Most Dominant Fantasy Players Since 1950: Quarterbacks

by Chase Stuart on July 15, 2015

What was the most dominant fantasy season of all time? You might think Peyton Manning 2013, but let me throw out another candidate: Steve Young, 1998.

I am using the following scoring system throughout this series: 1 point per 20 yards passing, 1 point per 10 yards rushing/receiving, 4 points per passing TD, 6 points per rushing/receiving TD, 0.5 points per reception.

In 2013, Manning threw for 5,477 yards and 55 TDs with just 10 interceptions, while rushing for -31 yards but with one TD. That comes out to 486.75 fantasy points. In 1998, Young threw for 4,170 yards with 36 TDs and 12 INTs, but also ran for 454 yards and 6 TDs. That is equal to 421.90 fantasy points. So, advantage Manning.

But we measure fantasy dominance “not by the number of points he scores[, but] by how much he outscores his peers at his particular position.” Those are the words of Joe Bryant in his famous VBD article, and I’ll make an appendix to that for historical purposes: the key is how much a player outscores his peers at his particular position in that particular year.

When calculating VBD scores, the standard is to use the 12th-ranked quarterback. In 2013, the 12th=-ranked QB scored 309.2 fantasy points, which means Manning outscored him by 177.55 fantasy points (or we could say that Manning produced 178 points of VBD). In 1998, the 12th-ranked quarterback scored just 235.6 fantasy points, which means Young finished with 186.3 points of VBD. So, advantage, Young.

But there’s another piece of the puzzle that tips the scales even more towards the 49ers quarterback. In 1998, Young missed one game. For fantasy purposes, it’s more valuable to have a quarterback produced X points in 15 games than it is for him to produce X points in 16 games, because you can play someone else during that 16th game.

So here’s what I did (I am open to other methods, as there are several ways to skin this cat). For each quarterback season since 1950, I calculated the number of fantasy points scored by all quarterbacks. Then, I measured how many FP were scored by QB 12 ^[1]Well, QB12 for every year since 1968. In 1966 and 1967, I used QB10 as the cut-off, since there were fewer than 26 teams that year. From ’61 to ’65, I used QB8, as there were 22 … Continue reading and divided that by 16.

So for 1998, the baseline is 14.73 FP/G, which means Young — who averaged 28.13 FP/G — finished with 13.4 FP/G above average. We multiply that by his number of games played (15) to get his VBD score of 201 fantasy points. ^[2]Note: At this step, I pro-rated the VBD number for every NFL season with fewer than 16 games, but that’s obviously not an issue when it comes to Young/Manning. As it turns out, 201 points is the highest VBD season by any quarterback since 1950, just narrowly edging out Dan Marino in 1984.

Let’s use that season to guide you through the table below, which shows the top 200 seasons by a quarterback in fantasy history. That year, Marino threw for 5,084 yards, with 48 TDs and 17 INTs. He rushed for -7 yards and 0 touchdowns, which comes to 428.5 fantasy points. He played a full 16-game slate, so he averaged 26.78 FP/G. The baseline in 1984 (i.e., QB12) was 14.25 Fp/G, so Marino averaegd 12.53 FP/G above the baseline. Multiply that by 16 (the number of games he played), and Marino had a VBD of 200.5 in 1984.

