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Who really had the best fantasy football season of all time (Round 2)? Cooper Kupp made his case in 2021 but what about the past greats? Robert Lorge evaluates the top choices in a tournament format.
In recognition of Cooper Kupp’s all-time great season and with March Madness right around the corner, what better time to look at who had the greatest fantasy season of all time in a tournament-style competition?
To do so, there will be 32 contestants entered into the pool. They will be seeded and you, the voters, will decide who will move on to the next round. Round One has already been completed and if you want to see all the participants who made the initial field, you can do so here.
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Rules
There’s no point in trying to decide who had the very best statistical fantasy season of all time. It’s LaDainian Tomlinson back in 2006 when he racked up 31 touchdowns and over 2,300 scrimmage yards. He outscored the RB2 that season by 82.7 points, and the RB10 he had by an absolutely insane 242.7 points. He actually outscored the RB10 by more points than the RB10 scored himself. He is the King.
That much isn’t up for debate, but who is the No. 2? The top-five? That’s really what we’re going to be trying to decide here with this series.
Now, there are some ground rules. For starters, the running backs will be using half-PPR scoring, while the receivers and tight ends will be in full-PPR. The reason for this is if it’d be full-PPR, we’d have nothing but 32 running back contestants for the most part. This is a way of trying to level the playing field, as running backs have all but dominated the top-end of the fantasy football landscape for years.
It’d be easier to put up their total fantasy points scored and we’d all just vote on who scored the most points. That’s easy, but let’s try to add a little context here, shall we? With each contestant, you’ll find how much they dominated their positional group. How many more points did they score compared to the RB2 or WR2? What about their score vs QB10 or TE10?
Context is important. As the league has changed, a quarterback scoring 400 points in 2021 isn’t as crazy or as dominating as it would’ve been in 2010. For example, Josh Allen scored 405 points in 2020. He only outscored QB10 by 63. Aaron Rodgers, however, scored 397 points in 2011 and outscored QB10 by 160. So really what we’re trying to answer here is not only who had the best fantasy season of all time, but whose season was the most impactful at the time? Let’s see the remaining contestants.
Quarterbacks
Peyton Manning, 2013
As a member of the Denver Broncos, Manning went all scorched earth on the rest of the league en route to the most passing touchdowns in a single season. He finished with 5,477 yards passing and 55 touchdowns. He also had one rushing touchdown for good measure. He finished with 410 points.
He outscored the QB2 that season by 52.3 points and the QB10 by 149.1 points.
Lamar Jackson, 2019
Jackson set the league on fire this season and became the first quarterback to record a 1,000-yard rushing season. Fantasy managers got an elite quarterback and a very good running back, all in one pick. You put them together and it was simple domination. The 2019 MVP finished with 3,127 passing yards and 36 touchdowns. He also racked up 1,206 rushing yards and seven scores on the ground. He finished with 421.7 points.
He outscored the QB2 by 72.9 points and the QB10 by 139.3.
Patrick Mahomes, 2018
Before there was Lamar Jackson, there was the former Red Raider. Mahomes went absolutely bonkers and fantasy managers rejoiced as he just kept piling up the points in record fashion. He finished with 5,097 passing yards with 50 touchdowns. He also chipped in 272 rushing yards and two scores. His final point total was 417.1 points.
He bested the QB2 by 63.2 points and the QB10 by 131.2.
Tom Brady, 2007
We certainly can’t talk about the best quarterback seasons of all time without mentioning the one season we got to witness with Brady throwing to Randy Moss. He threw for 4,806 yards and 50 touchdowns while also having 98 rushing yards and two scores. He ended up with 390 points.
He outscored the QB2 by 94.7 points and the QB10 by 179.6.
Running Backs
Priest Holmes, 2002
Holmes simply dominated fantasy football for two years. If he was on your team in 2002 or 2003, you were likely in the championship game. He made taking second place seem not so bad because he made any team he was on damn near unbeatable. In 2002, he had 1,615 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns. That’s amazing by itself, but he also provided 70 receptions, 672 receiving yards, and another three scores. He ended with 405.7 points.
He outscored the RB2 by 72 points and RB10 by 162.7.
LaDainian Tomlinson, 2003
One of the few repeat performers to be on this list and LT earned his way on it a second time. It wasn’t nearly as dominating as his 2006 campaign and even though he came in as the RB3 to Priest Holmes, Tomlinson still deserves mention here. He finished with 1,645 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. He was a major factor in the passing game, coming down with 100 receptions, 725 yards, and four scores. He ended up with 393.8 points.
While he finished 14.2 points behind Holmes, he bested the RB3 by 33.8 points and the RB10 by 153.2.
Shaun Alexander, 2005
None other than Mr. Touchdown himself. The Seahawk had one of the best pure rushing seasons in the history of the NFL in 2005. He finished with 1,880 yards and an unbelievable 27 rushing scores. He also had 15 receptions, 78 receiving, and one touchdown. He wrapped up the campaign with 369.3 points.
