The 2023 NFL draft is almost upon us, so diehard fans and fantasy managers alike are waiting with bated breath to see who their teams will select and how rookies will affect fantasy values. Until then, there's a lot of chatter around social media about the best and worst draft picks of all time based on stats and titles.
Since I live in the world of fantasy football, that topic got me thinking. Who is the all-time best fantasy player ever drafted by each of the 32 current NFL franchises?
As a fan of the NFL's historical impact on sports and how it can relate to fantasy, I did a research exercise on the subject. Here are the parameters: First, each player had to be drafted by and play most of his career with that particular franchise.
Therefore, when you don't see Brett Favre (drafted by the Atlanta Falcons, not the Green Bay Packers) or John Elway (drafted by the Baltimore Colts, not the Denver Broncos) on this list, that's the reason for their absence.
Second, players were gauged both on their total PPR points scored during their time with the franchise and their points per game average. That factored in heavily, as to not favor players who played with one team for awhile (compilers).
Alright, let’s get into it!
There were a lot of easy choices, but many tough ones, too. We’ll start off with the Cardinals, who started in Chicago, went to St. Louis and are now in Arizona.
John W. McDonough/SI
Cardinals: Larry Fitzgerald (2004)
Fitzgerald is easily the top fantasy player the Cardinals have ever drafted. His 3,906.1 PPR points are 2,272 more than the next-best player, fellow wideout Roy Green (1,634.1) and nearly 2,300 more than Anquan Boldin (1,606.9) with the franchise. What’s more, only Jerry Rice has scored more PPR points among wide receivers during the Super Bowl era.
Falcons: Julio Jones (2011)
Jones was a fantasy superstar for most of his career, posting 1,100-plus yards in seven of his 10 seasons in Atlanta. He’s also the highest-scoring non-quarterback the team has ever drafted, behind only Matt Ryan. However, Jones averaged more fantasy points (18.5) than Ryan (16.6). In all, the Alabama product scored over 2,500 PPR points as a member of the Falcons.
Ravens: Jamal Lewis (2000)
The highest-scoring fantasy player the Ravens have ever drafted is Joe Flacco, but he’s not the best option. While Lamar Jackson (as long as he stays with the team) will likely be that player once his career is over, I went with Lewis over Ray Rice (for obvious reasons). Lewis, one of only eight backs to ever rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season, had 1,000-plus yards seven times (five with Baltimore).
Bills: Thurman Thomas (1988)
This was a tough call, as O.J. Simpson was also a statistical star during his time in the NFL. In fact, he averaged more PPR points than Thomas. However, Thomas is second in points among players the Bills drafted (behind only Andre Reed). He rushed for 1,000-plus yards in eight straight years and posted 1,800-plus scrimmage yards on four different occasions.
Panthers: Cam Newton (2011)
The Panthers drafted Newton out of Auburn in 2011, and he went on to score more fantasy points than any player in his first three NFL seasons. He posted 290-plus fantasy points five times as a member of the franchise, and he rushed for more than 5,000 yards as well. Steve Smith Sr. was also considered, but I think Newton made a slightly bigger fantasy impact.
Bears: Walter Payton (1975)
This one was simple. One of the greatest running backs of all time, Payton rushed for 1,000-plus yards 10 times and scored a combined 125 touchdowns during his illustrious career. His 3,315.7 PPR points are 1,188.9 more than the next-best player, Matt Forte (2,126.8). Had fantasy football been prominent in his time, Payton would have been a perennial first-rounder.
Bengals: A.J. Green (2011)
This was a close call between Green and Chad Johnson, who scored more points but also played in more games. Green put up an average of close to one more PPR point per game in his career, so he gets the nod. He recorded 1,000-plus yards in each of his first five seasons and six of his first seven with the franchise, during which time he had a combined 57 touchdowns.
Browns: Jim Brown (1957)
Fellow Hall of Famer Ozzie Newsome gets a special mention, but Brown is the easy choice. He would have been a major fantasy superstar in today’s game, rushing for 1,000-plus yards seven times during his nine-year career. The Hall of Famer averaged 1,368 yards per season. He also rushed for nine or more touchdowns seven times before leaving the game in 1965 while still at the pinnacle of his position.
