RADIO
Now that we've reached the dreadful off-season, it seems like the perfect time to compare this year's fantasy results to history's best. Cooper Kupp's dominant 2021 season and Travis Kelce's 2022 season may stand out to some as the best fantasy performances they have ever seen. Older, controversially wiser, fantasy managers will remind you of the seasons Jerry Rice and Isaac Bruce had in 1995. They'll mention Shannon Sharpe's name and fight tooth and nail to preserve the reputation of former generational talents.
I have been playing fantasy football since 2008, the year I kicked my first home run in kickball during first-grade recess. I took this article under my wing to test my experiences against history. Has fantasy football evolved to higher levels of production, or is my recency bias keeping me, and other young managers, naive?
Big thanks to Eric Samulski. He laid the groundwork for this series by ranking the greatest fantasy seasons position-by-position. You can find the top-2o seasons at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, and tight end at their respective links. I will wrap all positions into one to close the series.
Be sure to check all of our fantasy football rankings for 2024:- Quarterback fantasy football rankings
- Running back fantasy football rankings
- Wide receiver fantasy football rankings
- Tight end fantasy football rankings
- Kicker fantasy football rankings
- FLEX fantasy football rankings
- Defense (D/ST) fantasy football rankings
- Superflex fantasy football rankings
- IDP fantasy football rankings
- Dynasty fantasy football rankings
Best Fantasy Football Seasons of All-Time
To stay consistent with the series, I used Pro Football References fantasy stats, which go back as far as 1978, and collected the best half-point PPR seasons (listed under FanDuel scoring on the site). In each of Eric's positional articles, there is a chart outlining the top-25 seasons per position ranked by points per game. You can find them at the links in the previous paragraph.
VBD is included in all the charts, which was popularized by Joe Bryant in the 90s and is the player's fantasy points minus the fantasy points of the baseline player at that position. Quarterbacks and running backs dominated all categories, making it difficult to illustrate the positions equally. Check out Eric's charts to see how a player's season compared to the rest of the position.
Below are the ten best fantasy football seasons of all time. My rankings align with Eric's, with a few slight nuances. In our defense, it's like picking between a Bugatti and a Rolls Royce in most situations. Where does Cooper Kupp's 2021 season rank? What about Christian McCaffrey and Lamar Jackson's 2019 seasons?
#10. Randy Moss (2007)
Also has the #7 all-time season for a wide receiver (2003)
Stats: 1,493 receiving yards and 23 touchdowns on 98 catches and 160 targets
It took 20 years for someone to break Jerry Rice's incredible single-season touchdown record. Randy Moss caught multiple touchdowns in seven games throughout 2007, totaling 23 visits to the end zone to beat Rice's record by one.
This is the 3rd best season of all time by VBD and is made all the more impressive since many people thought Moss was done. He was coming off of a three-year stretch (one year in Minnesota and two in Oakland) where he averaged 775 receiving yards and eight touchdowns per year. Then he came to New England as a 30-year-old and exploded with Tom Brady as New England made the Super Bowl with an undefeated record (we all know what happened next).
The Patriots had the number one scoring offense in the league, and Moss was also 2nd in receiving yards. Moss topped 100 receiving yards in 50% of his games in 2007.
#9. Lamar Jackson (2019)
Stats: 3,127 yards on 66.1% completion, 36 touchdowns, six interceptions (1.5% INT%), 8.9 air yards/attempt, 1,206 rushing yards, seven rush TDs
The 2019 NFL MVP led the league in passing touchdowns with 36 and ran for over 1,200 yards. It's actually the only season in his NFL career where he passed for more than 26 touchdowns or 3,000 yards.
Lamar Jackson broke onto the scene in his first full season as a starter. Jackson totaled the third-most fantasy points by a quarterback in a single season, and fourth-most among all positions. The former Heisman winner scored over 20 points in all but one game. Jackson's dominant 2019 season featured eight 30-point outings.
#8. Cooper Kupp (2021)
Stats: 1,947 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns on 145 catches and 191 targets
This is the year everybody knew would be on this list because of our recency bias. Just last year we saw Kupp lead the league in catches, yards, and receiving touchdowns. However, it was just the 4th best season of all time by VBD, which is, in part, because Kupp had an extra week of games to put up these stats.
Kupp topped 15 half-PPR fantasy points in all but two games during his historic season. Only once did Cooper Kupp total less than 90 receiving yards in a game. He was the first triple crown winner since Steve Smith in 2005. The former FCS prospect totaled 367 fantasy points in 2021, the most all-time by a wide receiver in a single season.
#7. Christian McCaffrey (2019)
Stats: 1,387 rushing yards, 15 touchdowns on 4.8 yards per carry, 1,005 receiving yards, and four receiving touchdowns
When people say "If only Christian McCaffrey can stay healthy," this is what they mean. McCaffrey led the NFL in total touchdowns and yards from scrimmage even though he led the NFL in no running back-specific categories. CMC joined Roger Craig (1985) and Marshall Faulk (1999) as the only running backs to top 1,000 rushing yards and 1,000 receiving yards in a single season.
By VBD, this season ranks 8th all-time, so even if you account for the changes in the fantasy game, McCaffrey had a tremendous season in 2019. Amazingly, Christian McCaffrey finished inside the top-ten running backs in all but two games in 2019.
