Today's installment of Choose Your Quarterback pits Matt Ryan against Matthew Stafford, the Nos. 6 and 7 assets in my latest rankings of the 32 presumed starting quarterbacks.
For what it's worth, they're also the franchise faces for Atlanta and Detroit — the only two places I've ever called home.
Here's a week-by-week fantasy breakdown of Stafford vs. Ryan ... just in case you're torn on which quarterback offers better value in Round 3 of all drafts:
Week 1—Ryan (@ New Orleans) over Stafford (vs. Minnesota)
Week 2—Stafford (@ Arizona) over Ryan (vs. St. Louis)
Week 3—Stafford (@ Washington) over Ryan (@ Miami)
Week 4—Ryan (vs. New England) over Stafford (vs. Chicago)
Week 5—Stafford (@ Green Bay) over Ryan (vs. N.Y. Jets)
Week 6—Stafford (@ Cleveland) over Ryan (BYE)
Week 7—Ryan (vs. Tampa Bay) over Stafford (vs. Cincinnati)
Week 8—Ryan (@ Arizona) over Stafford (vs. Dallas)
Week 9—Ryan (@ Carolina) over Stafford (BYE)
Week 10—Stafford (@ Chicago) over Ryan (vs. Seattle)
Week 11—Ryan (@ Tampa Bay) over Stafford (@ Pittsburgh)
Week 12—Ryan (vs. New Orleans) over Stafford (vs. Tampa Bay)
Week 13—Stafford (vs. Green Bay) over Ryan (vs. Buffalo in Toronto)
Week 14—Stafford (@ Philadelphia) over Ryan (@ Green Bay)
Week 15—Ryan (vs. Washington) over Stafford (vs. Baltimore)
Week 16—Stafford (vs. N.Y. Giants) over Ryan (@ San Francisco)
Week 17—Ryan (vs. Carolina) over Stafford (@ Minnesota) 1. We're splitting hairs with the matchups from Weeks 5, 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 16 and 17, reiterating just how close Ryan (4,719 yards passing, 33 total TDs last year) and Stafford (4,967 yards passing, 24 TDs) should be during the August drafts.
2. By any metric, Stafford fell short of expectations last year with the Lions. However, he also crossed the QB-elite threshold of 275 total yards and/or three touchdowns 11 times, and only had two games of zero touchdowns. In other words, he might have been solely responsible for one fantasy defeat in 2012 — Week 14 against Arizona (246 yards passing, zero TDs, three INTs).
3. In 2013, Ryan has eight common opponents from last year's regular-season slate. Of those games, he averaged 316 yards passing and 1.6 touchdowns. Stafford also has eight 2013 opponents from last year's schedule — averaging 284 yards passing and 1.6 TDs.
4. Stafford has averaged 330 yards passing and two touchdowns in his last two season openers. In that span, Ryan has averaged 314 yards passing and 1.5 TDs.
5. For the playoff period of Weeks 13-16, Stafford gets the nod three times, including the Week 16 Fantasy Bowl. Although, it's worth pointing out Ryan boasts per-game tallies of 333 yards passing and 2.3 TDs against the Niners (including the NFC championship).
