Ranking The Five Best Fantasy Football Running Back Seasons of All Time

Dave Ventresca of RotoBaller examines and ranks the five best fantasy football running back seasons of all time and compares them to Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry's 2024 season-wide performances.

For years, running back was seen as the most important part of a fantasy football team. It’s why managers would routinely chase running backs early in drafts. That legendary upside is enough to single-handedly carry owners to a championship. In recent years, we’ve seen running back take a bit of a backseat to wide receivers. However, that changed this year, as we saw multiple backs have huge seasons. Saquon Barkley and Derrick Henry both accrued over 2,000 scrimmage yards and scored double-digit touchdowns.

But where do their seasons rank among some of the greatest single-season running back performances? For our exercise today, we are going to highlight the five greatest fantasy football running back seasons of all time. The scoring criteria will be based on the following: full PPR scoring, one point for every 10 rushing and receiving yards, and six points for touchdowns. Now that we have our scoring settings, let’s crunch the numbers and get to work.

Make sure you’re following RotoBaller on X, and check out RotoBaller.com for all your fantasy football needs. Here are the five best running back seasons of all time for PPR fantasy football leagues.

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5.) LaDainian Tomlinson - 2003 San Diego Chargers - 445.3 PPR Points

Tomlinson makes our list once again. This season didn’t quite match his historic 2006, but it’s nothing to sneeze at. The future Hall of Famer amassed 2,370 scrimmage yards, along with 18 total touchdowns, and caught 100 passes to boot.

Prime LaDanian Tomlinson was a walking highlight reel 🔥⚡️ pic.twitter.com/DGFQZ2JIA5

— Fanly Gridiron 🏈 (@FanlyGridiron) August 12, 2023

He was undoubtedly one of the greatest backs to ever step on the field, and he was fun to watch every Sunday. It was even more enjoyable if you were lucky enough to have him on your fantasy football team.

4.) Priest Holmes - 2003 Kansas City Chiefs - 447 PPR Points

Holmes had some great seasons for the Chiefs in the early 2000s. His best one, though, was 2003. He ran for 1,420 yards on the ground, caught 74 passes along with another 690 receiving yards, and scored a whopping 27 total touchdowns.

Priest Holmes broke the single-season rushing touchdown record vs. the Bears in 2003 with 26 TDs 😳#KCvsCHI Sunday on FOX pic.twitter.com/oy7SrkctV1

— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) September 23, 2023

Those 27 touchdowns broke Marshall Faulk’s then record of 26, but would eventually be broken by Shaun Alexander and then by LaDainian Tomlinson. Running back scoring was just out of control during these days. If you rostered a back who put up this kind of season, you had such a massive advantage over the rest of your league.

Holmes had some memorable performances in 2003 and carried many gamers to a fantasy football title. He was on pace for another huge year in 2004 before his season was cut short after eight games due to injury. 2003 would wind up being the last big statistical season of his career. His time as an elite fantasy football player was short, but man, did he make an impact for those smart enough to draft him.

3.) Marshall Faulk - 2000 St. Louis Rams - 455.9 PPR Points

Faulk was such a cheat code for fantasy gamers back in the day. He is one of three players to reach 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season and is one of the most dynamic running backs in NFL history.

Marshall Faulk's touchdown run in 1999 vs the Browns. One of the coolest runs you will ever see. #stlrams
pic.twitter.com/WPSPdcw9dX

— St. Louis Rams History (@STLRamsHistory) August 23, 2022

His 2000 season was a thing of beauty. He posted 1,359 rushing yards on just 253 carries. In addition, Faulk caught 81 passes for 830 yards and scored a then-NFL record 26 total touchdowns. The most remarkable part of Faulk’s 2000 season? He did all of this in 14 games!

Had he not missed two games, Faulk could very well have surpassed Tomlinson’s 2006 season. Even still, fantasy managers were more than pleased with the numbers Faulk delivered in 2000.

2.) Christian McCaffrey - 2019 Carolina Panthers - 469.2 PPR Points

McCaffrey couldn’t quite reach Tomlinson’s mark, but he came very close. He did so in large part by becoming only the third player in NFL history to register 1,000 yards rushing and receiving in the same season. 19 total touchdowns helped as well.

Christian McCaffrey turns on the jets for his 3rd TD of the day 🏃‍♂️💨

(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/I4eqDfiT4K

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 3, 2019

The all-purpose back also set an NFL record with 116 receptions. This is the most receptions by a running back in a single season in NFL history. McCaffrey has struggled with injuries since his historic 2019 but did post another strong season in 2023.

1.) LaDainian Tomlinson - 2006 San Diego Chargers - 474.3 PPR Points

Man, where do we begin with this campaign? If you’re young or a new fantasy football player, stop what you’re doing and search for LaDainian Tomlinson highlights on YouTube. This guy was just an absolute beast.

VIDEO: Every one of LaDainian Tomlinson’s career touchdowns.

One of the most special talents ever step on a football field.

🐐pic.twitter.com/ZalN6UeclP

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) December 14, 2024

Tomlinson enjoyed many successful seasons as a pro, but his 2006 campaign was his best. He ran for over 1,800 yards, caught 56 passes for 508 receiving yards, and scored an NFL-record 33 total touchdowns.

He accomplished all of this on 404 touches. Tomlinson routinely had high touch totals throughout his career. He was just a special back. Given the way teams monitor running back touches in today’s game, we may never see another season quite like this one. That record of 33 total touchdowns feels like it could stand for quite some time.

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