Matthew Stafford Fantasy Outlook Points to Top-5 Upside in 2020

Matthew Stafford is so much better than he's given credit for. The 32-year-old was incredible last year, though his season was cut short by a back injury. We've been singing his praises all throughout the offseason, though, and even named him as one of our four league-winning picks in 2020.

If you're waiting on quarterback, Detroit's signal-caller might be the best QB to target.

Matthew Stafford Fantasy Football Outlook

Stafford is currently coming off the board with an average draft position (ADP) of QB13, per FantasyPros. That's way too low.

On a per-game basis, the Georgia product was fantasy's QB4 in 2019. Doubters would point out that he hasn't posted a top-five finish at the position since 2011, but there was a tangible reason for his sudden spike in production – a change in systems.

Under Jim Bob Cooter in 2018, Stafford had an average depth of target (aDOT) of 6.9 yards – the third-lowest in the NFL. That skyrocketed to 10.6, the highest such total in the league, in his first year under new OC Darrell Bevell. The change worked wonders.

Stafford posted top-two marks among all passers in: adjusted yards per attempt (AY/A; 9.1), yards per game (312.4) and yards per attempt (8.6). He also finished with the league's fourth-best touchdown percentage (6.5) and sixth-best passer rating (106.0). All were career highs, aside from yards per game.

Simply put, Stafford was playing the most aggressive and efficient football of his career in this new system and did it while posting tying the lowest interception percentage of his career (1.7).

The fact that this guy is not even being drafted as a starter is absurd – he's one of the best bargains in fantasy. Stafford checks in at QB9 in our 2020 fantasy football rankings.

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Max Staley is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Max Staley also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username mstaley1212. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.