He outscored the RB2 by 30.7 points and the RB10 by 165.7.
Christian McCaffrey, 2019
He may have struggled with injuries the past two seasons, but there’s no taking away what he did in 2019. He never busted – ever – not when you rack up 116 receptions and the ceiling was always in play. Simply put, if he was in your lineup, you were going to win. It really was that simple. He racked up 1,387 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, but where he really made his mark was in the passing game. He finished with 116 receptions, 1,005 yards, and four touchdowns. Just his receiving work alone would’ve landed him as the WR16 in full-PPR. His final point total was 413.2 points.
He destroyed the field this season, besting the RB2 by 122.9 points and RB10 by 195.1 points.
Marshall Faulk, 2000
The MVP and Hall of Famer put together an all-time great season for the greatest show on turf. Opposing defenses didn’t have an answer to him all year and it resulted in the former Ram finishing with 1,369 rushing yards and 18 scores. He also had 81 receptions, 830 yards, and an additional eight touchdowns. He finished with 419.4 points.
He outscored the RB2 by 55.6 points and the RB10 by 143.5.
Emmitt Smith, 1995
The Cowboys were the team back in the 1990s and Smith was the bell cow of the offense. He has the most rushing yards and touchdowns in NFL history. He’s an NFL icon and he was never better than he was in 1995. He finished with 1,773 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns. He also had 62 receptions and 375 yards and unfortunately no receiving scores. He finished with 383.8 points.
He outscored the RB2 by 103.6 points and the RB10 by 155.4.
Wide Receivers
Cooper Kupp, 2021
A big kudos to the man who started this project. Kupp had one of, if not the best, fantasy season of all-time for receivers. And to best, Jerry Rice is one hell of a feat. He was unstoppable this past season. He dominated in every facet, racking up 145 receptions and finishing with 16 touchdowns. He finished with 1,947 receiving yards and 439.5 points.
He outscored the WR2 by 95.2 points and the WR10 by 180.4.
Jerry Rice, 1995
It took 25 years for a receiver to finally break his all-time fantasy scoring record, but fantasy managers cannot forget how dominating Rice was. Simply put, he was the greatest receiver of all time and 1995 may have been his masterpiece. He finished with 122 receptions, 1,848 yards, and 15 touchdowns. He also had another touchdown on the ground. He finished with 414 points.
He outscored the WR2 by 37.2 points and the WR10 by 164.6.
Randy Moss, 2007
The Brady to Moss connection didn’t need any time warming up, the chemistry seemed automatic. After a few down years in Oakland, Moss transformed back into the best receiver in the game. The Raiders have a way of doing that to players, bringing out their worst. And on the flip side, Brady has a way of bringing out their best. He finished with the most receiving scores in a single season when he caught 23 of Brady’s 50 scores. He finished with 98 receptions for 1,493 yards and 385.3 fantasy points.
He outscored the WR2 by 75.3 points and the WR10 by 140.8.
Marvin Harrison, 2002
Harrison’s reception total was the NFL’s best for 17 years until 2019 when Michael Thomas would go on to break it, but at the time, his 143 receptions helped ascend him to the No. 1 spot among receivers. He also had 1,722 yards and 11 touchdowns. He finished with 384.2 total points.
He outscored the WR2 by 47.1 points and the WR10 by 148.8.
Tight Ends
Travis Kelce, 2020
Despite scoring like a top-five receiver in 2020, Kelce didn’t easily take the No. 1 spot amongst tight ends. That’s because Darren Waller had his own season for the ages, although he didn’t qualify for the top-32. Kelce had 105 receptions, 1,416 yards, and 11 touchdowns to finish with 312.8 points.
He finished 34.2 points ahead of the TE2 and 163.7 ahead of TE10.
Jimmy Graham, 2013
Graham is the lone tight end to make this list twice and his second showing, like Holmes and Brown before, got even better. This time, he found the end zone 16 times. He also had 86 receptions and 1,215 yards. He finished with 303.5 points.
He was 116.5 points ahead of the TE2 and 167.1 ahead of TE10.
The Bracket
How to Cast Your Vote
Below you'll find the Twitter thread of all the first-round matchups. Each matchup's voting will be open for five days. Once the voting is closed, a new article will be created, as well as a new Twitter thread of the following rounds so we can determine who really had the greatest fantasy football season of all time.
Best Fantasy Football Season Ever - 2nd Round Voting @RotoBaller
No. 1 Marshall Faulk (2000) vs No. 9 Jimmy Graham (2013)
Faulk - 413.2 total points (+122.9 points on RB2 & +195.1 on RB10)
Graham - 303.5 total points (+116.5 on TE2 & +167.1 on TE10)
— Rob (@RobFFSlayer) March 13, 2022
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