Fantasy rosters of the century, Nos. 1-8

We’ve reached the top. Over the last four days, I’ve counted down the best fantasy football roster of each franchise this century, and today we hit Nos. 1-8.

(Want to look at what came before? Check out Nos. 9-16, Nos. 17-24, and Nos. 25-32.)

To recap, this process uses the best player-seasons in each franchise’s history in the 2000s to build a fantasy roster. So PPR scoring, 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 flex, and 1 K. A player can appear as often as his performance dictates.

First, the list so far:

And now today’s entries:

(Special thanks to the Football Reference Play Index for the help here.)

No. 8: New England Patriots (2,724.3 points)

QB: Tom Brady, 2007
RB: James White, 2018; Corey Dillon, 2004
WR: Randy Moss, 2007; Wes Welker, 2011; Wes Welker, 2012
TE: Rob Gronkowski, 2011
Flex: Randy Moss, 2009
K: Stephen Gostkowski, 2013

The Patriots have the reputation of a “whole is greater than the sum of its parts” sort of team, other than Gronkowski’s monster contributions, and in recent years that’s been the case, but Moss and Welker were truly elite fantasy players for a time there. The team has never really managed monster running back numbers, though—White has the Patriots’ best PPR season at RB, at 276.6 points. That’s the worst “best” RB season for any team but Washington, Cincinnati, and Detroit, and those three teams all rank 20th or worse in this research.

No. 7: Los Angeles Chargers (2,813.4)

QB: Philip Rivers, 2013
RB: LaDainian Tomlinson, 2006; LaDainian Tomlinson, 2003
WR: Keenan Allen, 2017; Keenan Allen, 2019; Keenan Allen, 2018
TE: Antonio Gates, 2005
Flex: LaDainian Tomlinson, 2002
K: Nate Kaeding, 2009

In 2019, Austin Ekeler had 1,550 scrimmage yards, 92 receptions, and 11 touchdowns … and we’d need to add four more flex spots for him to make this team. Tomlinson was so good, man. In the top 22 seasons the Chargers have had this century, Tomlinson makes up eight of them, Rivers another eight, Allen three, and then Ekeler (1) and Melvin Gordon (2) fill out the list. You have to go down to 28th to find a season not from one of the above guys or Gates; you have to go to 31st to find a receiver season from someone other than Allen. The Chargers have had some monster performances in the 2000s, but not by many different guys.

No. 6: New Orleans Saints (2,841.4)

QB: Drew Brees, 2011
RB: Alvin Kamara, 2018; Deuce McAllister, 2003
WR: Michael Thomas, 2019; Michael Thomas, 2018; Joe Horn, 2004
TE: Jimmy Graham, 2013
Flex: Alvin Kamara, 2017
K: John Kasay, 2011

Obviously, sixth place is nothing to sneeze at. But I honestly expected the Saints to show better here. Without having given it extreme thought, this was the team I thought would top the list, just because there have been so many points scored in New Orleans ever since Brees’ arrival. But Thomas aside, there haven’t been many truly monster WR seasons for the Saints, and prior to Kamara’s arrival, the team really diversified at running back. Oh well. Sixth is great, just not as great as I expected.

No. 5: Pittsburgh Steelers (2,842.5)

QB: Ben Roethlisberger, 2018
RB: Le’Veon Bell, 2014; Le’Veon Bell, 2017
WR: Antonio Brown, 2015; Antonio Brown, 2014; Hines Ward, 2002
TE: Heath Miller, 2012
Flex: Antonio Brown, 2018
K: Chris Boswell, 2017

The question for me was whether Brown or Bell would fill the flex spot here, and it was Brown … by 6.3 points. Those two were so good as a duo, which makes it all the more frustrating that 2019 featured a looks-over-the-hill Bell in New York and whatever the hell happened to Brown from his home. I hate the Steelers, but I would have been happy to watch a Ben/Bell/Brown trio put up monster numbers for another five years there.

