ZWK
Footballguy
Who are the best fantasy players of the past 30 years? Looking at careers, not individual seasons, here's a ranking by the numbers. These are the top 100 plyaers by career VBD (the sum of each individual season's VBD) who entered the NFL in 1980 or later, using PFR's numbers (1/10 yd rush/rec, 1/25 passing, 6/td all, -2/int; baseline of RB24, WR30, QB12, and TE12).
The columns (left to right) show career VBD, position, the player's name, the year they entered the NFL, a * if they're still active, and then a count of the number of players, RBs, WRs, QBs, and TEs so far.
VBD Pos Player Year Act Count RBs WRs QBs TEs1624 wr Jerry Rice 1985 1 0 1 0 01316 rb Emmitt Smith 1990 2 1 1 0 01311 rb LaDainian Tomlinson 2001 * 3 2 1 0 01217 rb Barry Sanders 1989 4 3 1 0 01189 qb Dan Marino 1983 5 3 1 1 01165 qb Brett Favre 1991 6 3 1 2 01157 rb Marshall Faulk 1994 7 4 1 2 01077 qb Peyton Manning 1998 * 8 4 1 3 0 995 wr Randy Moss 1998 * 9 4 2 3 0 905 rb Marcus Allen 1982 10 5 2 3 0 888 qb Steve Young 1985 11 5 2 4 0 886 rb Eric Dickerson 1983 12 6 2 4 0 858 wr Terrell Owens 1996 * 13 6 3 4 0 844 rb Thurman Thomas 1988 14 7 3 4 0 837 qb Randall Cunningham 1985 15 7 3 5 0 832 rb Curtis Martin 1995 16 8 3 5 0 820 rb Ricky Watters 1991 17 9 3 5 0 810 wr Marvin Harrison 1996 18 9 4 5 0 807 qb John Elway 1983 19 9 4 6 0 755 te Tony Gonzalez 1997 * 20 9 4 6 1 743 rb Shaun Alexander 2000 21 10 4 6 1 731 rb Edgerrin James 1999 22 11 4 6 1 703 qb Warren Moon 1984 23 11 4 7 1 673 rb Priest Holmes 1997 24 12 4 7 1 642 rb Tiki Barber 1997 * 25 13 4 7 1 631 wr Cris Carter 1987 26 13 5 7 1 622 rb Herschel Walker 1985 27 14 5 7 1 613 te Shannon Sharpe 1990 28 14 5 7 2 597 rb Clinton Portis 2002 * 29 15 5 7 2 592 rb Terrell Davis 1995 30 16 5 7 2 561 wr Torry Holt 1999 31 16 6 7 2 553 qb Tom Brady 2000 * 32 16 6 8 2 551 rb Eddie George 1996 33 17 6 8 2 548 rb Ahman Green 1998 34 18 6 8 2 548 rb Roger Craig 1983 35 19 6 8 2 538 wr Tim Brown 1988 36 19 7 8 2 512 qb Daunte Culpepper 1999 37 19 7 9 2 503 wr Sterling Sharpe 1988 38 19 8 9 2 501 wr Isaac Bruce 1994 39 19 9 9 2 492 wr Mark Clayton 1983 40 19 10 9 2 480 te Antonio Gates 2003 * 41 19 10 9 3 473 rb Corey Dillon 1997 42 20 10 9 3 469 qb Drew Brees 2001 * 43 20 10 10 3 468 wr Michael Irvin 1988 44 20 11 10 3 458 rb Neal Anderson 1986 45 21 11 10 3 454 wr Chad Ochocinco 2001 * 46 21 12 10 3 453 qb Boomer Esiason 1984 47 21 12 11 3 447 rb Adrian Peterson 2007 * 48 22 12 11 3 445 rb Ricky Williams 1999 * 49 23 12 11 3 442 rb Fred Taylor 1998 * 50 24 12 11 3 442 rb Terry Allen 1990 51 25 12 11 3 436 rb Jerome Bettis 1993 52 26 12 11 3 430 qb Jim Kelly 1983 53 26 12 12 3 428 wr Reggie Wayne 2001 * 54 26 13 12 3 419 wr Andre Rison 1989 55 26 14 12 3 418 wr Andre Reed 1985 56 26 15 12 3 412 qb Kurt Warner 1998 57 26 15 13 3 408 rb Billy Sims 1980 58 27 15 13 3 406 rb Steven Jackson 2004 * 59 28 15 13 3 406 qb Jim Everett 1986 60 28 15 14 3 405 rb Curt Warner 1983 61 29 15 14 3 403 wr Jimmy Smith 1992 62 29 16 14 3 403 rb