Rams' Matthew Stafford Isn't Slowing Down

However, when making a list of the most overrated players in the NFC West, Arizona Cardinals On SI's Richie Bradshaw named Stafford as an honorable mention for being the Rams' most overrated player.

"I can hear the hate culminating in the comments as I type this, but we should be able to agree that Stafford is slowing down," wrote Bradshaw. "He was terrific in the Rams' Super Bowl run in 2021, but he's a shell of that player -- and that happens with age."

"He may have elite weapons at his disposal, but it would be unrealistic to assume he goes back to posting gaudy numbers as he enters in his 17th season at age 37 years old."

"By the way, he's shown signs of regression since then, so I'm not fabricating this."

Let me pose this question. Was it regression or fatigue? I've made the argument before that Stafford having to throw the Rams back into the game throughout the first half of the 2024 NFL season, with receivers that weren't his typical go to guys, tired his arm out to the point it became the human embodiment of rubber in the final few games.

Then, after having a week of rest in the season finale, he came out firing bullets in the playoffs because he didn't have to throw rocket balls up and down the field the week before.

Here's what I will say. Stafford has looked good in OTAs. While it's just players in shirts, the ball is coming out good, Stafford looks refreshed, and that will translate into pads. Stafford already has the mental side of the game taken care of and for the first time in a long time, the Rams have three legitamate 1,000 yard receivers.

I also believe Tutu Atwell will play a big role as Stafford spoke about his involvement at OTAs.

“I think we're building that version right now, right? We've run whatever that was, 18, 25, 30 plays, whatever it was today. We're figuring that out. We're building as we go. Tutu, I got a lot of respect for, too. He’s a really smart guy. He's a guy that can play all three spots for us because of his ability to understand where he fits. I think he continues to get better."

"I think I've seen him grow as a football player, seen him grow as a human being, all of those kinds of things as a professional. He's done a hell of a job the last couple years and I think when you turn the tape on and watch, it shows up. Happy for his success, happy for us to get another chance to work with him for another year and looking for big things. Obviously, he's got the one thing everybody knows, he can really run, but I think he plays away from his body really well, catching the football, understands where he fits in the run game and the schemes and obviously [HeadCoach] Sean [McVay] and the coaching staff does a really nice job of finding ways to utilize his best traits and best attributes on a down-in down-out basis.”

If I could put my name behind one thing, Stafford will be efficient in 2025.