The 50 Greatest Fantasy Football Seasons in NFL History

By on December 28th, 2016

Where will David Johnson end up on this list after this season?

Fantasy sports have become a lucrative business. It all started back in the fifties when an Oakland businessman by the name of Wilfred “Bill” Winkenbach started a game of fantasy golf where each playing member would select a group of professional golfers to their team and the person with the lowest stroke score at the end of a tournament, wins. That simple idea took another few years before Bill applied it to football in 1962.

The league was called the Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prognosticators League, or GOPPPL. But because there was no internet, no emails, and no social media, the invention of fantasy football took many years to grow in popularity. Unlike today, things prior to the internet took several years to grow into national phenomenons.

After many years of tweaks and changes to the rules, fantasy football was born and by 1997, CBS became the first company to launch a publicly available free fantasy football league that became an instant success and caught on to hundreds of other sites.

Today, nearly 75 million people play fantasy football around the world making it the most popular fantasy sport of all time. It has become so popular that even professional athletes play it. There are even television shows, podcasts, books, and websites that give expert opinions, detailed breakdowns of each week, and all kinds of information to help you win at fantasy football.

Since most websites don’t keep track of fantasy data beyond a few years, we decided to go back and track NFL players performances before the days of fantasy football to see which players had the best single fantasy football seasons since the 1967 season and the first ever Super Bowl.

*NOTE : We used ESPN’s Standard PPR League Scoring.

50. Calvin Johnson, WR, DET – 358.1 pts

  • Year: 2011
  • Receptions: 96
  • Receiving Yards: 1,681
  • Receiving TDs: 16

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49. Tom Brady, QB, NE – 358.2 pts

  • Year: 2011
  • Passing Yards: 5,235
  • Passing TDs: 39
  • Interceptions: 12
  • Rushing Yards: 109
  • Rushing TDs: 3

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48. Larry Johnson, RB, KC – 358.3 pts

  • Year: 2005
  • Rushing Yards: 1,750
  • Rushing TDs: 20
  • Receptions: 33
  • Receiving Yards: 343
  • Receiving TDs: 1

San Diego Chargers v Kansas City Chiefs

47. Jerry Rice, WR, SF – 359.2 pts

  • Year: 1994
  • Receptions: 112
  • Receiving Yards: 1,499
  • Receiving TDs: 13
  • Rushing Yards: 93
  • Rushing TDs: 2

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46. Cam Newton, QB, CAR – 360.34 pts

  • Year: 2011
  • Passing Yards: 4,051
  • Passing TDs: 21
  • Interceptions: 17
  • Rushing Yards: 706
  • Rushing TDs: 14

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45. Edgerrin James, RB, IND – 361.9 pts

  • Year: 1999
  • Rushing Yards: 1,553
  • Rushing TDs: 13
  • Receptions: 62
  • Receiving Yards: 586
  • Receiving TDs: 4

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44. Emmitt Smith, RB, DAL – 362.5 pts

  • Year: 1994
  • Rushing Yards: 1,484
  • Rushing TDs: 21
  • Receptions: 50
  • Receiving Yards: 341
  • Receiving TDs: 1

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43. Marshall Faulk, RB, IND – 368.7 pts

  • Year: 1998
  • Rushing Yards: 1,319
  • Rushing TDs: 6
  • Receptions: 86
  • Receiving Yards: 908
  • Receiving TDs: 4

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42. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, SD –

  • Year: 2007
  • Rushing Yards: 1,474
  • Rushing TDs: 15
  • Receptions: 60
  • Receiving Yards: 475
  • Receiving TDs: 3

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41. James Wilder, RB, TB – 365.9 pts

  • Year: 1984
  • Rushing Yards: 1,544
  • Rushing TDs: 13
  • Receptions: 85
  • Receiving Yards: 685
  • Receiving TDs: 0

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40. Eric Dickerson, RB, LA – 366.2 pts

  • Year: 1983
  • Rushing Yards: 1,808
  • Rushing TDs: 18
  • Receptions: 51
  • Receiving Yards: 404
  • Receiving TDs: 2

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39. Brian Westbrook, RB, PHI – 368.4 pts

  • Year: 2007
  • Rushing Yards: 1,333
  • Rushing TDs: 7
  • Receptions: 90
  • Receiving Yards: 771
  • Receiving TDs: 5

Brian Westbrook

38. Shaun Alexander, RB, SEA – 368.8 pts

  • Year: 2005
  • Rushing Yards: 1,880
  • Rushing TDs: 27
  • Receptions: 15
  • Receiving Yards: 78
  • Receiving TDs: 1