Cowboys: Emmitt Smith (1990)
Manny Rubio/USA Today Sports
The Cowboys have drafted plenty of players that have gone on to be fantasy superstars, but it’s hard to top Smith. The NFL's all-time leading rusher, he rushed for 1,000-plus yards in 11 consecutive seasons and was a massive fantasy superstar in his pro career. Smith, who also scored 175 combined touchdowns, was a first-rounder in drafts in the 1990s.
Broncos: Demaryius Thomas (2010)
This one was difficult. Remember, John Elway was drafted by the Colts, so he’s not eligible for this exercise. The Broncos did draft Terrell Davis and Shannon Sharpe, but Thomas scored more PPR points than both in his NFL career. In fact, no one in the franchise’s history scored more points among players who were drafted by the Broncos.
Lions: Barry Sanders (1989)
The Lions franchise leader in fantasy points is Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson was an amazing wideout but come on folks, this one is simple. It’s Sanders. He finished his illustrious career with 18,190 rushing yards and would have had many more had he not retired after he rushed for almost 1,500 yards in 1998. Sanders also averaged 18 fantasy points a game in his career.
Packers: Aaron Rodgers (2005)
Remember, Brett Favre (Falcons) and Ahman Green (Seahawks) were not drafted by Green Bay, so neither qualifies for this piece. That leaves Rodgers, who scored more than 4,500 fantasy points for the Packers. No other drafted player has more than 2,144.4 points (Donald Driver), and Mason Crosby, a kicker, is third. Davante Adams ranks fourth with 1,921.1.
Texans: Andre Johnson (2003)
The Texans’ two best drafted fantasy players are wideouts: Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins. I went with the former, who had 2,751.1 PPR points with the team (Hopkins was at 1,813.5), though Nuk did average a fraction more (0.2) per game. Johnson had seven seasons with 1,000-plus yards and had more than 250 PPR points five times during his time with the Texans.
Colts: Peyton Manning (1998)
The Colts have drafted several stars over the decades, including Marshall Faulk, Edgerrin James and Marvin Harrison, but it’s difficult not to make Manning the best selection. He’s the franchise’s leader in fantasy points, and he was a dominant fantasy quarterback for much of his time with the team. In fact, only Tom Brady and Drew Brees have had more career points.
Jaguars: Fred Taylor (1998)
Jimmy Smith had a ton of statistical success with the Jaguars, but he was drafted by the Cowboys in 2005. That makes Taylor the choice. He leads all drafted Jaguars in fantasy points, scoring 2,039.2 and averaging 14.6 points per game. He rushed for 1,000-plus yards seven of his 11 seasons in Jacksonville and found the end zone a combined 70 times with the team.
Chiefs: Patrick Mahomes (2017)
The Chiefs have picked several elite fantasy players in NFL drafts, including a pair of superstar tight ends in Tony Gonzalez (2008) and Travis Kelce (2013). Still, I went with Mahomes as their top fantasy pick. He’s played in just 80 career regular-season games, but he’s third in franchise history in fantasy points. He’ll be No. 1 by a mile when all’s said and done.
Raiders: Marcus Allen (1982)
Tim Brown is the Raiders franchise leader in PPR points, so you can argue that he’s the team’s best fantasy draft pick. However, I went with Allen for a few reasons. First off, Brown was a Hall of Famer but he was also a compiler (16 years with the team). Allen averaged nearly 16 points per game compared to Brown’s 13.2, and running back was the dominant position.
Chargers: LaDainian Tomlinson (2001)
The Bolts have had more than their share of statistical superstars over the years, but Tomlinson is the best of the best. Not only did he put up the single greatest fantasy season of all time (2006), but LT was almost always a top-five pick in drafts. He rushed for 1,100-plus yards in each of his first eight seasons and scored a combined 162 total touchdowns.
Rams: Eric Dickerson (1983)
Steven Jackson is the Rams’ all-time leading rusher, and Isaac Bruce has the most PPR points of any player the team has drafted. Still, it’s hard not to go with Dickerson. During his four-plus years in Los Angeles, the Hall of Famer rushed for 1,800-plus yards three times and scored 58 touchdowns. He also averaged the most points of any Ram with at least 60 games.
Dolphins: Dan Marino (1983)
John Biever/SI
It's hard to believe, but a total of 26 players were picked ahead of Marino in the 1983 NFL draft, including quarterbacks Todd Blackledge, Tony Eason and Ken O'Brien. Marino went on to become one of the best signal-callers in the history of the league from a statistical perspective. He also leads all drafted Dolphins in fantasy points, scoring 3,595.5 in his illustrious career.
Vikings: Adrian Peterson (2007)
Fran Tarkenton and Randy Moss were both in the conversation, but how can you go against Peterson? He rushed for 1,000-plus yards eight times (seven with the Vikings), including a huge 2,097-yard campaign in 2012 less than a year removed from a reconstructive knee procedure. What’s more, no non-quarterback has more fantasy points among drafted Vikings.
Patriots: Tom Brady (2000)
This one is simple, folks. Brady has not only been to and won the most Super Bowls of any quarterback, but he has also scored more fantasy points than anyone at his position. His 5,946.4 points are 753.4 more than the next-best quarterback, Drew Brees, and 2,988.2 more than the next-best drafted Patriots player, Stanley Morgan. Brady is the fantasy G.O.A.T., too.
Saints: Alvin Kamara (2017)
Brees was drafted by the San Diego Chargers, so he doesn’t qualify for this exercise. That leaves Marques Colston or Kamara, and I went with the latter. While Colston has more points, he’s also played in 58 more games. By comparison, Kamara has averaged almost 20 fantasy points per game in his career while Colston was at 14.4. It’s close, but I’m going Kamara.
Giants: Tiki Barber (1997)
Eli Manning leads all drafted Giants in fantasy points, but he was never really a fantasy superstar. That makes Barber the choice. The all-time leading rusher in franchise history, Barber rushed for 1,000-plus yards in six of his last seven seasons. He also recorded 2,000-plus yards from scrimmage in each of his last three years for both Big Blue and fantasy fans alike.
Jets: Wesley Walker (1977)
Most of the Jets’ best fantasy players weren’t drafted by the team. Curtis Martin was picked by the Patriots, Don Maynard by the Giants. John Riggins, while drafted by the Jets, had most of his success in Washington. As a result, I went with Walker over Freeman McNeil and Joe Namath. He’s had more receiving yards and scored more points in PPR formats than any other drafted Jet in history.
Eagles: Donovan McNabb (1999)
Eagles fans clamored for their team to draft Ricky Williams in 1999, but McNabb was the selection instead. It turned out to be a productive move, as he finished as the top passer in franchise history. McNabb's versatile skill set also made him a solid fantasy starter, which was evidenced in his 2,402.1 points with the Eagles. That’s the most in franchise history.
Steelers: Antonio Brown (2010)
This was a tough call between A.B. and Ben Roethlisberger, who has scored the most points among drafted Steelers by more than 1,200. However, Brown was the best wideout in fantasy during much of his time with the team. He scored over 300 fantasy points in six straight years from 2013-18 and averaged nearly 19 points per game during his time with the team.
49ers: Jerry Rice (1985)
This is the biggest no-brainer in this exercise. Steve Young and Joe Montana were awesome fantasy options, but Rice was the best wide receiver to ever play in the NFL. He's still the league's all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches. What’s more, his 5,129.8 PPR points are 1,223.7 more than the next-best wideout, Larry Fitzgerald.
Seahawks: Russell Wilson (2012)
You can make an argument that this should be Shaun Alexander, but Wilson outscored him by over 1,100 points and averaged 3.4 more points as a Seahawk. Wilson scored more than 270 points in each of his first nine seasons, including five in which he put up more than 300. And remember, Seattle signed Matt Flynn to be their quarterback the season Wilson was drafted.
Buccaneers: Mike Evans (2014)
The No. 7 overall pick in the 2014 NFL draft, Evans is easily the best fantasy player the Buccaneers have ever drafted. He’s had 1,000-plus yards in every year of his career (nine seasons), during which time he’s scored a combined 81 touchdowns. Evans has also scored 2,222.5 PPR points, which is 611 more points than the second-best player, James Wilder.
Titans: Eddie George (1996)
Drafted by the Houston Oilers before they moved to Tennessee, George went on to become a statistical hero and fantasy superstar during his time with the franchise. He rushed for 1,000-plus yards in seven of his eight seasons between the Oilers and Titans and finished with 78 touchdowns. You might think this should be Derrick Henry, but George and Chris Johnson both have more points … for now.
Commanders: Art Monk (1980)
As I mentioned earlier, Riggins was drafted by the Jets and doesn't qualify based on our parameters. That leaves Monk, who retired as the franchise leader in both receptions and receiving yards in what was a terrific, Hall of Fame career. A first-round pick in 1980, Monk leads all of the drafted Washington players in history with more than 2,500 career PPR points.
