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.

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: 2011-15.

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 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, and he isn't as of this writing, but he sure is a hell of a lot closer than he was.  Never forget how vital Super Bowl wins are for the Quarterback position for Canton consideration.   

Stafford is now on the north side of 35 and is entering his fifth year in L.A.   His second Pro Bowl in 2023 will help him, but he needs a lot more despite the Super Bowl win.  His key is in his statistical compilation.  Currently, he is tenth in Passing Yards (59,809), and could pass Dan Marino (61,361), Matt Ryan (62,792), and Philip Rivers (63,440), and a top-five spot all-time is in his grasp.  Say what you want about the previously mentioned three QBs, and that they were better than Stafford (we would agree), but he has a ring.

From the University of Georgia, Matthew Stafford was the Lions' Quarterback from 2009 to 2020, starting every game he appeared in.  

The Lions had Calvin Johnson for the first part of Stafford's Detroit run, but he did not have much more help, and the defense was generally poor.  Stafford was considered to be an above-average QB, but his record was 16 Games below .500.  Despite his won-loss record, Stafford broke the 40-year drought by making the Pro Bowl (2014) as a Lions Quarterback.  He threw for over 4,000 Yards annually from 2011 to 2017, and did so again in 2020, his last season with Detroit, as he was traded to the Rams, becoming a household name by winning the Super Bowl in his first year there.

Overall, he threw for 45,109 Yards with 282 Touchdowns, impressive numbers that should be celebrated more than it is.

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