Rk	Player	Yr	Tm	PYD	TD	INT	RSH	RSHYD	RSHTD	FP	G	FP/G	Base	Diff	VBD
1	Steve Young	1998	SFO	4170	36	12	70	454	6	421.9	15	28.13	14.73	13.4	201
2	Dan Marino	1984	MIA	5084	48	17	28	-7	0	428.5	16	26.78	14.25	12.53	200.5
3	Tom Brady	2007	NWE	4806	50	8	37	98	2	454.1	16	28.38	16.44	11.94	191
4	Randall Cunningham	1990	PHI	3466	30	13	118	942	5	404.5	16	25.28	13.6	11.68	187
5	Warren Moon	1990	HOU	4689	33	13	55	215	2	387	15	25.8	13.6	12.2	183
6	Tobin Rote	1956	GNB	2203	18	15	84	398	11	273	12	22.75	11.34	11.41	182.5
7	Aaron Rodgers	2011	GNB	4643	45	6	60	257	3	449.9	15	29.99	17.88	12.11	181.6
8	Steve Young	1994	SFO	3969	35	10	58	293	7	399.8	16	24.98	13.8	11.18	178.9
9	Peyton Manning	2013	DEN	5477	55	10	32	-31	1	486.8	16	30.42	19.33	11.1	177.6
10	Drew Brees	2011	NOR	5476	46	14	21	86	1	458.4	16	28.65	17.88	10.77	172.3
11	Johnny Unitas	1959	BAL	2899	32	14	29	145	2	285.5	12	23.79	13.18	10.61	169.8
12	Daunte Culpepper	2004	MIN	4717	39	11	88	406	2	433.5	16	27.09	16.74	10.35	165.6
13	Dan Marino	1986	MIA	4746	44	23	12	-3	0	390	16	24.38	14.26	10.12	161.9
14	Brett Favre	1995	GNB	4413	38	13	39	181	3	395.8	16	24.73	14.65	10.08	161.3
15	Brett Favre	1996	GNB	3899	39	13	49	136	2	363.6	16	22.72	12.78	9.94	159.1
16	Kurt Warner	1999	STL	4353	41	13	23	92	1	383.9	16	23.99	14.42	9.58	153.2
17	Daunte Culpepper	2000	MIN	3937	33	16	89	470	7	401.9	16	25.12	15.55	9.57	153.1
18	Randall Cunningham	1988	PHI	3808	24	16	93	624	6	368.8	16	23.05	13.66	9.39	150.2
19	Peyton Manning	2004	IND	4557	49	10	25	38	0	417.7	16	26.1	16.74	9.36	149.8
20	Randall Cunningham	1987	PHI	2786	23	12	76	505	3	288	12	24	12.33	11.67	149.4
21	Johnny Unitas	1960	BAL	3099	25	24	36	195	0	250.5	12	20.87	11.58	9.3	148.7
22	Tom Brady	2011	NWE	5235	39	12	43	109	3	434.7	16	27.17	17.88	9.28	148.6
23	Vinny Testaverde	1996	BAL	4177	33	19	34	188	2	352.7	16	22.04	12.78	9.26	148.2
24	Steve Beuerlein	1999	CAR	4436	36	15	27	124	2	375.2	16	23.45	14.42	9.03	144.6
25	Jeff Garcia	2000	SFO	4278	31	10	72	414	4	393.3	16	24.58	15.55	9.03	144.5
26	Cam Newton	2011	CAR	4051	21	17	126	706	14	427.4	16	26.71	17.88	8.83	141.3
27	John Elway	1987	DEN	3198	19	12	66	304	4	278.3	12	23.19	12.33	10.87	139.1
28	Daryle Lamonica	1969	OAK	3302	34	25	13	36	1	285.7	14	20.41	11.74	8.66	138.6
29	Steve Young	1993	SFO	4023	29	16	69	407	2	355.1	16	22.19	13.61	8.58	137.4
30	Ken Anderson	1975	CIN	3169	21	11	49	188	2	262.3	13	20.17	10.99	9.19	136.5
31	Steve Young	1992	SFO	3465	25	7	76	537	4	344	16	21.5	12.97	8.53	136.5
32	Michael Vick	2010	PHI	3018	21	6	100	676	9	350.5	12	29.21	17.84	11.36	136.4
33	Neil Lomax	1984	STL	4614	28	16	35	184	3	363.1	16	22.69	14.25	8.44	135.1
34	Scott Mitchell	1995	DET	4338	32	12	36	104	4	367.3	16	22.96	14.65	8.3	132.9
35	Joe Montana	1987	SFO	3054	31	13	35	141	1	283.8	13	21.83	12.33	9.5	131.8
36	Jim Kelly	1991	BUF	3844	33	17	20	45	1	317.7	15	21.18	12.52	8.66	129.9
37	Mark Brunell	1996	JAX	4367	19	20	80	396	3	332	16	20.75	12.78	7.97	127.5
38	Ken Anderson	1974	CIN	2667	18	10	43	314	2	238.8	13	18.37	9.89	8.47	125.9
39	Bert Jones	1976	BAL	3104	24	9	38	214	2	275.6	14	19.69	11.91	7.78	124.4
40	Don Majkowski	1989	GNB	4318	27	20	75	358	5	369.7	16	23.11	15.34	7.77	124.3
41	Warren Moon	1991	HOU	4690	23	21	33	68	2	324.3	16	20.27	12.52	7.75	124
42	Neil Lomax	1987	STL	3387	24	12	29	107	0	264.1	12	22	12.33	9.68	123.9
43	Brett Favre	1994	GNB	3882	33	14	42	202	2	344.3	16	21.52	13.8	7.72	123.5
44	Matthew Stafford	2011	DET	5038	41	16	22	78	0	407.7	16	25.48	17.88	7.6	121.6
45	Fran Tarkenton	1975	MIN	2994	25	13	16	108	2	259.5	14	18.54	10.99	7.55	120.8
46	Dan Fouts	1981	SDG	4802	33	17	22	56	0	360.7	16	22.54	15.02	7.53	120.4
47	Peyton Manning	2006	IND	4397	31	9	23	36	4	362.5	16	22.65	15.13	7.52	120.3
48	Dan Fouts	1982	SDG	2883	17	11	9	8	1	208	9	23.11	15.62	7.49	119.8
49	Dan Marino	1987	MIA	3245	26	13	12	-5	1	258.8	12	21.56	12.33	9.24	118.2
50	Y.A. Tittle	1963	NYG	3145	36	14	18	99	2	309.2	13	23.78	15.9	7.88	117.1
51	Drew Brees	2013	NOR	5162	39	12	35	52	3	425.3	16	26.58	19.33	7.26	116.1
52	Greg Landry	1972	DET	2066	18	17	81	524	9	264.7	14	18.91	11.66	7.25	116
53	Joe Montana	1982	SFO	2613	17	11	30	118	1	205.5	9	22.83	15.62	7.21	115.4
54	Drew Brees	2008	NOR	5069	34	17	22	-1	0	372.4	16	23.27	16.08	7.2	115.2
55	Aaron Rodgers	2009	GNB	4434	30	7	58	316	5	396.3	16	24.77	17.64	7.13	114.1
56	Roman Gabriel	1973	PHI	3219	23	12	12	10	1	248	14	17.71	10.6	7.11	113.8
57	Steve Young	1991	SFO	2517	17	8	66	415	4	251.4	11	22.85	12.52	10.33	113.6
58	John Elway	1996	DEN	3328	26	14	50	249	4	305.3	15	20.35	12.78	7.58	113.6
59	Joe Montana	1989	SFO	3521	26	8	49	227	3	312.8	13	24.06	15.34	8.72	113.3
60	Kurt Warner	2001	STL	4830	36	22	28	60	0	369.5	16	23.09	16.05	7.04	112.7
61	Roger Staubach	1975	DAL	2666	17	16	55	316	4	240.9	13	18.53	10.99	7.55	112.1
62	Roman Gabriel	1969	RAM	2549	24	7	35	156	5	262.1	14	18.72	11.74	6.97	111.6
63	Bobby Layne	1951	DET	2403	26	23	61	290	1	236.2	12	19.68	12.72	6.96	111.3
64	Lynn Dickey	1983	GNB	4458	32	29	21	12	3	341.1	16	21.32	14.38	6.94	111.1
65	Steve Young	1995	SFO	3200	20	11	50	250	3	272	11	24.73	14.65	10.07	110.8
66	Sonny Jurgensen	1961	PHI	3723	32	24	20	27	0	292.9	14	20.92	14.01	6.91	110.6
67	Dan Marino	1994	MIA	4453	30	17	22	-6	1	331.1	16	20.69	13.8	6.89	110.2
68	Johnny Unitas	1957	BAL	2550	24	17	42	171	1	229.6	12	19.13	12.26	6.88	110
69	Randall Cunningham	1998	MIN	3704	34	10	32	132	1	330.6	15	22.04	14.73	7.32	109.7
70	Andrew Luck	2014	IND	4761	40	16	64	273	3	427.4	16	26.71	19.9	6.81	109
71	John Brodie	1970	SFO	2941	24	10	9	29	2	248	14	17.71	10.92	6.79	108.7
72	Sonny Jurgensen	1967	WAS	3747	31	16	15	46	2	312	14	22.28	15.57	6.71	107.4
73	Drew Brees	2012	NOR	5177	43	19	15	5	1	418.4	16	26.15	19.47	6.68	106.9
74	Daryle Lamonica	1968	OAK	3245	25	15	19	98	1	263.1	13	20.23	13.07	7.17	106.5
75	Peyton Manning	2000	IND	4413	33	15	37	116	1	355.3	16	22.2	15.55	6.65	106.5
76	Roger Staubach	1973	DAL	2428	23	15	46	250	3	241.4	14	17.24	10.6	6.65	106.3
77	George Blanda	1961	HOU	3330	36	22	7	12	0	288.6	14	20.61	14.01	6.61	105.7
78	Steve Grogan	1976	NWE	1903	18	20	60	397	12	258.9	14	18.49	11.91	6.58	105.3
79	Ken Stabler	1976	OAK	2737	27	17	7	-2	1	233.7	12	19.47	11.91	7.56	103.7
80	Greg Landry	1971	DET	2237	16	13	76	530	3	233.9	14	16.7	10.23	6.48	103.7
81	Joe Montana	1990	SFO	3944	26	16	40	162	1	307.4	15	20.49	13.6	6.9	103.4
82	Warren Moon	1995	MIN	4228	33	14	33	82	0	337.6	16	21.1	14.65	6.45	103.2
83	Jeff Blake	1996	CIN	3624	24	14	72	317	2	306.9	16	19.18	12.78	6.4	102.5
84	Brett Favre	1997	GNB	3867	35	16	58	187	1	342.1	16	21.38	15.03	6.35	101.6
85	Rich Gannon	2000	OAK	3430	28	11	89	529	4	349.4	16	21.84	15.55	6.29	100.6
86	Don Meredith	1966	DAL	2805	24	12	38	242	5	278.5	13	21.42	14.73	6.69	99.4
87	Ken Anderson	1982	CIN	2495	12	9	25	85	4	196.3	9	21.81	15.62	6.19	99
88	Donovan McNabb	2004	PHI	3875	31	8	41	220	3	349.8	15	23.32	16.74	6.58	98.6
89	Otto Graham	1952	CLE	2816	20	24	42	130	4	233.8	12	19.48	13.33	6.15	98.4
90	Joe Montana	1983	SFO	3910	26	12	61	284	2	327.9	16	20.49	14.38	6.12	97.9
91	Fran Tarkenton	1970	NYG	2777	19	12	43	236	2	238.5	14	17.03	10.92	6.11	97.8
92	Roger Staubach	1978	DAL	3190	25	16	42	182	1	267.7	15	17.85	11.33	6.52	97.8
93	Sonny Jurgensen	1969	WAS	3102	22	15	17	156	1	249.7	14	17.84	11.74	6.09	97.5
94	Tony Romo	2007	DAL	4211	36	19	31	129	2	360.5	16	22.53	16.44	6.08	97.4
95	Daunte Culpepper	2002	MIN	3853	18	23	106	609	10	362.6	16	22.66	16.58	6.08	97.2
96	Danny White	1983	DAL	3980	29	23	18	31	4	327.1	16	20.44	14.38	6.07	97.1
97	Bernie Kosar	1987	CLE	3033	22	9	15	22	1	238.9	12	19.9	12.33	7.58	97
98	Rich Gannon	2002	OAK	4689	26	10	50	156	3	362.1	16	22.63	16.58	6.04	96.7
99	Bert Jones	1975	BAL	2483	18	8	47	321	3	238.3	14	17.02	10.99	6.03	96.5
100	Dave Krieg	1984	SEA	3671	32	24	46	186	3	324.2	16	20.26	14.25	6.01	96.2
101	Jim Everett	1988	RAM	3964	31	18	34	104	0	314.6	16	19.66	13.66	6	96
102	Dan Fouts	1980	SDG	4715	30	24	23	15	2	345.3	16	21.58	15.6	5.98	95.7
103	Drew Bledsoe	1996	NWE	4086	27	15	24	27	0	300	16	18.75	12.78	5.97	95.6
104	Brett Favre	1998	GNB	4212	31	23	40	133	1	330.9	16	20.68	14.73	5.96	95.3
105	Drew Brees	2009	NOR	4388	34	11	22	33	2	359.8	15	23.99	17.64	6.35	95.2
