's All-Time passing leaderboards. The nine players ahead of him are either in the Hall of Fame, will be in the Hall of Fame, or they'll miss out, likely due to not having a Super Bowl title.

If Stafford hits over 4,300 passing yards, he's in the top five as long as Aaron Rodgers doesn't have a whale of a season.

If Stafford completes 400 passes, something he's done before and did in 2021, he's top five all time, once again depending on Rodgers.

If Stafford throws 23 touchdowns, he will hit 400 career touchdowns. Everyone in NFL history to throw 400 touchdowns is in the Hall of Fame or will be once they are eligible.

Stafford has the weapons to do it. Puka Nacua is fully healthy, Tyler Higbee looks good so far, Terrance Ferguson has impressed (without pads on), and Tutu Atwell has been fast.

However, I'm not the only one who sees Stafford having a big season. CBS Sports' Tyler Sullivanranked Stafford and newly signed wide receiver Davante Adams as the best new pass-catching duo in the NFL.

"Both Stafford and Adams are a bit long in the tooth, but these two have plenty left in the tank," Sullivan wrote. "Stafford enjoyed a stellar 2024 campaign with his passer rating (93.7) clocking in as the second-best of his entire tenure with the Rams. He now links up with Davante Adams, who signed a two-year, $44 million deal with L.A. in free agency after he was released by the New York Jets."

"Even splitting time between two different organizations, Adams was still able to top 1,000 yards receiving last year, and went nuclear down the stretch as one of the lone bright spots of New York's offense. In his final five games of the regular season, Adams caught 36 balls for 510 yards and five touchdowns. That's a 122-1,734-17 pace over a full 17-game season. With Stafford, Adams clearly upgraded at quarterback, and with Puka Nacua lining up opposite of him within a Sean McVay-led offense, this pairing should take the league by storm in 2025."

If Sullivan is right, Stafford's bust will be in Canton, Ohio.