When it comes to fantasy football, the very best and very worst performances often live in your memory forever. Here at PFN, we want to focus on the positive, so in this article, we will be looking at the 10 best fantasy performances of all time, many of which will have led people to their fantasy championships.
Top Fantasy Football Seasons of All Time
When making this list, many factors had to be taken into account. Firstly, the scoring system. If we use non-PPR scoring, all but one of the quarterbacks on the list would be quarterbacks (LaDanian Tomlinson in 2006), so to get more balance, we decided to use PPR scoring.
With the NFL consistently expanding the number of games in the season over the course of history, the playing field for this list is naturally biased towards 16- or 17-game seasons. Therefore, we considered using PPR points per game to try and get more balance with historical seasons.
However, when people talk about the record for fantasy points scored in a season, they are referring to the overall score, not points per game. Additionally, part of reaching the top of this list is a player’s ability to remain healthy for close to a full season, and ppg can negate an element of that. Therefore, the main list will look at overall points with points per game listed below.
10) Patrick Mahomes | 417.1 Fantasy Points
The first of two appearances from Patrick Mahomes on this list is from his second season in the NFL and his first as a starter. Mahomes put together a memorable season that won him both the MVP and Offensive Player of the Year while delivering a fantasy return that was, at the time, the best season by a QB.
Mahomes finished the season with 50 passing touchdowns and 5,097 passing yards. He added 272 rushing yards and two scores. His performance helped the Chiefs to a 12-4 record.
9) Patrick Mahomes | 417.4 Fantasy Points
Four years after Mahomes’ first appearance on this list, he beat out that season by 0.3 fantasy points. Interestingly, Mahomes threw for nine fewer touchdowns in 2022 but made up for it with 153 extra passing yards, two extra rushing touchdowns, and 86 more rushing yards.
Mahomes’ performance led the Chiefs to a 14-3 season and a second Super Bowl in four seasons. However, it’s worth noting that on a per-game basis, the 2022 season was actually worse than 2018, as it was a 17-game season compared to 16 games in 2018.
8) Marshall Faulk | 419.7 Fantasy Points
Marshall Faulk’s first appearance on our list of the top fantasy football seasons of all time came despite him missing two games in the middle of the year. Across the 14 games he played, the Rams went 13-1, with Faulk rushing for 1,382 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Faulk added another 765 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on 83 receptions for a total of 2,147 yards and 21 total scores.
7) Cooper Kupp | 439.5 Fantasy Points
Cooper Kupp’s 2021 performance sees him as the only WR on this list. The Rams’ pass catcher pulled in 145 of his 191 targets for 1,947 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Kupp’s 75.9% catch rate is tied for the third-highest among any receivers with more than 150 targets on the season. He crossed 100 receiving yards in 11 of 17 games.
Kupp has struggled to live up to those heights again since 2021. Injuries have plagued him each of the last two seasons, as he’s managed only 21 games out of a potential 34.
6) Priest Holmes | 440.7 Fantasy Points
The move from Baltimore to Kansas City sparked a change in Priest Holmes’ fortunes. After managing just 2,102 yards in four years with the Ravens, Holmes’ career burst into life in Kansas City.
Holmes’ second year with the Chiefs is his first on this list, with 1,615 rushing yards and 21 rushing touchdowns. Those numbers come despite him missing the final two games of the season.
Holmes then added another 672 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 70 receptions. That meant he finished with a league-leading 2,287 total yards and 24 total touchdowns in just 14 games. With that performance, Holmes won the Offensive Player of the Year.
5) LaDainian Tomlinson | 443.8 Fantasy Points
LaDainian Tomlinson’s first appearance on our list of top fantasy football seasons of all time came off the back of the best receiving performance of his career.
Tomlinson had 725 receiving yards and four touchdowns on 100 receptions. That contributed to a league-leading 2,370 total yards. He concluded the year with 1,645 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns.
An interesting element of this season for Tomlinson is that more than 10% of his points for the season came in Week 17. Against the Raiders, Tomlinson had 260 total yards, two touchdowns, and eight receptions for 46 fantasy points. Those points were likely lost for several fantasy managers, as fantasy leagues traditionally end in Week 16.
4) Priest Holmes | 445 Fantasy Points
After making this list for the first time in 2002, Holmes scored more fantasy points the following year. On a per-game basis, 2002 was better, as Holmes managed just 4.3 more fantasy points in 2003 despite playing two extra games. He finished the 2003 season with 1,420 rushing yards, 27 rushing touchdowns, 690 receiving yards, and 74 receptions.
Holmes finished with 2,110 total yards and led the league in both rushing and total touchdowns with his mark of 27. At the time of the performance, he was second on this list, behind only Faulk’s performance in 2000.
3) Marshall Faulk | 459.9 Fantasy Points
Much like his earlier performance on this list, Faulk’s second performance on the list of top fantasy seasons of all time came despite him playing just 14 games that season.
The two performances are extremely similar. In 2000, Faulk had 1,359 rushing yards and 18 rushing touchdowns. He added 830 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 81 receptions.
Faulk finished the season with 2,189 total yards with 26 touchdowns on 334 touches. He won MVP that season, despite having fewer total yards than either of the previous two seasons (2,227 and 2,429). At the time, Faulk set the record for the top fantasy football season of all time.
2) Christian McCaffrey | 471.2 Fantasy Points
After a steady start through the first two years of his career, Christian McCaffrey produced an incredible stat line in his third season. McCaffrey was an elite dual-threat back during the 2019 season, topping 1,000 yards in both rushing and receiving. He led the league in touches (403), total yards (2392), and total touchdowns (19).
A huge part of McCaffrey’s 471.2 fantasy points was his 116 receptions, giving him almost 25% of his total points for the season. The following season, he was on pace to beat his 2019 season and challenge for the best of all time.
However, McCaffrey’s season finished after just three games. Had he managed to play out the season at that same pace, McCaffrey would have been on pace for 482 fantasy points.
1) LaDainian Tomlinson | 481.1 Fantasy Points
In 2006, Tomlinson put together a showing that has seen him remain atop the list of the best fantasy seasons of all time. He led the league with 1,815 rushing yards and 28 rushing touchdowns. He also added 508 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 56 receptions.
Tomlinson finished the season with 404 total touches for 2,323 yards and 31 touchdowns, which earned him the league MVP award. In the 2006 campaign, Tomlinson went on a nine-game stretch of rushing for more than 100 yards. Additionally, he had eight straight contests with multiple rushing scores, totaling 21 rushing touchdowns in that stretch.
Top Fantasy Football Seasons on a Per-Game Basis of All Time
10) Lamar Jackson, BAL | 27.71 PPG (2019)
9) LaDainian Tomlinson, SD | 27.74 PPG (2003)
8) Priest Holmes, KC | 27.81 PPG (2003)
7) Christian McCaffrey, CAR | 29.45 PPG (2019)
6) Marshall Faulk, STL | 29.98 PPG (2001)
5) Don Hutson, GB | 30.05 PPG (1942)
4) LaDainian Tomlinson, SD | 30.07 PPG (2006)
3) Christian McCaffrey, CAR | 30.13 PPG (2020)
2) Priest Holmes, KC | 31.48 PPG (2002)
1) Marshall Faulk, STL | 32.85 PPG (2000)