Editor's note: This originally published on June 23 and may be of added interest after 10 NFL coaches/execs ranked the best QBs of the modern era for ESPN.
All week long, we've been taking a look at the best NFL teams of the past 30 years based on Football Outsiders' advanced DVOA metric. We're going to finish up by looking at the top individual seasons since 1987.
We ranked teams this week with our DVOA (defense-adjusted value over average) metric, which measures success on each play based on down and distance and then compares it with an NFL average baseline adjusted for situation and opponent. (You can read more of the details here.)
We use DVOA to measure players, too, but we also use an additional metric called DYAR (defense-adjusted yards above replacement). DYAR takes DVOA and translates it to a measurement of total value instead of value per play. It also compares players with a "replacement-level" player at the position, instead of average, reflecting that there is some value in a player who can give a team average performance over a large volume of carries or pass targets. The rankings below use DVOA for quarterbacks, but DYAR for the other "skill positions." You can find player DYAR and DVOA stats for all 30 seasons on the stats pages at Football Outsiders.
Ratings each year are normalized, accounting for changes in the NFL's offensive environment over the last 30 years. While our previous articles on the top teams incorporated the postseason, the numbers below only include regular-season performance. It's also important to note that DVOA and DYAR do not fully separate a player from his teammates and scheme. A quarterback's numbers will somewhat be determined by his receivers, and a receiver's numbers by his quarterback, and everyone's numbers partially reflect coaching and offensive line play.
Note: Special thanks to Jeremy Snyder, who did most of the transcription work on the late 1980s and early '90s.
Quarterbacks
Quarterback numbers have been skewed by the rise of the short passing game in recent years. Although we can normalize each year so the average quarterback is at 0 percent DVOA, it's much harder to normalize the volume of passes being thrown. The top 25 quarterback seasons in passing DYAR have all taken place since 2000, with more than half of them coming in a five-year period from 2009 to 2013.
So instead, this ranking of the best seasons of the past 30 years uses DVOA, comparing quarterbacks by value per play instead of total value.
10. Mark Rypien, 1991 Redskins
41.9 percent DVOA
Both the offensive line and the quarterback play a role in avoiding sacks, so Rypien deserves some of the credit for going down only seven times all season. He also led the NFL with 14.3 yards per completion.
9. Vinny Testaverde, 1998 Jets
42.2 percent DVOA
No, seriously. The Jets were 12-4 in 1998, but three of those losses came in the three games started by backup Glenn Foley. Testaverde lost only one regular-season game as a starter, throwing 29 touchdowns with only seven interceptions, one of which came on a Hail Mary. It was a career year, even though the Jets faced the league's seventh-toughest schedule of defenses.
8. Peyton Manning, 2013 Broncos
43.2 percent DVOA
The 55-touchdown season is No. 2 in DYAR (total value) because Manning threw 659 passes, but it's only No. 8 in DVOA. Denver's easy schedule that season is part of the reason.
7. Randall Cunningham, 1998 Vikings
45.1 percent DVOA
This is Cunningham's amazing All-Pro comeback season. He averaged 8.03 net yards per pass, when Chris Chandler was the only other quarterback above 7.2.
6. Steve Young, 1992 49ers
45.1 percent DVOA
This is the year Young fully took over from Joe Montana, and Young led the NFL in numerous categories, including net yards per pass (7.7), completion rate (66.7 percent) and touchdowns (25). He threw only seven interceptions and added 537 rushing yards with four touchdowns.
5. Aaron Rodgers, 2011 Packers
46.6 percent DVOA
Rodgers led the league with 8.22 net yards per pass in a season in which Tom Brady (7.87) and Drew Brees (7.81) also led historically powerful offenses. Rodgers had a touchdown on 9.0 percent of his passes, only the second quarterback since the merger to reach 9.0 percent, and he threw only six interceptions.
4. Tom Brady, 2010 Patriots
46.7 percent DVOA
Brady was third in the league with 7.21 net yards per pass, but what really stands out is that he led the NFL with 36 passing touchdowns and threw only four interceptions. As we noted Monday, he did this despite the Patriots playing the hardest schedule of opposing defenses in the league that season.
3. Peyton Manning, 2006 Colts
51.3 percent DVOA
Manning's raw totals in 2006 didn't match those of more famous seasons, but he was extremely efficient in a season in which quarterback play around the league was down a bit. He led the league with 31 touchdowns and had only nine interceptions. His completion rate of 65.0 percent was third in the league, and his net yards per pass attempt of 7.55 was second. Manning also took just 14 sacks and fumbled only twice.
