Fantasy rosters of the century, Nos. 9-16
Today, we reach the above-average. Over this weekend, I’ve been looking at the teams that can out together the best fantasy football value in the 20th century. To do that, I figured out the best individual seasons for every team at every position and made the best roster.
To recap, this is PPR scoring, making a roster of 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 flex, 1 K. I did teams 25-32 Friday and 17-24 Saturday. Today, it’s teams 9-16. These teams fill a small window — every single one of these rosters put up at least 2,640 points, and none of them topped 2,720. There’s a wider gap at the top and bottom of the overall rankings, but in the middle, it’s a cluster.
First, the list so far:
And now today’s entries:
(Special thanks to the Football Reference Play Index for the help here.)
No. 16: New York Giants (2,642.8 points)
QB: Eli Manning, 2015
RB: Saquon Barkley, 2018; Tiki Barber, 2005
WR: Odell Beckham Jr., 2015; Odell Beckham Jr., 2016; Odell Beckham Jr., 2014
TE: Jeremy Shockey, 2005
Flex: Tiki Barber, 2004
K: Jay Feely, 2005
Surprised Victor Cruz didn’t appear here? The interesting thing is, if I added another flex, he still wouldn’t appear. Or another. Or another. Cruz has the 10th-best Giants fantasy season this century, but the nine above him were all running backs or receivers (other than Barkley’s 2018, they were all Beckham or Barber), with Manning not popping onto the list until 11th. Meanwhile, the Giants are one of the teams that hasn’t really bothered with big-time tight ends — Shockey has four of the top-five TE seasons for the team this century, and only six times have Giants TEs topped 150 points.
No. 15: Dallas Cowboys (2,659.6)
QB: Dak Prescott, 2019
RB: DeMarco Murray, 2015; Ezekiel Elliott, 2018
WR: Dez Bryant, 2014; Terrell Owens, 2007; Dez Bryant, 2012
TE: Jason Witten, 2007
Flex: Ezekiel Elliott, 2016
K: Dan Bailey, 2013
For all Tony Romo did with the Cowboys (and he deserves more Hall of Fame consideration than I expect him to get), Prescott has three of the top four fantasy seasons for a Cowboys QB this century (and in fact, given the rise in overall fantasy scoring in recent years, three of the top four ever). Romo then has the next five. Otherwise, it’s a lot of names you’d expect here. The Cowboys haven’t had a lot of monster players this century, but the ones they have had have been serious monsters.
No. 14: San Francisco 49ers (2,661.7)
QB: Jeff Garcia, 2000
RB: Frank Gore, 2006; Charlie Garner, 2000
WR: Terrell Owens, 2001; Terrell Owens, 2002; Terrell Owens, 2000
TE: George Kittle, 2018
Flex: Frank Gore, 2009
K: David Akers, 2011
Other than Kittle (and there was little mystery whether he’d make the list), this is just about the most long-ago roster in this research. The 49ers of the early part of the century had some monster performances (namely Owens and Gore, who is still chugging along). Colin Kaepernick is the only player over than Kittle with a season inside the team’s top 13 in scoring from 2010 or later.
No. 13: Houston Texans (2,662.9)
QB: Deshaun Watson, 2018
RB: Arian Foster, 2010; Domanick Williams, 2004
WR: DeAndre Hopkins, 2018; DeAndre Hopkins, 2015; Andre Johnson, 2008
TE: Owen Daniels, 2012
Flex: Andre Johnson, 2009
K: Shayne Graham, 2012
If you had to guess who would have appeared on the Texans’ list, I bet you would have gotten these names almost exactly right … with one exception in Williams. Even more surprising is that at the time of his season, he went by Domanick Davis. But he played only three years in the league, with 200-plus points in all three seasons (323.6 in his big 2004), before suffering a knee injury 11 games into his third season, and he never played again.
No. 12: Atlanta Falcons (2,674.1)
QB: Matt Ryan, 2018
RB: Devonta Freeman, 2015; Devonta Freeman, 2016
WR: Julio Jones, 2015; Julio Jones, 2018; Roddy White, 2010
TE: Tony Gonzalez, 2012
Flex: Julio Jones, 2014
K: Matt Bryant, 2016
Like the Texans, you could probably guess just about every name on this list. Unlike the Texans, you could probably guess every name, with the only real surprise to me being that Michael Turner never topped one of those Freeman seasons. Of the top 28 Falcons fantasy seasons this century, 25 were put up by Ryan, Freeman, Jones, White, or Gonzalez, with Turner contributing one and Michael Vick two. This is a team with not a lot of depth this century, but a truly elite top end.
No. 11: Minnesota Vikings (2,698.5)
QB: Daunte Culpepper, 2004
RB: Adrian Peterson, 2012; Adrian Peterson, 2009
WR: Randy Moss, 2003; Randy Moss, 2000; Adam Thielen, 2018
TE: Kyle Rudolph, 2016
Flex: Dalvin Cook, 2019
K: Blair Walsh, 2012
The top-10 fantasy seasons for the Vikings this century: Three from Moss, three from Culpepper, two from Peterson, and one each from Thielen and Cook. Kirk Cousins, Brett Favre, Robert Smith, and others start appearing after that, but the iconic Vikings are the iconic Vikings for a reason. Perhaps a small surprise? Stefon Diggs doesn’t make the list until 19th — his best Vikings season is actually worse than Percy Harvin’s best Vikings season, when he was ridiculous in 2011.
No. 10: Green Bay Packers (2,709.8)
QB: Aaron Rodgers, 2011
RB: Ahman Green, 2003; Ahman Green, 2001
WR: Davante Adams, 2018; Jordy Nelson, 2014; Jordy Nelson, 2016
TE: Jermichael Finley, 2011
Flex: Ahman Green, 2000
K: Mason Crosby, 2013
Green was of course great, but color me a little surprised that Aaron Jones’ 2019 doesn’t make the list here (it actually would have with one more flex spot). For all the big-name receivers the Packers have had, Javon Walker doesn’t appear on this list until 16th, Randall Cobb 17th, Greg Jennings 21st. And heck, Brett Favre’s best (remember, 2000-present) isn’t until 28th. The Packers haven’t actually diversified as much as you probably think.
Also, I can never mention Finley in something without dropping my best analogy ever, comparing Jermichael Finley’s career to George O’Malley’s run on Grey’s Anatomy. Really, it’s great:
No. 9: Denver Broncos (2,718.5)
QB: Peyton Manning, 2013
RB: Clinton Portis, 2002; Clinton Portis, 2003
WR: Demaryius Thomas, 2014; Rod Smith, 2000; Demaryius Thomas, 2013
TE: Julius Thomas, 2013
Flex: Rod Smith, 2001
K: Matt Prater, 2013
I’m actually a little surprised we don’t have more of the Peyton Manning-era Broncos on this list. I thought we’d see Knowshon Moreno’s 2013, Eric Decker’s 2013, Emmanuel Sanders’ 2014. Those were all in the top 16, but the team’s overall offense those years diversified the offerings so well that only Manning and the Thomases actually made the list. And I think it’s easy to forget just how good Smith was — he had eight 1,000-yard seasons in nine years 1997-2005.
(Also a fun note: Matt Prater is the only kicker to make the list for two different teams. I’m honestly a bit surprised by that—and before you guess his name, Adam Vinatieri doesn’t make the list at all.)
(MONDAY: Nos. 1-8, the cream of the crop. The best team tops 3,000 points; the second-best doesn’t even reach 2,900. In other words, the best team is really the best.)