Matthew Stafford

Week 2 at New York Giants

In his first game since signing his monstrous contract, Matthew Stafford didn’t disappoint the Lions or fantasy owners. He torched the Cardinals secondary last week for 292 yards and 4 TDs. Stafford connected with seven receivers in the win, with two of his touchdown passes caught by rookie Kenny Golladay, who will continue to be a red zone option. Last week in Dallas, the Giants fell behind early, which meant the Cowboys could put their offense on cruise control. Dak Prescott threw for 268 yards versus the G-Men in the opener, but in a hostile environment on Monday night, Stafford likely won’t throw four scores again, and all of his numbers should take a dip.

Fantasy Upside

The first season for Matthew Stafford without Calvin Johnson actually went well. Stafford completed 65 percent of his passes for over 4,300 yards and 24 touchdowns. He has been the model of consistency, throwing for more than 4,200 yards and averaging 28 touchdowns during the past six seasons, a stretch that has not seen him miss any games. Without Megatron, his touchdown tosses took a bit of a hit in ’16, but his interception total dropped as well, to a career-low 10 picks. Not known for his scrambling ability, Stafford ran for a career-best 207 yards last season, and also scored twice on the ground. He has 14 rushing scores during his eight years as a pro.

Fantasy Downside

The run game continues to be a missing part of the Lions offense, allowing defenses to key on Stafford and the passing attack. Detroit had the third-worst ground attack in 2016.
Last year’s first-round pick, left tackle Taylor Decker, had offseason shoulder surgery and could miss a significant amount of time.

2017 Bottom Line

During the early part of last season, Stafford connected often with Marvin Jones, but over the last half of the season, he and Golden Tate were back on the same page. With Jones back for his second season, along with another year of familiarity with Eric Ebron and Tate, Stafford should continue to be a very serviceable fantasy QB.

Week 17 vs. Green Bay
After scoring touchdowns on the first three drive last Monday in Dallas, Matthew Stafford and the Lions offense struggled the rest of the way, failing to score another point. In the loss, Matthew threw for 260 yards and was sacked four times. He did manage to plow in on fourth down for a one-yard score. In Week 3 at Green Bay, Stafford tried to rally his team back from a big deficit, throwing for 385 yards and three TDs, but expect a closer contest for much of the rematch.