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Who's Better: Rams' Matthew Stafford or Commanders' Jayden Daniels
Jun 10, 2025; Ashburn, VA, USA; Washington Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels (5) passes the ball on day one of minicamp at Commanders Park. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

For the most part, NFL quarterback rankings have the same four passers occupying the top four spots. Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Lamar Jackson hold those four spots down while naming the fifth best quarterback becomes a point of debate.

In ESPN's recent ranking of quarterbacks, a ranking that polled NFL executives, coaches and scouts, before being written by Jeremy Fowler listed Washington Commanders quarterback and reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year Jayden Daniels at five while Los Angeles Rams gunslinger Matthew Stafford sits at six.

Now there's no way to say who is the better quarterback because they have such contrasting styles.

Daniels is a young, duel-threat nightmare who is virtually impossible to stop on fourth down.

Stafford is an older, savvy veteran who makes pre-snap decisions, often going against the design of the play, to effectively hit targets from the pocket.

However, these two men seem destined to be on a crash course that could determine the NFC's participant in the Super Bowl.

"Single-handedly took one of the worst franchises to the NFC title game as a rookie with a bad defense, one legitimate wide receiver, a dinosaur at tight end [12th-year pro Zach Ertz] and average-at-best OL," said an NFL coordinator who prepared for Daniels last season to ESPN's Fowler.

"The kid can read coverages, throw with accuracy and touch to all levels of the field, just as dangerous as Lamar and Josh Allen with his legs and has a clutch factor to him because his team already believes that if he has the ball with a chance to win, he's going to find a way. If he repeats anything close to his rookie year, he's no lower than No. 3 on this list next year."

Both the Rams and Commanders are reenforcing their quarterbacks with weapons to go after a championship.

The Rams re-signed Alaric Jackson, added Davante Adams, retained Tutu Atwell, and are running it back with productive veteran Puka Nacua and hard-nosed running back Kyren Williams.

The Commanders traded for Laremy Tunsil and Deebo Samuel, retained Zach Ertz, are running it back with Terry McLaurin (as long as the Commanders solve his contract dispute) and Brian Robinson Jr.

The Commanders also added Josh Conerly Jr, while the Rams added his Oregon teammate Terrance Ferguson.

Considering the Rams were a missed block away from hosting the Commanders in the 2025 NFC Championship Game, these two teams and their quarterbacks are bound to be under contant evaluation, especially for the fifth spot in the rankings.

They have similar approaches to building offenses. Now it's a question of who gets the job done?

This article first appeared on Los Angeles Rams on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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