It’s hard to imagine life without fantasy football. It consumes every player’s life from September through December, waking up in cold sweats because you’re nervous that someone else nabbed your waiver target. But if you had one of the best fantasy football seasons for a wide receiver before, you know how fun things can be.
Michael Thomas (2019)
Towards the end of his career with the New Orleans Saints, Drew Brees couldn’t stretch the field with vertical routes down the seam as he had in seasons past. His accuracy in the short passing game allowed Brees to stick around as long as he did. The receiver who benefitted the most from this transformation was Michael Thomas.
In 2019, Thomas was an unstoppable force on the field, reeling in 149 catches, 1,725 yards, and nine scores. In a PPR format, that was good for 372.6 points. He may have set the record for catches in a season, but the lack of scoring prevented him from having the most incredible season ever.
Antonio Brown (2014 and 2015)
Before Antonio Brown became the most undependable player and person on the planet, he was pretty good at football. Brown was the leading fantasy wide receiver in back-to-back seasons, putting up historically great numbers. Brown combined for over 260 catches, 3500 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 660 fantasy points in those two years. Now you know why he got multiple chances before taking his uniform off in the endzone at MetLife Stadium and quitting on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Marvin Harrison (2002)
The man whose record Thomas broke was legendary Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison. During the Colts’ heyday of Harrison, Peyton Manning, and Reggie Wayne, it was hard to contain them, which is why they put up record-setting numbers. In 2002, Harrison had 143 receptions, 1,722 yards, and touched paydirt 11 times. Those numbers translated to 382.2 PPR points, good for third on the all-time list.
Randy Moss (2007)
After the failure with Oakland, Bill Belichick targeted the playmaker in an off-season trade, giving Tom Brady his first legitimate weapon in his career. During the “Imperfect Season” in 2007, Moss set the record for touchdowns in a single season for a wide receiver, leading to the most fantasy points (385.3 PPR points) ever. Then, Cooper Kupp happened.
Cooper Kupp (2021)
Even though some might put an asterisk next to this record because of the new 17th game on the schedule, it’s hard to downplay how amazing Cooper Kupp was in 2021. Kupp has a tough act to follow as one of the best receivers in 2022.
But with Sean McVay scheming ways to get him open, he might improve on his 145 catches, 1,947 yards, and 16 touchdown effort. It won’t be shocking if he breaks records in those three categories this season, blowing by his unfathomable 439.5 PPR points for the Super Bowl champs last year.
If you were the manager of a team that rostered one of the best fantasy football seasons for a wide receiver, you would likely have a fantasy championship to add to your life’s accomplishments.