2. Tom Brady, 2007 Patriots
54.1 percent DVOA
Brady led the NFL in everything in 2007. Not only did he have the record-breaking 50 touchdown passes, but he was also No. 1 with 4,806 yards, 7.81 net yards per pass and a 68.9 percent completion rate. He did this, remarkably, against a schedule that was tougher than average. This is the most valuable quarterback season of the past 30 years by DYAR, which measures total value. When it comes to value per play, however, one season beats it.
1. Peyton Manning, 2004 Colts
58.9 percent DVOA
The big difference between Brady's 2007 and Manning's 2004 is that it took Brady 578 pass attempts to throw 50 passing touchdowns, but it took Manning only 497 pass attempts to throw 49. Manning's 9.9 percent touchdown rate was the highest since 1960, and his 8.74 net yards per pass attempt were the highest all time for a quarterback who started at least a dozen games.
Running backs
Combining both rushing and receiving value makes it pretty clear: Marshall Faulk is the most valuable running back of the past 30 years. He wasn't necessarily the best runner, but the top seasons specifically for running the ball are noted below in the entry for Terrell Davis.
10. Thurman Thomas, 1991 Bills
595 DYAR
Thomas won the MVP, carrying the ball for 1,407 yards at a league-leading 4.9 yards per carry with seven touchdowns and also catching 62 passes for 631 yards and five touchdowns with an 85 percent catch rate. This was one of only three seasons in the past 30 years in which the same back led the league in both rushing and receiving value. (The others: Marshall Faulk in 2000 and Brian Westbrook in 2007)
9. Larry Johnson, 2005 Chiefs
603 DYAR
What's remarkable is that Johnson wasn't even a starter until halfway through the season, but once he entered the starting lineup he reeled off nine straight 100-yard rushing games, including two of more than 200 yards. Johnson had two or more touchdowns in eight games in 2005; he averaged 5.2 yards per carry and more than 10 yards per reception.
8. Charlie Garner, 2002 Raiders
617 DYAR
Garner had the greatest receiving season for any running back not named Marshall Faulk: 91 catches for 941 yards and four touchdowns with an 83 percent catch rate. He also gained 962 yards on the ground at 5.3 yards per carry.
6. Marshall Faulk, 1998 Colts and Terrell Davis, 1998 Broncos (tie)
647 DYAR
There were two fantastic and very different all-time great running back seasons in 1998. Davis gained 2,008 yards on the ground with a league-leading 5.1 yards per carry and 21 rushing touchdowns. As a receiver, however, he had a mediocre 66 percent catch rate and just 217 yards.
Faulk, on the other hand, gained 1,319 rushing yards on just 4.1 yards per carry, although he did this against the second-hardest schedule of opposing run defenses in the NFL. More impressive were his receiving numbers: 86 catches for 908 yards and four touchdowns, with an 82 percent catch rate.
So in the same season, 1998, Davis had 602 rushing DYAR, the highest value for any running back in the past 30 years, while Faulk had 421 receiving DYAR, also the highest value for any running back in the past 30 years.
If we considered only rushing value, our top five would be Terrell Davis (1998 Broncos), Stephen Davis (1999 Redskins), Terrell Davis again (1997 Broncos), Emmitt Smith (1995 Cowboys), and Marshall Faulk (2000 Rams). If we considered only receiving value, the top five would be Faulk in 1998, 1999 and 2001, plus Garner in 2002 and Larry Centers (1995 Cardinals). The best rushing season of the past decade belongs to Adrian Peterson (2012 Vikings, ranked No. 11 since 1987) while the best receiving season belongs to Le'Veon Bell (2014 Steelers, ranked No. 7 since 1987).
The top five seasons for combined rushing and receiving value are essentially The Marshall Faulk Show with special guest Priest Holmes.
5. Marshall Faulk, 2001 Rams
707 DYAR
Faulk was second in rushing value behind Holmes, with 1,382 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, and he also had 83 catches for 765 yards. With nine receiving touchdowns, Faulk tied the modern record for running backs, which was inexplicably set by Leroy Hoard of the 1991 Browns.
4. Priest Holmes, 2003 Chiefs
719 DYAR
Holmes led the league in rushing value with 1,420 yards and a then-record 27 touchdowns, despite facing a difficult schedule of run defenses. He also had 690 receiving yards -- though oddly no receiving touchdowns -- and was No. 2 in receiving value behind Moe Williams of the Vikings.
3. Marshall Faulk, 1999 Rams
757 DYAR
Faulk had 1,381 rushing yards, and despite having only seven touchdowns on the ground, he was second in rushing value behind Stephen Davis. Faulk set an all-time record for running backs with 1,048 receiving yards, with an 84 percent catch rate and five more touchdowns.