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37. Ray Rice, RB, BAL – 368.8 pts

  • Year: 2011
  • Rushing Yards: 1,364
  • Rushing TDs: 12
  • Receptions: 76
  • Receiving Yards: 704
  • Receiving TDs: 3

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36. Daunte Culpepper, QB, MIN – 369.28 pts

  • Year: 2004
  • Passing Yards: 4,717
  • Passing TDs: 39
  • Interceptions: 11
  • Rushing Yards: 406
  • Rushing TDs: 2

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35. Emmitt Smith, RB, DAL – 369.80 pts

  • Year: 1992
  • Rushing Yards: 1,713
  • Rushing TDs: 18
  • Receptions: 59
  • Receiving Yards: 335
  • Receiving TDs: 1

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34. Le’Veon Bell, RB, PIT – 370.50 pts

  • Year: 2014
  • Rushing Yards: 1,361
  • Rushing TDs: 8
  • Receptions: 83
  • Receiving Yards: 854
  • Receiving TDs: 3

NFL: Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers

33. Larry Johnson, RB, KC – 370.90 pts

  • Year: 2006
  • Rushing Yards: 1,789
  • Rushing TDs: 17
  • Receptions: 41
  • Receiving Yards: 410
  • Receiving TDs: 2

Denver Broncos v Kansas City Chiefs

32. Isaac Bruce, WR, STL – 371.10 pts

  • Year: 1995
  • Receptions: 119
  • Receiving Yards: 1,781
  • Receiving TDs: 13

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31. Herman Moore, WR, DET – 371.60 pts

  • Year: 1995
  • Receptions: 123
  • Receiving Yards: 1,686
  • Receiving TDs: 14

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30. Jamaal Charles, RB, KC – 374 pts

  • Year: 2013
  • Rushing Yards: 1,287
  • Rushing TDs: 12
  • Receptions: 70
  • Receiving Yards: 693
  • Receiving TDs: 7

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29. Randy Moss, WR, MIN – 376 pts

  • Year: 2003
  • Receptions: 111
  • Receiving Yards: 1,632
  • Receiving TDs: 17

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28. O.J. Simpson, RB, BUF – 376.30 pts

  • Year: 1975
  • Rushing Yards: 1,817
  • Rushing TDs: 16
  • Receptions: 28
  • Receiving Yards: 426
  • Receiving TDs: 7

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27. Marcus Allen, RB, OAK – 376.40 pts

  • Year: 1985
  • Rushing Yards: 1,759
  • Rushing TDs: 11
  • Receptions: 67
  • Receiving Yards: 555
  • Receiving TDs: 3

Super Bowl XVIII - A

26. Roger Craig, RB, SF – 378.60 pts

  • Year: 1985
  • Rushing Yards: 1,050
  • Rushing TDs: 9
  • Receptions: 92
  • Receiving Yards: 1,016
  • Receiving TDs: 6

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25. Ahman Green, RB, GB – 381 pts

  • Year: 2003
  • Rushing Yards: 1,883
  • Rushing TDs: 15
  • Receptions: 50
  • Receiving Yards: 367
  • Receiving TDs: 5

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24. Terrell Davis, RB, DEN – 381.50 pts

  • Year: 1998
  • Rushing Yards: 2,008
  • Rushing TDs: 21
  • Receptions: 25
  • Receiving Yards: 217
  • Receiving TDs: 2

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23. Marvin Harrison, WR, IND – 381.50 pts

  • Year: 2002
  • Receptions: 143
  • Receiving Yards: 1,722
  • Receiving TDs: 11

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22. Antonio Brown, WR, PIT – 382.1 pts

  • Year: 2014
  • Receptions: 129
  • Receiving Yards: 1,698
  • Receiving TDs: 13

NFL: Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers

21. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, SD – 382.2 pts

  • Year: 2002
  • Rushing Yards: 1,683
  • Rushing TDs: 14
  • Receptions: 79
  • Receiving Yards: 489
  • Receiving TDs: 1

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20. Randy Moss, WR, NE – 2007

  • Year: 2007
  • Receptions: 98
  • Receiving Yards: 1,493
  • Receiving TDs: 23

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19. Tom Brady, QB, NE – 386.04 pts

  • Year: 2007
  • Passing Yards: 4,806
  • Passing TDs: 50
  • Interceptions: 8
  • Rushing Yards: 98
  • Rushing TDs: 2

