Matthew Stafford has proven to be one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL during his career, but especially when he joined the Los Angeles Rams in 2021. Not only did he win a Super Bowl, but Stafford has also thrown for at least 3,700 passing yards and 20 touchdowns in the three seasons he played at least 10 games.
One area he especially excelled at during 2024 was throwing downfield. Stafford ranked sixth in the NFL this past season in with 15% of his throws going for at least 16 yards downfield, per The 33rd Team. This is great for Stafford, but even better that ever other player on this list is under 30 years old, whereas Stafford is 37.
Here is the full list:
- Brock Purdy: 18.4%
- Lamar Jackson: 16.8%
- C.J. Stroud: 16.0%
- Jared Goff: 15.2%
- Tua Tagovailoa: 15.2%
- Matthew Stafford: 15.0%
- Josh Allen: 14.7%
- Baker Mayfield: 14.6%
- Jordan Love: 14.5%
This is perhaps why Stafford finished the season with ninth with 2,036 completed air yards in 2024.
Stafford may be older, but he still has his arm strength. The Rams now replace Cooper Kupp with Davante Adams, who was more prolific, less injured and had a higher average depth of target than Kupp. Puka Nacua is also one of the best receivers in the league in yards per route run and also had a great average depth of target than Kupp.
For a Rams team looking to compete for a Super Bowl in 2025, having a fully-loaded Stafford arm is a huge weapon to lean on with the rest of the team's offensive skill players.
This article originally appeared on Rams Wire: Matthew Stafford is the one QB over 30 to rank top-10 in this stat