106	John Hadl	1971	SDG	3075	21	25	18	75	1	226.3	14	16.16	10.23	5.94	95
107	Ken Stabler	1974	OAK	2469	26	12	12	-2	1	221.3	14	15.8	9.89	5.91	94.6
108	Jeff Blake	1995	CIN	3822	28	17	53	309	2	329	16	20.56	14.65	5.91	94.6
109	Fran Tarkenton	1969	NYG	2918	23	8	37	172	0	247.1	14	17.65	11.74	5.91	94.5
110	John Brodie	1965	SFO	3112	30	16	15	60	1	271.6	13	20.89	14.54	6.36	94.4
111	Dan Marino	1991	MIA	3970	25	13	27	32	1	294.7	16	18.42	12.52	5.9	94.4
112	Al Dorow	1960	NYT	2748	26	26	90	453	7	302.7	14	21.62	15.73	5.89	94.2
113	Randall Cunningham	1992	PHI	2775	19	11	87	549	5	288.7	15	19.24	12.97	6.27	94.1
114	Joe Montana	1985	SFO	3653	27	13	42	153	3	311	15	20.73	14.47	6.26	93.9
115	Daunte Culpepper	2003	MIN	3479	25	11	73	422	4	329.2	14	23.51	16.83	6.69	93.6
116	Warren Moon	1987	HOU	2806	21	18	34	112	3	235.5	12	19.63	12.33	7.3	93.4
117	Boomer Esiason	1987	CIN	3321	16	19	52	241	0	235.2	12	19.6	12.33	7.27	93
118	Fran Tarkenton	1974	MIN	2598	17	12	21	120	2	209.9	13	16.15	9.89	6.25	92.9
119	Donovan McNabb	2002	PHI	2289	17	6	63	460	6	258.5	10	25.85	16.58	9.26	92.6
120	Babe Parilli	1964	BOS	3465	31	27	34	168	2	299.1	14	21.36	15.61	5.75	92
121	John Hadl	1968	SDG	3473	27	32	23	14	2	263.1	14	18.79	13.07	5.72	91.5
122	Jeff Garcia	2001	SFO	3538	32	12	72	254	5	348.3	16	21.77	16.05	5.72	91.4
123	Ken Anderson	1981	CIN	3754	29	10	46	320	1	331.7	16	20.73	15.02	5.71	91.4
124	Kordell Stewart	1997	PIT	3020	21	17	88	476	11	331.6	16	20.73	15.03	5.69	91.1
125	Roger Staubach	1977	DAL	2620	18	9	51	171	3	229.1	14	16.36	10.68	5.69	91
126	Donovan McNabb	2000	PHI	3365	21	13	86	629	6	339.7	16	21.23	15.55	5.68	90.9
127	Tobin Rote	1954	GNB	2311	14	18	67	301	8	231.7	12	19.3	13.65	5.65	90.5
128	Dan Marino	1988	MIA	4434	28	23	20	-17	0	309	16	19.31	13.66	5.65	90.4
129	Elvis Grbac	2000	KAN	4169	28	14	30	110	1	323.5	15	21.56	15.55	6.01	90.2
130	Joe Theismann	1983	WAS	3714	29	11	37	234	1	320.1	16	20.01	14.38	5.63	90.1
131	Bill Kenney	1983	KAN	4348	24	18	23	59	3	319.8	16	19.99	14.38	5.61	89.8
132	Aaron Rodgers	2012	GNB	4295	39	8	54	259	2	401.1	16	25.07	19.47	5.6	89.6
133	Daryle Lamonica	1967	OAK	3228	30	20	22	110	4	296.4	14	21.17	15.57	5.6	89.6
134	John Elway	1993	DEN	4030	25	10	44	153	0	306.8	16	19.18	13.61	5.57	89.1
135	Aaron Rodgers	2010	GNB	3922	28	11	64	356	4	356.7	15	23.78	17.84	5.94	89
136	Boomer Esiason	1988	CIN	3572	28	14	43	248	1	307.4	16	19.21	13.66	5.55	88.8
137	Aaron Rodgers	2008	GNB	4038	28	13	56	207	4	345.6	16	21.6	16.08	5.53	88.4
138	Jim Zorn	1978	SEA	3283	15	20	59	290	6	269.2	16	16.82	11.33	5.5	88
139	Y.A. Tittle	1962	NYG	3224	33	20	17	108	2	296	14	21.14	15.67	5.47	87.5
140	Fran Tarkenton	1967	NYG	3088	29	19	44	306	2	294	14	21	15.57	5.43	86.9
141	Aaron Rodgers	2014	GNB	4381	38	5	43	269	2	405	16	25.31	19.9	5.41	86.6