Brian Westbrook 2002 * 63 30 16 14 3 399 wr Herman Moore 1991 64 30 17 14 3 399 wr Rod Smith 1995 65 30 18 14 3 399 qb Rich Gannon 1987 66 30 18 15 3 392 wr Larry Fitzgerald 2004 * 67 30 19 15 3 389 rb James Brooks 1981 68 31 19 15 3 387 wr Mike Quick 1982 69 31 20 15 3 382 rb Jamal Lewis 2000 70 32 20 15 3 376 te Ben Coates 1991 71 32 20 15 4 366 rb Maurice Jones-Drew 2006 * 72 33 20 15 4 365 rb Larry Johnson 2003 * 73 34 20 15 4 361 wr Steve Smith 2001 * 74 34 21 15 4 360 te Keith Jackson 1988 75 34 21 15 5 353 rb Chris Johnson 2008 * 76 35 21 15 5 350 qb Neil Lomax 1981 77 35 21 16 5 348 rb Earnest Byner 1984 78 36 21 16 5 339 wr Henry Ellard 1983 79 36 22 16 5 335 wr Joey Galloway 1995 * 80 36 23 16 5 333 qb Donovan McNabb 1999 * 81 36 23 17 5 331 wr Mark Duper 1982 82 36 24 17 5 328 wr Andre Johnson 2003 * 83 36 25 17 5 326 wr Anthony Miller 1988 84 36 26 17 5 325 wr Hines Ward 1998 * 85 36 27 17 5 323 rb Jamal Anderson 1994 86 37 27 17 5 323 wr Art Monk 1980 87 37 28 17 5 320 rb Chris Warren 1990 88 38 28 17 5 320 qb Jeff Garcia 1999 89 38 28 18 5 319 rb Stephen Davis 1996 90 39 28 18 5 316 qb Drew Bledsoe 1993 91 39 28 19 5 311 wr Joe Horn 1996 92 39 29 19 5 304 qb Dave Krieg 1980 93 39 29 20 5 303 rb Greg Bell 1984 94 40 29 20 5 302 rb Rodney Hampton 1990 95 41 29 20 5 302 rb Gerald Riggs 1982 96 42 29 20 5 298 qb Aaron Rodgers 2005 * 97 42 29 21 5 298 rb James Wilder 1981 98 43 29 21 5 297 wr Anquan Boldin 2003 * 99 43 30 21 5 292 rb Deuce McAllister 2001 100 44 30 21 5A few interesting patterns. First, the positional balance. Near the top the players are almost half RBs, about a quarter each at WR and QB, and just a few TEs. Once you get outside the top 60 or so then WRs become even more common and QBs become less common. The top 10 break down 5-2-3-0 and the top 60 are 28-15-14-3, but the last 40 (players 61-100) are 16-15-7-2. The fact that some players are still active doesn't alter the positional distribution; the top 50 players who began their careers before 2000 are 23-13-12-2.Second, value falls off steeply. The top players are a lot more valuable than the slightly lower players. Jerry Rice, the most valuable fantasy player, is worth twice as much in VBD as Marvin Harrison (WR4 and #18 overall), 3 times as much as Tim Brown (WR7 and #36 overall), 4 times as much as Jimmy Smith (WR16 and #62 overall), and 5 times as much as Hines Ward (WR27 and #85 overall). Rice deserves two spots in the Fantasy Hall - he may not quite equal the two best receivers of the modern era, but he's two of the top five (with both even-year Jerry and odd-year Jerry beating out Cris Carter in VBD). Similarly, RB1 Emmitt Smith is worth twice as much as RB13 (Tiki Barber), 3 times as much as RB26 (Jerome Bettis), and 4 times as much as RB37 (Jamal Anderson). QB1 Dan Marino is worth twice as much as QB8 (Tom Brady) and 3 times as much as QB15 (Rich Gannon). TE1 Tony Gonzalez is worth twice as much as TE4 (Ben Coates) and 3 times as much as TE8 (Mark Bavaro, not listed).