Also, I had forgotten just how good Ward was. Dude averaged 1,084.1 scrimmage yards over a nine-year stretch 2001-2009. That’s tough to do.

No. 4: Carolina Panthers (2,861.6)

QB: Cam Newton, 2015
RB: Christian McCaffrey, 2019; Christian McCaffrey, 2018
WR: Steve Smith, 2005; Muhsin Muhammad, 2004; Steve Smith, 2011
TE: Greg Olsen, 2015
Flex: DeAngelo Williams, 2008
K: Graham Gano, 2015

McCaffrey and Newton have two seasons each of more than 370 points (including McCaffrey’s monster 471.2 points in 2019); no other Panthers has reached 340 this century. It’s easy to forget Muhammad’s 1,405-yard, 16-touchdown 2004 season, but other than that, there probably aren’t any grand surprises here. This is not a team that has been elite at offering fantasy producers this century, but man, when the Panthers hit, they hit hard.

No. 3: Indianapolis Colts (2,869.0)

QB: Peyton Manning, 2004
RB: Edgerrin James, 2000; Edgerrin James, 2005
WR: Marvin Harrison, 2002; Marvin Harrison, 2001; Marvin Harrison, 2000
TE: Dallas Clark, 2009
Flex: Reggie Wayne, 2007
K: Mike Vanderjagt, 2003

The Colts are the only team in the league whose fantasy roster of the 2000s all come from pre-2010. The Manning-era Colts were a ridiculously elite fantasy offense before ridiculously elite fantasy offenses were de rigueur around the league. “Manning/James/Harrison” would be right at home in 2019 NFL, and Clark and Wayne were strong complements. Andrew Luck and T.Y. Hilton had their moments, to be sure — Luck’s best season is only 8.4 points behind Manning’s, though Hilton’s best season is only the team’s 25th-best, and only the 10th-best receiver season.

And hey, the liquored-up kicker!

No. 2: Los Angeles Rams (2,883.0)

QB: Jared Goff, 2018
RB: Marshall Faulk, 2000; Marshall Faulk, 2001
WR: Torry Holt, 2003; Torry Holt, 2004; Torry Holt, 2005
TE: Tyler Higbee, 2019
Flex: Steven Jackson, 2006
K: Jeff Wilkins, 2003

This is how incredible the Rams offense has been at times this century: Todd Gurley doesn’t even make the team. He put up the fourth- and fifth-best seasons this century, but Faulk/Faulk/Jackson were 1-3, so Gurley gets left off. Related, it’s got to be a minor upset that as good as the Rams offense has been since Sean McVay arrived, Higbee’s 2019 (really) is the only skill-player season on the list since 2006. Cooper Kupp has the sixth-best receiver season, Robert Woods the eighth. For as fallow a period as the Rams had for a while in the 2010s, man has this team had some great offenses.

Also, note the Rams’ point total there. 2,883 points. That’s really good. And yet it’s more than 100 points off of No. 1, because …

No. 1: Kansas City Chiefs (3,022.6)

QB: Patrick Mahomes, 2018
RB: Priest Holmes, 2003; Priest Holmes, 2002
WR: Tyreek Hill, 2018; Derrick Alexander, 2000; Dwayne Bowe, 2010
TE: Travis Kelce, 2018
Flex: Jamaal Charles, 2013
K: Harrison Butker, 2019

Larry Johnson didn’t make the list. Neither did Kareem Hunt. Charles only made it once. The team hasn’t actually offered monsters at receiver this century, but Chiefs running backs have been incredible. Add in Mahomes’ ridiculous 2018 and Kelce’s insane career, and the Chiefs have not only had the best fantasy roster of the 2000s, they are 139.6 points ahead of second place. The second-place Rams are closer to the seventh-place Chargers than they are to first place; there’s not a gap of more than 89.1 points between any two other teams on the list. The Chiefs have bounced from afterthought to favorite in real football throughout the century, but from a fantasy perspective, when the team is on, it’s really on.

Here’s the full, list, 1-32: