Matthew Stafford has the best mechanics and ball placement of any quarterback in the NFL, according to his former Lions teammate Dan Orlovsky. In an article for ESPN, Orlovsky ranked quarterbacks by seven different traits that he considers to be important, and Stafford showed up four times in the top-4:
- Ball Placement, 1st
- Mechanics, 1st
- Decision-Making, 2nd
- Arm Strength, 4th
Stafford did not place in the top-10 in the other three categories, including Pocket Presence, Second-Reaction ability, and Rushing ability.
One of the reasons it’s surprising Stafford didn’t make Orlovsky’s top-10 for second-reaction can be found in this paragraph:
“I’m looking for creativity here, as well as the ability to throw from weird arm angles and platforms. You’ll notice a lot of the strongest arms make this list, too — that’s obviously key. But mobility and field vision also matter in a big way. So, it’s no shocker that I have Allen at No. 1. He shows all of those second-reaction traits, and he can obviously tuck and run if there’s nothing else available.”
Although Orlovsky also mentions working outside the pocket, which quarterback better examplifies “creativity” and “weird arm angles” than Stafford?
I get that Orlovsky means improvisation skills, outside of the pocket, when the plan breaks down. But Patrick Mahomes has cited Stafford as his inspiration for weird arm angles and platforms. And still nobody does a no-look pass like Stafford.
2025 MVP Matthew Stafford. pic.twitter.com/eiRlMObo1Q
— Football Performances (@NFLPerformances) July 13, 2026Orlovsky did rank Stafford top-2 in three categories, however, like mechanics:
“-Repeatable processes that don’t change from rep to rep, even when things get chaotic around the QB
That last one is key for Stafford and Burrow. Defenses don’t know what’s coming because every throw looks exactly the same coming out. It’s amazing consistency. The tight connection between Stafford’s upper and lower body allows him to pull off all those no-look throws. Defenses can’t tell the difference until his release, and bam, the ball is going somewhere unexpected.“
Orlovsky wasn’t a fan of Stafford’s pocket presence, though.
Stafford and Orlovsky shared a locker room for a couple of years in Detroit, and later Orlovsky had a short stint on the Rams in Sean McVay’s first stint, long before L.A. traded for Stafford.
He’s always been a big supporter of Matthew Stafford’s and the Rams. Now he’s just putting a finer point on it.
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