There is a shortage of TEs, with only 5 in the top 100. Here are the next 4:
The columns (left to right) show career VBD, position, the player's name, the year they entered the NFL, a * if they're still active, and then a count of the number of players, RBs, WRs, QBs, and TEs so far.
VBD Pos Player Year Act Count RBs WRs QBs TEs1624 wr Jerry Rice 1985 1 0 1 0 01316 rb Emmitt Smith 1990 2 1 1 0 01311 rb LaDainian Tomlinson 2001 * 3 2 1 0 01217 rb Barry Sanders 1989 4 3 1 0 01189 qb Dan Marino 1983 5 3 1 1 01165 qb Brett Favre 1991 6 3 1 2 01157 rb Marshall Faulk 1994 7 4 1 2 01077 qb Peyton Manning 1998 * 8 4 1 3 0 995 wr Randy Moss 1998 * 9 4 2 3 0 905 rb Marcus Allen 1982 10 5 2 3 0 888 qb Steve Young 1985 11 5 2 4 0 886 rb Eric Dickerson 1983 12 6 2 4 0 858 wr Terrell Owens 1996 * 13 6 3 4 0 844 rb Thurman Thomas 1988 14 7 3 4 0 837 qb Randall Cunningham 1985 15 7 3 5 0 832 rb Curtis Martin 1995 16 8 3 5 0 820 rb Ricky Watters 1991 17 9 3 5 0 810 wr Marvin Harrison 1996 18 9 4 5 0 807 qb John Elway 1983 19 9 4 6 0 755 te Tony Gonzalez 1997 * 20 9 4 6 1 743 rb Shaun Alexander 2000 21 10 4 6 1 731 rb Edgerrin James 1999 22 11 4 6 1 703 qb Warren Moon 1984 23 11 4 7 1 673 rb Priest Holmes 1997 24 12 4 7 1 642 rb Tiki Barber 1997 * 25 13 4 7 1 631 wr Cris Carter 1987 26 13 5 7 1 622 rb Herschel Walker 1985 27 14 5 7 1 613 te Shannon Sharpe 1990 28 14 5 7 2 597 rb Clinton Portis 2002 * 29 15 5 7 2 592 rb Terrell Davis 1995 30 16 5 7 2 561 wr Torry Holt 1999 31 16 6 7 2 553 qb Tom Brady 2000 * 32 16 6 8 2 551 rb Eddie George 1996 33 17 6 8 2 548 rb Ahman Green 1998 34 18 6 8 2 548 rb Roger Craig 1983 35 19 6 8 2 538 wr Tim Brown 1988 36 19 7 8 2 512 qb Daunte Culpepper 1999 37 19 7 9 2 503 wr Sterling Sharpe 1988 38 19 8 9 2 501 wr Isaac Bruce 1994 39 19 9 9 2 492 wr Mark Clayton 1983 40 19 10 9 2 480 te Antonio Gates 2003 * 41 19 10 9 3 473 rb Corey Dillon 1997 42 20 10 9 3 469 qb Drew Brees 2001 * 43 20 10 10 3 468 wr Michael Irvin 1988 44 20 11 10 3 458 rb Neal Anderson 1986 45 21 11 10 3 454 wr Chad Ochocinco 2001 * 46 21 12 10 3 453 qb Boomer Esiason 1984 47 21 12 11 3 447 rb Adrian Peterson 2007 * 48 22 12 11 3 445 rb Ricky Williams 1999 * 49 23 12 11 3 442 rb Fred Taylor 1998 * 50 24 12 11 3 442 rb Terry Allen 1990 51 25 12 11 3 436 rb Jerome Bettis 1993 52 26 12 11 3 430 qb Jim Kelly 1983 53 26 12 12 3 428 wr Reggie Wayne 2001 * 54 26 13 12 3 419 wr Andre Rison 1989 55 26 14 12 3 418 wr Andre Reed 1985 56 26 15 12 3 412 qb Kurt Warner 1998 57 26 15 13 3 408 rb Billy Sims 1980 58 27 15 13 3 406 rb Steven Jackson 2004 * 59 28 15 13 3 406 qb Jim Everett 1986 60 28 15 14 3 405 rb Curt Warner 1983 61 29 15 14 3 403 wr Jimmy Smith 1992 62 29 16 14 3 403 rb Brian Westbrook 2002 * 63 30 16 14 3 399 wr Herman Moore 1991 64 30 17 14 3 399 wr Rod Smith 1995 65 30 18 14 3 399 qb Rich Gannon 1987 66 30 18 15 3 392 wr Larry Fitzgerald 2004 * 67 30 19 15 3 389 rb James Brooks 1981 68 31 19 15 3 387 wr Mike Quick 1982 69 31 20 15 3 382 rb Jamal Lewis 2000 70 32 20 15 3 376 te Ben Coates 1991 71 32 20 15 4 366 rb Maurice Jones-Drew 2006 * 72 33 20 15 4 365 rb Larry Johnson 2003 * 73 34 20 15 4 361 wr Steve Smith 2001 * 74 34 21 15 4 360 te Keith Jackson 1988 75 34 21 15 5 353 rb Chris Johnson 2008 * 76 35 21 15 5 350 qb Neil Lomax 1981 77 35 21 16 5 348 rb Earnest Byner 1984 78 36 21 16 5 339 wr Henry Ellard 1983 79 36 22 16 5 335 wr Joey Galloway 1995 * 80 36 23 16 5 333 qb Donovan McNabb 1999 * 81 36 23 17 5 331 wr Mark Duper 1982 82 36 24 17 5 328 wr Andre Johnson 2003 * 83 36 25 17 5 326 wr Anthony Miller 1988 84 36 26 17 5 325 wr Hines Ward 1998 * 85 36 27 17 5 323 rb Jamal Anderson 1994 86 37 27 17 5 323 wr Art Monk 1980 87 37 28 17 5 320 rb Chris Warren 1990 88 38 28 17 5 320 qb Jeff Garcia 1999 89 38 28 18 5 319 rb Stephen Davis 1996 90 39 28 18 5 316 qb Drew Bledsoe 1993 91 39 28 19 5 311 wr Joe Horn 1996 92 39 29 19 5 304 qb Dave Krieg 1980 93 39 29 20 5 303 rb Greg Bell 1984 94 40 29 20 5 302 rb Rodney Hampton 1990 95 41 29 20 5 302 rb Gerald Riggs 1982 96 42 29 20 5 298 qb Aaron Rodgers 2005 * 97 42 29 21 5 298 rb James Wilder 1981 98 43 29 21 5 297 wr Anquan Boldin 2003 * 99 43 30 21 5 292 rb Deuce McAllister 2001 100 44 30 21 5A few interesting patterns. First, the positional balance. Near the top the players are almost half RBs, about a quarter each at WR and QB, and just a few TEs. Once you get outside the top 60 or so then WRs become even more common and QBs become less common. The top 10 break down 5-2-3-0 and the top 60 are 28-15-14-3, but the last 40 (players 61-100) are 16-15-7-2. The fact that some players are still active doesn't alter the positional distribution; the top 50 players who began their careers before 2000 are 23-13-12-2.Second, value falls off steeply. The top players are a lot more valuable than the slightly lower players. Jerry Rice, the most valuable fantasy player, is worth twice as much in VBD as Marvin Harrison (WR4 and #18 overall), 3 times as much as Tim Brown (WR7 and #36 overall), 4 times as much as Jimmy Smith (WR16 and #62 overall), and 5 times as much as Hines Ward (WR27 and #85 overall). Rice deserves two spots in the Fantasy Hall - he may not quite equal the two best receivers of the modern era, but he's two of the top five (with both even-year Jerry and odd-year Jerry beating out Cris Carter in VBD). Similarly, RB1 Emmitt Smith is worth twice as much as RB13 (Tiki Barber), 3 times as much as RB26 (Jerome Bettis), and 4 times as much as RB37 (Jamal Anderson). QB1 Dan Marino is worth twice as much as QB8 (Tom Brady) and 3 times as much as QB15 (Rich Gannon). TE1 Tony Gonzalez is worth twice as much as TE4 (Ben Coates) and 3 times as much as TE8 (Mark Bavaro, not listed).
There is a shortage of TEs, with only 5 in the top 100. Here are the next 4:
Code:
VBD Pos Player Year Act Count RBs WRs QBs TEs291 te Jason Witten 2003 * 101 44 30 21 6261 te Wesley Walls 1989 110 48 34 21 7253 te Mark Bavaro 1985 113 49 35 21 8216 te Brent Jones 1986 131 54 44 24 9
