‘Compiler’ Stafford Is Hall of Famer Right Now, Analyst Says

Back in the day at Highland Park High School in Dallas, Matthew Stafford was Clayton Kershaw’s catcher. In the fall, Kershaw was Stafford’s center. And after Kershaw reached 3,000 career strikeouts last week, most believe he cemented his candidacy for the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

But has Matthew Stafford already done enough for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame? Rich Eisen believes so.

“The numbers I have given, to me, makes it a no-brainer,” Eisen said Thursday on the Rich Eisen Show. “And you could say ‘stat compiler’ but he was doing it for one of the worst teams in the NFL and stuck it out to the point where he finally said, ‘I need to go somewhere else.’ And then as soon as he got somewhere else, he got the ring.”

He got the ring in 2021 after the Rams acquired him from Detroit in a blockbuster trade that included quarterback Jared Goff. Stafford also teamed with Calvin Johnson in 2012 and Cooper Kupp in 2021 to produce two of the most prolific individual seasons by a receiver in NFL annals.

“I know this is not a stat that I'm saying, but the stats that I'm about to say do enhance the fact that a quarterback makes his teammates better. And the two, two of the greatest receiving seasons ever, he was the quarterback. Calvin Johnson and Cooper Kupp, and Calvin's in the Hall of Fame because he had Stafford. And the Rams got a ring because they had Stafford.”

The argument against Stafford, 37, before he embarks on his 17th NFL season is his lack of individual honors. He returned from injury in 2011 to earn Comeback Player of the Year, but he’s never captured an MVP or All-Pro selection, and only had two Pro Bowl seasons. He’s also just 108-113-1 as a regular-season starter, five games below .500.

However, his 5,174 completions are ninth in league history, better than No. 10 Dan Marino (4,967). He also needs just 191 passing yards to become the 10th in NFL annals to reach 60,000 (Marino at 61,361 is No. 9 on that list, within easy reach of Stafford). Stafford already has more passing yards than Eli Manning (57,023), John Elway (51,475) and Joe Montana (40,551).

Stafford also owns 377 career touchdown passes, needing just five to surpass No. 9 Matt Ryan (381) on the all-time list. The Rams’ quarterback has more than Hall of Famers Fran Tarkenton (342), Elway (300), Warren Moon (291), Johnny Unitas (290) and Montana (273). And Stafford’s career passer rating (91.2) tops Marino (86.4), Brett Favre (86.0), Jim Kelly (84.4), and Roger Staubach (83.4). And while Marino has an MVP, the Dolphins quarterback never won a Super Bowl.

But whether the Hall of Fame selectors see those numbers and accomplishments as impactful and worthy of enshrinement figures to serve as a fascinating fly-on-the-wall debate five years after Stafford decides to retire.

“If his career ended right now,” said co-host Chris Brockman, presenting the counter argument, “I love Matthew Stafford, I love watching him play. If he never played again, he does not get in.

“All of these stats and all the numbers, you can make the case that he is a compiler. Did it on bad teams who were losing most of the games. So yeah, they had to throw and he accumulated a great number. … He's never sniffed an MVP. He's never sniffed an offensive player of the year award, and I hate saying all this, but I'm just pointing out the facts. He's got one Super Bowl win, that's great, but one Super Bowl win doesn't get you in.”

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