The 2026 NFL season is here, and we have updated our Pre-Season Football Monitor.

As we have expanded our projects, we can’t say we've expanded the team behind the scenes!  As a result, we are a little behind on this one, and we could only post the top 50 of the Pre-Season Monitor at this time.

We will add more during the season (and yes, we know that defeats the purpose of pre-season), but thank you for your patience.

Up first are the Quarterbacks, with a staggering eight ranked in the top 50.

They are:

#1 QB, #2 Overall: Aaron Rodgers, Pittsburgh Steelers. #1 Overall Last Year.

#2 QB, #4 Overall: Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs, #3 Overall Last Year.

#3 QB, #9 Overall: Matthew Stafford, Los Angeles Rams, #26 Overall Last Year.

#4 QB, #12 Overall: Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens, #10 Overall Last Year.

#5 QB, #16 Overall: Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills, #17 Oveall Last Year.

#6 QB, #32 Overall: Jalen Hurts, Philadelphia Eagles, #33 Last Year.

#7 QB, #37 Overall: Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys, #37 Last Year.

#8 QB, #46 Overall: Jared Goff, Detroit Lions, #45 Last Year.

Look for more information on this project shortly.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the top 50 of each major North American sports team. That being said, we maintain and update our existing Top 50 lists annually.  As such, we are delighted to present our post-2024 revision of our top 50 Los Angeles Rams.

As for all of our top 50 players in football, we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the National Football League.

3.  Playoff accomplishments.

4.  Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles that are not reflected in a stat sheet.

Last year, the Chargers had a strong season, finishing 10-7 and advancing to the playoffs, and made it to the Divisional Round, falling to the eventual Super Bowl Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles.  There was one new addition to the list and one elevation on our Top 50.

As always, we present our top five, which remain unchanged. 

1. Aaron Donald
2. Merlin Olsen
3. Deacon Jones
4. Jack Youngblood
5. Orlando Pace

You can find the entire list here.

Cooper Kupp, who is now with the Seattle Seahawks, was unable to move from #31.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford makes his debut at #41.

We thank you for your continued support of our lists on Notinhalloffame.com.

After spending 12 seasons as the starting quarterback for the Detroit Lions, where he consistently put up impressive individual numbers but struggled to find team success, Matthew Stafford was traded to the Los Angeles Rams in January 2021. The Rams sent Jared Goff, two first-round picks, and a third-round pick to the Lions in exchange for Stafford. This move was seen as a bold one by the Rams, bringing in a veteran quarterback to elevate their offense and compete for a championship, and many were skeptical.  Those people were proven wrong immediately.

Stafford's first season with the Rams (2021) was nothing short of spectacular. He immediately clicked with head coach Sean McVay's offense and star wide receiver Cooper Kupp. Stafford led the Rams to a 12-5 regular-season record and their fifth Super Bowl appearance. In Super Bowl LVI, played at their home stadium, SoFi Stadium, the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20. Stafford threw for 283 yards and three touchdowns in the Super Bowl, and his clutch performance on the final drive sealed the victory. This marked his first Super Bowl championship and the Rams' first as a Los Angeles-based team since 1951.

Since then, Stafford's career with the Rams has seen a mix of injuries and continued strong play.  Most notably, in 2023, he went back to the Pro Bowl (his second), was eighth in MVP voting, and threw for 24 TDs and 3,965 Yards. 

North of 35, Stafford enters 2025 in his fifth season as a Ram and is not done yet piling up yards and TDs.

2025 Pre-Season Rank #26, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #31, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #37, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #37, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #59, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #67.  Peak Period: 2021-25.

A change of scenery can change the perception.  

Matthew Stafford was a Lion for 12 years, racking up passing yards but only a few wins.  A Pro Bowl participant once in Detroit, Stafford was entrenched as a second-tier QB.  The Rams traded for him, and he became a Super Bowl Champion in his first year in Los Angeles, gaining national recognition. Articles were written (and scoffed at) proclaiming him a Hall of Famer, but his play in L.A. has now placed him not only in the conversation, but to many pundits, a lock. 

Much of that came from last season’s performance, where for the first time in his career, he led the NFL in Passing Yards and Touchdown Passes, but most importantly, he won the MVP.  He also rocketed up the all-time lists, and is currently 6th in Passing Yards (64,516) and 7th in Touchdown Passes (423), and another monster year will move him even higher.  Considering who he has to pass to, that seems very doable.

If Stafford wins a Super Bowl in 2026, and he is favored to do so, get the bust ready now. 

Selected first overall out of Georgia in 2009, Matthew Stafford stepped into a Motor City franchise coming off a bleak 0-16 campaign, tasked with resurrecting the organization from the ground up. Equipped with a signature cannon arm and extraordinary toughness, Stafford locked down the starting job instantly and spent twelve seasons operating as the unquestioned face of the franchise.

Stafford's statistical explosion came in 2011—his first fully healthy season—when he threw for 5,038 yards and 41 touchdowns, earning Comeback Player of the Year honors while leading Detroit to its first playoff berth in over a decade. Possessing lethal arm strength from every platform angle, Stafford made a habit of staging late-game heroics, setting an NFL single-season record in 2016 with eight fourth-quarter comeback victories.

Throughout his run, he developed an iconic connection with Hall of Famer Calvin Johnson, but even after Megatron's retirement, Stafford continued to rack up monster production. He cleared the 4,000-yard passing threshold in seven separate seasons as a Lion (19 overall), earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2014, and snapped a long franchise drought by becoming the first Lions passer since Greg Landry in 1971 to earn a Pro Bowl trip.

Despite his jaw-dropping volume, a lack of consistent defensive support and a nonexistent running game frequently left Stafford fighting uphill, resulting in a 74-90-1 regular-season mark in Detroit. A blockbuster 2021 trade sent him to the Los Angeles Rams, where he immediately validated his elite ceiling by capturing Super Bowl LVI in his inaugural West Coast campaign.

Over his run in Detroit,  Stafford compiled 45,109 passing yards, with a 282-144 TD-INT ratio.