142	Billy Kilmer	1975	WAS	2440	23	16	11	34	1	207.4	12	17.28	10.99	6.3	86.4
143	Donovan McNabb	2006	PHI	2647	18	6	32	212	3	237.6	10	23.76	15.13	8.62	86.2
144	Milt Plum	1960	CLE	2297	21	5	17	-24	2	203.5	12	16.95	11.58	5.38	86.1
145	Mark Rypien	1991	WAS	3564	28	11	15	6	1	285.8	16	17.86	12.52	5.34	85.5
146	Rich Gannon	1999	OAK	3840	24	14	46	298	2	316	16	19.75	14.42	5.33	85.4
147	Tom Brady	2012	NWE	4827	34	8	23	32	4	396.6	16	24.78	19.47	5.32	85.1
148	Dan Marino	1992	MIA	4116	24	16	20	66	0	292.4	16	18.28	12.97	5.31	84.9
149	Archie Manning	1972	NOR	2781	18	21	63	351	2	237.2	14	16.94	11.66	5.28	84.5
150	Peyton Manning	1999	IND	4135	26	15	35	73	2	315.1	16	19.69	14.42	5.28	84.4
151	Drew Bledsoe	1994	NWE	4555	25	27	44	40	0	304.8	16	19.05	13.8	5.24	83.9
152	Norm Van Brocklin	1960	PHI	2471	24	17	11	-13	0	201.3	12	16.77	11.58	5.2	83.1
153	Jay Cutler	2008	DEN	4526	25	18	57	200	2	340.3	16	21.27	16.08	5.19	83.1
154	John Elway	1994	DEN	3490	16	10	58	235	4	276	14	19.71	13.8	5.91	82.8
155	Vinny Testaverde	1998	NYJ	3256	29	7	24	104	1	288.2	14	20.59	14.73	5.86	82.1
156	Michael Vick	2002	ATL	2936	16	8	113	777	8	330.1	15	22.01	16.58	5.42	81.3
157	Steve Grogan	1978	NWE	2824	15	23	81	539	5	262.1	16	16.38	11.33	5.06	80.9
158	Randall Cunningham	1989	PHI	3400	21	15	104	621	4	325.1	16	20.32	15.34	4.98	79.7
159	Joe Montana	1984	SFO	3630	28	10	39	118	2	307.3	16	19.21	14.25	4.96	79.3
160	Jim Kelly	1987	BUF	2798	19	11	29	133	0	222.2	12	18.52	12.33	6.19	79.2
161	Bert Jones	1977	BAL	2686	17	11	28	146	2	217.9	14	15.56	10.68	4.89	78.2
162	Jim Everett	1989	RAM	4310	29	17	25	31	1	323.6	16	20.23	15.34	4.88	78.2
163	Jim Hart	1974	STL	2411	20	8	10	21	2	206.7	14	14.76	9.89	4.87	77.9
164	Kurt Warner	2008	ARI	4583	30	14	18	-2	0	335	16	20.93	16.08	4.86	77.8
165	John Elway	1995	DEN	3970	26	14	41	176	1	312.1	16	19.51	14.65	4.85	77.7
166	Bobby Douglass	1972	CHI	1246	9	12	141	968	8	231.1	14	16.51	11.66	4.85	77.6
167	Roger Staubach	1974	DAL	2552	11	15	47	320	3	205.8	14	14.7	9.89	4.81	76.9
168	Philip Rivers	2008	SDG	4009	34	11	31	84	0	333.9	16	20.87	16.08	4.79	76.7
169	Brian Sipe	1979	CLE	3793	28	26	45	178	2	305.5	16	19.09	14.32	4.78	76.4
170	Chris Miller	1991	ATL	3103	26	18	32	229	0	264.1	15	17.6	12.52	5.08	76.3
171	Steve Grogan	1979	NWE	3286	28	20	64	368	2	305.1	16	19.07	14.32	4.75	76.1
172	Jim Plunkett	1974	NWE	2457	19	22	30	161	2	205	14	14.64	9.89	4.75	75.9
173	Dan Fouts	1983	SDG	2975	20	15	12	-5	1	219.3	10	21.93	14.38	7.55	75.5
174	Drew Brees	2006	NOR	4418	26	11	42	32	0	317.1	16	19.82	15.13	4.68	75
175	Brian Sipe	1980	CLE	4132	30	14	20	55	1	324.1	16	20.26	15.6	4.66	74.5
176	Jim Plunkett	1973	NWE	2550	13	17	44	209	5	213.4	14	15.24	10.6	4.65	74.3
