The NFL schedule expands to 17 games beginning in 2021, and with the extra game, a number of single-season fantasy football scoring records might fall.
Fantasy dominance, however, is all about value relative to replacement, and today's game is much more passing-oriented than ever. Who, then, had the best fantasy seasons, accounting for the league environment?
To determine this, we used the value-based drafting (VBD) method, to compare a player's seasonal output to the best available player who wouldn't have qualified for a league's starting lineup spot. This means that, using a standard 10-team ESPN league, a quarterback's final total was compared to the 11th-ranked quarterback's total, a running back's total was compared to the 26th-ranked (20 starters and assuming half of the 10 "flex" spots go to the position), and so on.
Here are the current top-10s at each of the four fantasy skill positions, since the AFL/NFL merger in 1970:
Note: All fantasy point totals below are for point-per-reception (PPR) scoring formats, unless otherwise noted.
Quarterbacks
1. Tom Brady, New England Patriots (2007)
Fantasy points: 390.04 | VBD: 181.48
This then-record-setting season included new marks for passing touchdowns (50), quarterback fantasy points and regular-season wins by his team (16). Brady's raw point total remains seventh on the positional all-time list despite the surge in quarterback scoring since.
2. Dan Marino, Miami Dolphins (1984)
Fantasy points: 360.66 | VBD: 170.96
Before Brady, there was Marino, who as a second-year NFL player at age 23 became the league's first 5,000-yard passer (5,084) and shattered the previous mark for passing scores by a dozen (48). That number remained the standard for 20 years.
3. Randall Cunningham, Philadelphia Eagles (1990)
Fantasy points: 356.84 | VBD: 169.58
A mobile quarterback ahead of his time, Cunningham's rushing yardage total in 1990 was 268 yards greater than that of any other quarterback between 1973 and 2001 (Michael Vick's rookie season). Oh, and Cunningham also threw for 30 scores, which ranked second in the league.
4. Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers (1994)
Fantasy points: 348.06 | VBD: 167.80
5. Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers (1998)
Fantasy points: 364.20 | VBD: 166.96
Young was the first quarterback to exceed Marino's positional record for fantasy points. He also became the first to pass for at least 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns while rushing for at least five scores.
6. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers (2011)
Fantasy points: 397.42 | VBD: 164.40
7. Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints (2011)
Fantasy points: 391.64 | VBD: 158.62
8. Peyton Manning, Denver Broncos (2013)
Fantasy points: 409.98 | VBD: 150.24
His single-season record of 55 passing touchdowns helped him become the first quarterback in history to reach the 400-point threshold in fantasy.
9. Brett Favre, Green Bay Packers (1996)
Fantasy points: 307.56 | VBD: 149.84
10. Daunte Culpepper, Minnesota Vikings (2004)
Fantasy points: 373.28 | VBD: 148.80
Few might recall now that in the year in which Manning broke Marino's single-season touchdown record -- a season in which Manning missed this top 10 -- it was Culpepper who paced the position in fantasy points.
Note: Quarterback is the only position here in which the single-season fantasy points record, held by Patrick Mahomes (417.08 in 2018), failed to qualify for the top 10. Since the No. 11 quarterback that season scored 285.02 points, Mahomes' season was worth only 132.06 VBD, which ranks 18th all time.
Running backs
LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers (2006)
Fantasy points: 481.10 | VBD: 316.50
Widely considered the greatest individual season in NFL history, Tomlinson's 2006 remains the single-season best for PPR fantasy points and non-PPR fantasy points (425.10). His season included the most dominant stretch in history: a 10-game span from Weeks 6-15 in which he set a record for consecutive games with 25-plus PPR fantasy points and totaled a monstrous 375.20 points.
2. Christian McCaffrey, Carolina Panthers (2019)
Fantasy points: 471.20 | VBD: 306.00
He gave Tomlinson a run at the fantasy record, becoming only the third player in history with at least 1,000 rushing and 1,000 receiving yards. McCaffrey broke his own single-season record for receptions by a running back (116) and had 2,392 yards from scrimmage, third most in history.
3. Priest Holmes, Kansas City Chiefs (2003)
Fantasy points: 445.00 | VBD: 279.20
After emerging as fantasy's No. 1 player in 2002, a season that checks in further down the list, Holmes raised the bar in 2003. Between the two, he totaled 885.7 points, the greatest two-year total in the game's history.
4. LaDainian Tomlinson, San Diego Chargers (2003)
Fantasy points: 443.84 | VBD: 278.04
5. Marshall Faulk, St. Louis Rams (2000)
Fantasy points: 459.90 | VBD: 276.70
Holmes might have the two-year record, but Faulk holds the standard for a three-year span. His 2000 was the best -- and middle -- season in a three-year run during which he totaled 1,297.50 points.