2. Priest Holmes, 2002 Chiefs
760 DYAR
Holmes led the league in rushing value with 1,615 yards and 21 touchdowns, the sixth-best rushing season of the past 30 years. He had an 86 percent catch rate as a receiver with 672 yards, second in receiving value behind Garner.
1. Marshall Faulk, 2000 Rams
846 DYAR
Faulk had the ultimate double-threat season in 2000, leading the NFL in both rushing and receiving value. Looking at all running backs over the past 30 years, Faulk's 2000 season is No. 5 for rushing value and No. 6 for receiving value. He had 1,359 rushing yards on a league-leading 5.4 yards per carry, with a league-leading 18 touchdowns on the ground. Through the air, he added 81 catches for 830 yards and another eight touchdowns. And the cherry on top of the sundae: Faulk did not fumble once the entire season.
Wide receivers
Honorable mention goes to Marvin Harrison, who doesn't make the top 10 but has three seasons (2001, 2002 and 2006) ranked between Nos. 11-20.
10. Antonio Brown, 2015 Steelers
542 DYAR
Brown and Julio Jones both had 136 receptions in 2015, which is tied for second all time behind Marvin Harrison's 143 receptions in 2002. Brown, however, had the superior season to Jones because he caught those passes with fewer targets (193 vs. 203), had more touchdowns (10 vs. 8) and did it against a tougher schedule. Brown also added on 28 rushing yards and 196 yards when he drew defensive pass interference penalties.
9. Steve Smith, 2005 Panthers
544 DYAR
Smith won the receiving Triple Crown in 2004, with 103 receptions, 1,563 yards and 12 touchdowns. Even more remarkable is that he did this even though Muhsin Muhammad had signed with Chicago in free agency, leaving Keary Colbert and a 37-year-old Ricky Proehl as Carolina's other wide receivers. Smith had more receiving yards than every other Panthers wide receiver and tight end combined.
8. Jerry Rice, 1995 49ers
550 DYAR
Rice set a new NFL record with 1,848 receiving yards in 1995, though it has since been surpassed by Calvin Johnson in 2012 and Julio Jones in 2015. Rice also had 15 touchdowns and a 70 percent catch rate.
7. Antonio Brown, 2014 Steelers
559 DYAR
Brown's raw totals were higher in 2015, but his 2014 season was more efficient and better in the red zone, so it comes out a bit higher in our advanced metrics. He had a league-leading 129 catches and 1,698 receiving yards with 13 touchdowns and a 71 percent catch rate.
6. Jerry Rice, 1987 49ers
424 DYAR (in 12-game season)
Rice didn't just break the NFL record for receiving touchdowns in 1987; he broke it in only 11 games. While a number of 49ers veterans crossed the picket lines, Rice did not, so he played only a 12-game season. He had at least one receiving touchdown in every game he played in 1987, tying Mark Clayton's record of 18 receiving touchdowns in only 10 games. Then he broke it with two more touchdowns in each of San Francisco's final two games. Rice's production in the shortened 1987 season would pro-rate to 565 DYAR in a full 16-game season.
5. Randy Moss, 2007 Patriots
568 DYAR
Moss had 23 touchdowns to break Rice's 1987 record, plus 1,482 receiving yards. Although this is the only Moss season in the top 10, his 2000 and 2003 seasons in Minnesota are also in the top 25.
4. Calvin Johnson, 2011 Lions
575 DYAR
This was Megatron at his most dangerous. He had 96 catches for 1,680 yards and 16 touchdowns. Johnson had eight 100-yard games and two 200-yard games, with five two-touchdown games. Johnson's 2012 season, in which he set the all-time record with 1,964 receiving yards, comes out lower in DYAR because it took 203 targets to get to that record, and he had only five touchdowns.
3. Jerry Rice, 1989 49ers
581 DYAR
This season was a transition year between "young Jerry Rice, deep threat" and "prime Jerry Rice, volume mover of the chains." Rice averaged 18.1 yards per reception, which was the second-lowest figure of his career to that point, but he never averaged more than 15.5 yards per reception in a season again. Rice's total of 1,483 yards was the second-highest of his career to that point, but he topped that four times in the next six seasons. Rice also lead the league with 17 touchdowns in 1989.
2. Jerry Rice, 1994 49ers
590 DYAR
Rice caught 112 passes for 1,499 yards and 13 touchdowns in 1994, but there are other numbers that explain why this was his greatest season, according to Football Outsiders stats. Rice had a career-high 75 percent catch rate, leading the league for all wide receivers with more than 50 targets. He also added on seven carries for 93 yards and two rushing touchdowns; the value on those runs moves this season up from No. 10 to No. 2.
Two other Jerry Rice seasons, 1993 and 1996, also rank among the top-25 wide receiver seasons since 1987.
