Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings Update: Where To Place Matthew Stafford?

We've been prepping all offseason for this moment. The start of the 2026 NFL season is a little more than a week away, and after all the scouting, rookie drafts, fretting over offseason news and injuries, we're almost to real football. That said, this is the final dynasty fantasy football rankings of the offseason. So let's get into it.

Final Dynasty Fantasy Football Rankings Update of the Offseason

Sam Darnold | QB | Seahawks

From dominating with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 to leading the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl title in 2025, there aren't many redemption stories as awesome as Sam Darnold.

It's going to make a legendary 30 for 30 on ESPN someday.

As Seattle looks to defend its title in what should be, once again, another tightly contested NFC West, a quick glance across the various offensive skill positions reveals very few holes for Darnold (or fantasy managers) to be concerned about.

Certainly losing Super Bowl MVP Kenneth Walker changes things, but the Seahawks addressed the position by snagging Jadarian Price at the end of the first round of the NFL Draft this past spring. Rising superstar Jaxon Smith-Njigba is coming off of a very "2021 Cooper Kupp" type season and he'll, once again, be the focal point of this offense.

Normally, I'd expect some level of regression from a Super Bowl-winning QB, but a closer look at the numbers shows that Darnold had himself a relatively pedestrian season from a production standpoint. He barely topped 4,000 passing yards and threw only 25 TDs.

The departure of Walker coupled with the injury to Zach Charbonnet means it's quite possible Darnold needs to shoulder a larger role this season. It would be a bit unreasonable to expect Price to immediately replace all of Walker's production so I would expect a heavier dose of Darnold in 2026.

If that's the case, he's a prime QB2 option for those who need to address that position in their upcoming fantasy football drafts.

Malik Willis | QB | Dolphins

As a Green Bay fan, I'm a big Malik Willis believer. I'm grateful for the time he spent with the Packers and am happy that he both got a new contract and the opportunity to start for another franchise.

While the Miami Dolphins might have easily the worst receiver room in the entire league, there's ample reason to be optimistic about his fantasy prospects in 2026. For added context, here's what the legend Ian Hartitz had to say about Willis earlier this offseason:

While he didn't run at the combine, Willis reportedly ran a 4.37-second 40-yard dash at Liberty's Pro Day.
Willis has averaged the position's fourth-most yards per scramble (8.9) over the past two seasons.
Nobody has averaged more yards per rush (10.6) on read options.

This latter tool is particularly important when projecting Willis' fantasy impact in Miami. Consider: Since 2014, there have been 34 QBs with 100+ rush attempts in a season, and 31 of them (91%) finished as a top-12 fantasy QB in fantasy points per game.

Fantasy points can be found even in the darkest of places and there's little to be excited about in Miami outside of Willis and De'Von Achane. At his current price, Willis is someone who could easily become a plug-and-play option should your starting QB go down and he's absolutely worth a pick in 2QB/SF formats.

Matthew Stafford | QB | Rams

We better enjoy these Matthew Stafford seasons while we still can because the time is likely near when he's going to officially hang it up for good.

In 2025, Stafford erupted for 4,707 passing yards and a career-best 46 TDs. He's working with arguably the best receiving tandem in the league in Puka Nacua (groin) and Davante Adams, so there's always going to be a high-level of expectation for the reigning NFL MVP.

That said, it's worth a conversation as we ponder whether or not Stafford can repeat those lofty numbers again this fall.

While I really like Stafford at his current price, especially in 2QB / SF formats, it's worth noting that our fearless leader Matthew Berry tossed some well-researched cold water in his latest edition of Love/Hate:

Over the past 15 seasons, every QB who had a TD rate of at least 7% saw that number drop the following season—with an average drop of 2.2%. And considering Stafford had a TD rate of 4.2% over the 2023 and 2024 seasons, as well as fewer TD passes over those two seasons than he had in 2025 alone, we know how a regressed Stafford would perform in fantasy.

Berry goes on to note that the Rams defense should be much improved, which would logically result in Stafford not having to throw as much late in games.

I'm in full agreement with his analysis (after all, you can't really argue with the math), but I'm fully leaning into the vibes here. The Super Bowl this season is the Rams' to lose. They check every possible box as a preseason Super Bowl favorite, and when it comes down to it and the Rams need someone to take over the game, they're going to turn over the reins to Stafford.

Kyler Murray | QB | Vikings

I've written plenty about Kyler Murray this offseason, and he's certainly one of my favorite QB2 options heading into the 2026 season.

Officially the QB1 for the Vikings, all signs are pointing to both Murray and the various skill-position players having bounceback seasons (looking at you, Justin Jefferson).

It's been half a decade since we saw Murray post consecutive top-6 fantasy finishes, but there's ample reason to believe he's a prime candidate to resurrect his dynasty value this upcoming season.

Injuries have been his biggest challenge in recent seasons. A torn ACL cost him the second half of the 2022 season and the first half of the 2023 season. Last year, a foot injury limited him to just five games. However, if we thread the needle and look at his 2024 season, we can see some positive takeaways.

2024 was the year Murray was another year removed from his ACL injury, and he played in all 17 games. He posted his second-highest marks in both passing yards (3,851) and rushing yards (572). His 5 rushing TDs also tied for the second most in his career.

As we've seen before, sometimes it's the year AFTER the year after a torn ACL when players really get back to form. Or, to put it more simply, two seasons post-ACL is the window we want to target.

Murray will likely go undrafted in 1QB redraft leagues this season and he's still a screaming value in 2QB / SF formats. Enjoy this depressed price while you still can.