6. Marshall Faulk, St. Louis Rams (2001)
Fantasy points: 419.70 | VBD: 270.42
7. Priest Holmes, Kansas City Chiefs (2002)
Fantasy points: 440.70 | VBD: 267.50
8. Marshall Faulk, St. Louis Rams (1999)
Fantasy points: 399.90 | VBD: 252.20
9. O.J. Simpson, Buffalo Bills (1975)
Fantasy points: 390.30 | VBD: 251.70
It's saying something that a season that preceded the expansion of the schedule from 14 to 16 games made the top 10.
10. Emmitt Smith, Dallas Cowboys (1995)
Fantasy points: 414.80 | VBD: 250.80
Wide receivers
1. Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers (1995)
Fantasy points: 414.04 | VBD: 229.54
The 1995 season saw wide receivers occupy eight of the top 10 spots on that year's PPR leaderboard, but Rice's performance, in which he totaled a then-record 1,848 receiving yards while becoming the only player in NFL history with at least 100 receptions, 1,750 yards and 15 TD catches, stood above the rest then, and still does today.
2. Randy Moss, Minnesota Vikings (2003)
Fantasy points: 376.00 | VBD: 206.70
3. Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis Colts (2002)
Fantasy points: 384.20 | VBD: 195.30
He set an NFL record with 143 receptions, a mark that would stand for 17 seasons. It was his fourth consecutive season -- and most productive in fantasy terms -- with at least 100 receptions, 1,400 yards and 10 TD catches.
4. Isaac Bruce, St. Louis Rams (1995)
Fantasy points: 376.80 | VBD: 192.30
5. Randy Moss, New England Patriots (2007)
Fantasy points: 385.30 | VBD: 191.20
His 2003 might place higher on the list, but this is the season more people remember. Traded to the Patriots on draft day, Moss set the single-season mark with 23 touchdown receptions in his first year with the team.
6. Torry Holt, St. Louis Rams (2003)
Fantasy points: 359.10 | VBD: 189.80
7. Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers (1994)
Fantasy points: 361.20 | VBD: 189.20
8. Herman Moore, Detroit Lions (1995)
Fantasy points: 371.60 | VBD: 187.10
9. Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh Steelers (2014)
Fantasy points: 386.90 | VBD: 186.70
This was Brown's highest-scoring individual season during a four-year stretch (2013-2016) totaling 1,392.70 points, a mark among wide receivers exceeded only by Rice (1992-1996) and Harrison (1999-2002). Brown's performance looks all the more impressive when you consider it came in a receiver-rich era.
10. Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers (1993)
Fantasy points: 351.20 | VBD: 181.90
Tight ends
1. Todd Christensen, Los Angeles Raiders (1983)
Fantasy points: 288.70 | VBD: 187.80
Kellen Winslow, who checks in further down the list, revolutionized the tight end position in fantasy, but Christensen still had the position's best statistical season. His 92 receptions and 12 receiving touchdowns set tight end records, the latter standing for 21 years. That's not bad for a player who passed through two organizations (Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants) and two positions (fullback, long snapper) before finally finding his niche at tight end with the Raiders.
2. Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs (2000)
Fantasy points: 267.30 | VBD: 171.10
3. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs (2020)
Fantasy points: 312.76 | VBD: 166.26
The most recent entry on any of these four lists, Kelce's 2020 was almost twice as valuable as the No. 7 tight end that year, and he scored a whopping 136.14 more fantasy points than the No. 3 tight end.
4. Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City Chiefs (2004)
Fantasy points: 270.30 | VBD: 165.10
5. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs (2018)
Fantasy points: 294.60 | VBD: 163.40
6. Todd Christensen, Los Angeles Raiders (1986)
Fantasy points: 258.30 | VBD: 159.60
7. Ben Coates, New England Patriots (1994)
Fantasy points: 253.40 | VBD: 158.20
One of the fun "outlier" types of elite seasons -- though he did carve out a plenty productive career -- Coates' 96 receptions set a single-season record for tight ends that would stand for 10 seasons, until surpassed by Gonzalez's 102 in 2004 (which has also been broken).
8. Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots (2011)
Fantasy points: 330.90 | VBD: 157.80
Remarkable, isn't it, that the highest-scoring tight end season ranks merely eighth in VBD? It's a statement about both era and individual season, as 2011 saw the top 10 tight ends score a combined 2,137.50 points, most in history.
9. Kellen Winslow, San Diego Chargers (1980)
Fantasy points: 272.00 | VBD: 155.70
10. Kellen Winslow, San Diego Chargers (1983)
Fantasy points: 253.20 | VBD: 152.30