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18. Antonio Brown, WR, PIT – 386.20 pts

  • Year: 2015
  • Receptions: 136
  • Receiving Yards: 1,834
  • Receiving TDs: 10

New York Jets v Pittsburgh Steelers

17. Cam Newton, QB, CAR

  • Year: 2015
  • Passing Yards: 3,837
  • Passing TDs: 35
  • Interceptions: 10
  • Rushing Yards: 636
  • Rushing TDs: 10

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16. Drew Brees, QB, NO

  • Year: 2011
  • Passing Yards: 5,476
  • Passing TDs: 46
  • Interceptions: 14
  • Rushing Yards: 86
  • Rushing TDs: 1

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15. Arian Foster, RB, HOU – 390 pts

  • Year: 2010
  • Rushing Yards: 1,616
  • Rushing TDs: 16
  • Receptions: 66
  • Receiving Yards: 604
  • Receiving TDs: 2

15

14. Chris Johnson, RB, TEN – 392.90 pts

  • Year: 2009
  • Rushing Yards: 2,006
  • Rushing TDs: 14
  • Receptions: 50
  • Receiving Yards: 503
  • Receiving TDs: 2

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13. Edgerrin James, RB, IND – 393.30 pts

  • Year: 2000
  • Rushing Yards: 1,709
  • Rushing TDs: 13
  • Receptions: 63
  • Receiving Yards: 594
  • Receiving TDs: 5

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12. Aaron Rodgers, QB, GB – 395.42 pts

  • Year: 2011
  • Passing Yards: 4,643
  • Passing TDs: 45
  • Interceptions: 6
  • Rushing Yards: 257
  • Rushing TDs: 3

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11. Marshall Faulk, RB, STL – 399.90 pts

  • Year: 1999
  • Rushing Yards: 1,381
  • Rushing TDs: 7
  • Receptions: 87
  • Receiving Yards: 1,048
  • Receiving TDs: 5

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10. Jerry Rice, WR, SF – 400.4 pts

  • Year: 1995
  • Receptions: 122
  • Receiving Yards: 1,848
  • Receiving TDs: 15

10

9. Steven Jackson, RB, STL – 411.4 pts

  • Year: 2006
  • Rushing Yards: 1,528
  • Rushing TDs: 13
  • Receptions: 90
  • Receiving Yards: 806
  • Receiving TDs: 3

9

8. Emmitt Smith, RB, DAL – 412.8 pts

  • Year: 1995
  • Rushing Yards: 1,773
  • Rushing TDs: 25
  • Receptions: 62
  • Receiving Yards: 375
  • Receiving TDs: 0

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7. Marshall Faulk, RB, STL – 419.7 pts

  • Year: 2001
  • Rushing Yards: 1,382
  • Rushing TDs: 12
  • Receptions: 83
  • Receiving Yards: 765
  • Receiving TDs: 9

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6. Peyton Manning, QB, DEN – 421.98 pts

  • Year: 2013
  • Passing Yards: 5,477
  • Passing TDs: 55
  • Interceptions: 10
  • Rushing Yards: (-31)
  • Rushing TDs: 1

BRONCOS_RAVENS_ES

5. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, SD – 439.8 pts

  • Year: 2003
  • Passing Yards: 21
  • Passing TDs: 1
  • Rushing Yards: 1,645
  • Rushing TDs: 13
  • Receptions: 100
  • Receiving Yards: 725
  • Receiving TDs: 4

5

4. Priest Holmes, RB, KC – 440.7 pts

  • Year: 2002
  • Rushing Yards: 1,615
  • Rushing TDs: 21
  • Receptions: 70
  • Receiving Yards: 672
  • Receiving TDs: 3

4

3. Priest Holmes, RB, KC – 445 pts

  • Year: 2003
  • Rushing Yards: 1,420
  • Rushing TDs: 27
  • Receptions: 74
  • Receiving Yards: 690
  • Receiving TDs: 0

AP CHIEFS BRONCOS S FBN USA CO

2. Marshall Faulk, RB, STL – 459.9 pts

  • Year: 2000
  • Rushing Yards: 1,359
  • Rushing TDs: 18
  • Receptions: 81
  • Receiving Yards: 830
  • Receiving TDs: 8

2

1. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, SD – 479.1 pts

  • Year: 2006
  • Rushing Yards: 1,815
  • Rushing TDs: 28
  • Receptions: 56
  • Receiving Yards: 508
  • Receiving TDs: 3

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