#6. Rob Gronkowski (2011)
Also has #7 all-time season (2014), and #8 all-time season for a tight end (2015)
2011 Stats: 1,327 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns on 90 catches with 124 targets, and one rushing touchdown
Rob Gronkowski's 2011 season stands as far and away the best single-season fantasy performance by a tight end. Gronk totaled 285.9 points, 25 more than any other tight end has amassed in one year. What separates his great season from the rest was how frequently he found the end zone. The future Hall of Famer scored multiple touchdowns in seven different games in 2011.
Gronk's VBD score of 145 is 21 points higher than any other score in the history of fantasy. His 1,327 receiving yards were an NFL record at the time, but have since fallen down to sixth-best, with Travis Kelce producing three seasons with more yards himself. Nonetheless, no tight end has matched the damage Rob Gronkowski inflicted on defenses in 2011.
#5. Patrick Mahomes (2018)
Also #11 (2022) and #9 (2020)
Stats: 5,097 yards on 66% completion, 50 touchdowns, 12 interceptions (2.1% INT%), 9.6 air yards/attempt, 272 rushing yards, two rush TDs
Mahomes has had more than a few good seasons with both his 2020 season and 2022 season making the top 11 in terms of best all-time seasons by a quarterback; however, 2018 takes the cake. Mahomes led the league with 9.6 air yards per attempt in his first year as a starter as defenses didn't have an answer for the young superstar.
The now two-time Super Bowl champion topped 25 points in 10 games during the 2018 season. The only two games Mahomes failed to throw multiple touchdowns in are the two games he ran in a touchdown himself. Mahomes joined Peyton Manning as the only other quarterback to throw for 5,000 yards and 50 touchdowns in a single season.
#4. Jerry Rice (1987)
Also has the #2 all-time season for a wide receiver (1995)
Stats: 1,078 receiving yards, 22 touchdowns on 65 catches
Any way you want to look at it, Rice had the best fantasy football season of all time. You can consider 1987 the best season since it is the number one season by VBD. Rice put up 1,078 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns in just 12 games because of the NFL players' strike in the middle of the season. Considering the missed games were out of Rice's control, I don't think it's right to penalize him for it.
Rice's 22 touchdowns stood as a single-season NFL record until Randy Moss broke it 20 years later. Insane when you consider Rice played 75% of a regular season. The best receiver of all time averaged 23.5 points per game during the 1987 season, 1.9 more than Cooper Kupp's record-breaking 2021 season.
#3. Aaron Rodgers (2011)
Stats: 4,643 yards on 68.3% completion, 45 touchdowns, six interceptions (1.2% INT%), 9.2 air yards/attempt, 257 rushing yards, three rush TDs
The difference between Mahomes' 2018 and Rodgers' 2011 is minuscule. Mahomes finished with 26.818 points per game in 16 games, while Rodgers finished with 26.893 points per game in 15 games. Rodgers was helped by fewer interceptions and one extra rushing touchdown, and VBD ranked Rodgers' year as 175 while Mahomes scored 134, which is an indication of how pass-happy the league was in 2018 compared to when Rodgers put up these numbers in 2011 when he also won MVP.
Consistency was what made Rodgers' 2011 fantasy season so special. Week 14 against the Raiders marked the only time Rodgers finished a week outside the top-eight quarterbacks or with less than 20 points. He led the positions in scoring in five separate weeks, pouring on points all throughout his first MVP season.
#2. LaDanian Tomlinson (2006)
Also has the #7 all-time season for a running back (2003)
Stats: 1,815 rushing yards, 28 touchdowns on 5.2 yards per carry, 508 receiving yards, and three receiving touchdowns
Many fantasy players regard LaDanian Tomlinson's 2006 season as the greatest of all time. There's a strong case to be made, Tomlinson was the last running back to be awarded MVP of the league. LT had the most fantasy points by a running back in a season ever and the second-most ever if you go by points per game. This is also the best season ever based on VBD, ranking 33 points ahead of Terrell Davis' season.
The Charger great scored an NFL-record 31 times during the 2006 season, three more than any other player in a single season. Tomlinson's 2,323 yards from scrimmage rank eighth in league history and second for himself. His 453.1 fantasy points total out to be 24 more than any other player has accumulated in a single season, regardless of position. An incredible season that owners will never forget.
#1. Marshall Faulk (2000)
Also has the #3 all-time season for a running back (2001)
Stats: 1,359 rushing yards, 18 touchdowns on 5.4 yards per carry, 830 receiving yards, and eight receiving touchdowns
Marshall Faulk did more in 14 games than any other running back has accomplished in a single season. Faulk missed two games for mid-season knee surgery before returning for the final six games of the season. Many will scoff at LaDanian Tomlinson not taking the crown for his incredible 2006 season. Faulk gets the edge for me since he averaged 1.6 more points per game.
The 2011 Hall of Fame inductee led the NFL in total touchdowns, averaged 156.4 yards from scrimmage per game, and won the 2000 MVP. He scored an incredible 26 times. Over the final three weeks of the season, Faulk amassed 132.6 half-PPR points to carry his owners to a title. He's the only player in fantasy history to average 30 points per game in a season. Had he played a full 16-game season, there would be no doubt Marshall Faulk's 2000 season was the best fantasy football has ever witnessed.
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