1. Michael Irvin, 1995 Cowboys
591 DYAR
This was an incredible year for star wide receivers. Herman Moore set a record (since broken) with 123 catches, and three other receivers (Rice, Cris Carter and Isaac Bruce) had at least 119 catches. Seven receivers had at least 13 touchdowns. (By comparison, only Jordy Nelson hit that mark in 2016.)
But according to Football Outsiders stats, the most valuable and efficient receiver of 1995 had only 111 catches and only 10 touchdowns. "The Playmaker," however, separated himself from the rest of the league by doing that thing he was known for: making plays. Irvin earned a first down or touchdown 98 times. The only other receiver with more than 84 first downs was Moore, but that took him 41 more targets than Irvin. That total of 98 first downs includes a league-leading 10 plays in which Irvin drew a pass-interference penalty, for 202 additional yards. And unlike Rice or Moore in 1995, Irvin put up these numbers against a harder-than-average schedule. Dallas played only one game all season against a pass defense ranked 20th or lower in DVOA.
Tight ends
More than the other positions, even quarterback, our tight end leaderboard is dominated by just a handful of players. Eighteen of the top 30 tight end seasons since 1987 belong to either Tony Gonzalez (8), Antonio Gates (5) or Rob Gronkowski (5).
10. Tony Gonzalez, 2012 Falcons
286 DYAR
Gonzalez had 93 catches for 930 yards and eight touchdowns with a career-high 75 percent catch rate.
9. Shannon Sharpe, 1996 Broncos
305 DYAR
Sharpe had 80 catches for 1,062 yards and 10 touchdowns. No other tight end had more than 62 catches that season.
8. Antonio Gates, 2004 Chargers
312 DYAR
This was Gates' breakout season, when everyone was shocked that a guy who never played college football could develop into an All-Pro tight end in two years. He had 81 catches for 964 yards and 13 touchdowns, which set a new record for tight ends (since broken).
7. Tony Gonzalez, 2004 Chiefs
334 DYAR
Gonzalez was not as good as Gates on a per-play basis, but he caught 21 more passes against a tougher schedule. Total numbers: 102 catches for 1,258 yards and seven touchdowns.
6. Antonio Gates, 2009 Chargers
339 DYAR
Another strong year for Gates, with 79 catches for 1,157 yards and eight touchdowns.
5. Shannon Sharpe, 1993 Broncos
360 DYAR
Sharpe had a career-high 74 percent catch rate in 1993. He led all tight ends that season in catches (81), yards (995) and touchdowns (9).
4. Antonio Gates, 2010 Chargers
361 DYAR
Gates' greatest season wasn't even a full season. He was healthy for only the first half of 2010, suffering plantar fasciitis that limited him to just two games after October. But in the 10 games he did play, he was remarkable. The standard stats -- 50 catches, 782 yards, and 10 touchdowns -- don't quite do it justice. Gates had a touchdown in every game he played that season but two. He had a 77 percent catch rate, the highest in his career and the highest of any tight end with at least 30 targets that season. What's more remarkable is that Gates did all this even though he was the only elite target Philip Rivers had in 2010. Vincent Jackson played only five games; San Diego's leading starters at wide receiver were Malcom Floyd and Legedu Naanee.
3. Tony Gonzalez, 2000 Chiefs
362 DYAR
Gonzalez had 93 catches for 1,203 yards and nine touchdowns in 2000. None of those numbers are career highs, and his 62 percent catch rate was among the lowest of his career. But in 2000, Gonzalez was a first-down machine while the league's other tight ends were having a down year overall. Gonzalez moved the chains or scored a touchdown on 73 plays in 2000. No other tight end in the NFL was over 40.
2. Mark Bavaro, 1987 Giants
343 DYAR (in 12-game season)
Bavaro's production in the limited 12-game 1987 season would prorate to 457 DYAR in a full 16-game season, and the gap between Bavaro and the NFL's other tight ends was colossal. Based on DYAR, Todd Christensen of the Raiders was the only other tight end who had even half as much value as Bavaro that season. He led all tight ends with 55 catches, 865 yards and eight touchdowns. Christensen was the only other tight end with more than 550 receiving yards. Bavaro's catch rate of 75 percent was the third-highest for a tight end with at least 20 targets. He did it against a difficult schedule: Dallas and Philadelphia, for example, were both among the 10 best defenses against tight ends. And, of course, Bavaro was also one of the best blocking tight ends in the league.
1. Rob Gronkowski, 2011 Patriots
461 DYAR
The best tight end season ever, and nobody else really comes close. Gronk caught 91 passes for 1,329 yards and 18 touchdowns. The latter two numbers are records for tight ends. Jimmy Graham (16 in 2013) is the only other tight end to ever catch more than 13 touchdowns in a season.