Stafford's Rams Open at No. 2, But the Super Bowl Hype Has a Ceiling
The reigning MVP threw 46 TDs and zero picks in 2025. So why isn't he the consensus title lock? Here's the fantasy read on the Rams QB1.
46-0 TD-to-INT and a loaded offense make him a QB1 lock at value.
- Stafford: 4,707 pass yds, 46 TD, 0 INT in 2025
- 370 PPR points last season across 17 games
- Our rank: #3 overall, #1 at QB
- Rams open at No. 2; Seahawks at No. 1
- Jaguars won 13 games last season
Matthew Stafford is the reigning MVP, and the numbers explain why: 4,707 passing yards, 46 touchdowns and — read this twice — zero interceptions across 17 games in 2025. That kind of season doesn't just win awards. It anchors your fantasy roster. So it's a little surprising that his Rams open the 2026 season at No. 2 in the new Week 1 power rankings, not No. 1.
The top spot went to the Super Bowl-champion Seahawks, per the tradition of letting the champs start on the throne. But the bigger story is the pushback on the Rams as the trendy title favorite. They're stacked — Stafford under center, Myles Garrett and a returning Aaron Donald wrecking the defense — and most pundits already have them in the Super Bowl. The dissenting take: the team everyone crowns in August rarely lifts the trophy in February.
The Rams' path is also nastier than the hype suggests. Their own division houses the champion Seahawks, projected as a deep playoff team even if they don't repeat. And the surprise Super Bowl picks aren't the Rams at all — they're the Jaguars (No. 3), coming off a 13-win season, and the Cowboys (No. 5), whose offense was already good and whose defense gets a new coordinator in Christian Parker plus fresh talent.
Why the Doubt Doesn't Hurt Stafford
Here's the thing for fantasy managers: skepticism about the Rams winning it all has nothing to do with Stafford's fantasy value. Team narratives and quarterback production are two different conversations. A pass-heavy, talent-rich offense with an MVP triggerman is exactly the kind of environment that keeps a QB in the elite tier week after week, regardless of whether the season ends in a parade.
The other end of the rankings belongs to the Dolphins, sitting dead last and expected to stay there for much of the year. Miami is in a build-not-win phase under new coach Jeff Hafley, and four wins would count as a success. That's worth filing away — Miami's schedule could be a spot to attack with opposing skill players in your lineups.
The Fantasy Verdict
Stafford is our No. 1 quarterback and No. 3 player overall, and he posted 370 PPR points last season (2025). If the power-ranking noise scares off a leaguemate at the draft table or nudges his cost down in a redraft, pounce. The 46-to-0 touchdown-to-interception line isn't a fluke of small samples — it's a full 17-game body of work behind a loaded offense. Buy low, start him with zero hesitation, and let everyone else argue about February.