177	Y.A. Tittle	1957	SFO	2157	13	15	40	220	6	202.9	12	16.9	12.26	4.65	74.3
178	Fran Tarkenton	1968	NYG	2555	21	12	57	301	3	247.9	14	17.7	13.07	4.64	74.2
179	Joe Ferguson	1975	BUF	2426	25	17	23	82	1	218.5	14	15.61	10.99	4.62	73.9
180	John Hadl	1970	SDG	2388	22	15	28	188	1	217.2	14	15.51	10.92	4.6	73.5
181	Erik Kramer	1995	CHI	3838	29	10	35	39	1	307.8	16	19.24	14.65	4.58	73.3
182	Roman Gabriel	1967	RAM	2779	25	13	43	198	6	281.8	14	20.13	15.57	4.55	72.9
183	Fran Tarkenton	1976	MIN	2961	17	8	27	45	1	218.6	13	16.81	11.91	4.9	72.8
184	Roger Staubach	1971	DAL	1882	15	4	41	343	2	196.4	13	15.11	10.23	4.88	72.5
185	Dan Fouts	1978	SDG	2999	24	20	20	43	2	242.3	15	16.15	11.33	4.83	72.4
186	Steve Young	1996	SFO	2410	14	6	52	310	4	225.5	12	18.79	12.78	6.01	72.2
187	Steve McNair	1999	TEN	2179	12	8	72	337	8	230.7	11	20.97	14.42	6.55	72.1
188	Dan Marino	1985	MIA	4137	30	21	26	-24	0	303.5	16	18.97	14.47	4.5	72
189	Terry Bradshaw	1978	PIT	2915	28	20	32	93	1	253.2	16	15.82	11.33	4.5	72
190	Peyton Manning	2001	IND	4131	26	23	35	157	4	327.3	16	20.45	16.05	4.4	70.4
191	Steve McNair	2001	TEN	3350	21	12	75	414	5	310.9	15	20.73	16.05	4.67	70.1
192	Terry Bradshaw	1977	PIT	2523	17	19	31	171	3	210.3	14	15.02	10.68	4.34	69.5
193	Len Dawson	1962	DTX	2759	29	17	38	252	3	280.2	14	20.01	15.67	4.34	69.4
194	Boomer Esiason	1986	CIN	3959	24	17	44	146	1	297.6	16	18.6	14.26	4.34	69.4
195	Tobin Rote	1955	GNB	1977	17	19	74	332	5	211.1	12	17.59	13.26	4.33	69.3
196	Daunte Culpepper	2001	MIN	2612	14	13	71	416	5	245.7	11	22.34	16.05	6.28	69.1
197	Cam Newton	2012	CAR	3869	19	12	127	741	8	380.2	16	23.76	19.47	4.29	68.7
198	Rich Gannon	2001	OAK	3828	27	9	63	231	2	325.5	16	20.34	16.05	4.29	68.7
199	Frank Ryan	1966	CLE	2974	29	14	36	156	0	266.3	14	19.02	14.73	4.29	68.6
200	Joe Namath	1967	NYJ	4007	26	28	6	14	0	277.8	14	19.84	15.57	4.27	68.3

Young’s dominance really stands out in the above table, with 6 seasons in the top 65. In fact, only one other quarterback has even five seasons in the top 100 — and that’s, surprisingly enough, Joe Montana. Dan Marino and Randall Cunningham are the only other players with four seasons in the top 70, but neither of them have four in the top 65, making Young’s dominance even more impressive.

However, when it comes to career VBD, Peyton Manning stills beats Young — and everyone else — based on longevity. Below are the career VBD ratings, which are simply the sum of the single-season grades (but seasons with a negative VBD are discarded).

Rk	Player	First Yr	Last Yr	VBD
1	Peyton Manning	1998	2014	1243
2	Dan Marino	1983	1999	1194
3	Brett Favre	1991	2010	1032
4	Fran Tarkenton	1961	1978	1027
5	Steve Young	1985	1999	998
6	Drew Brees	2001	2014	903
7	John Elway	1983	1998	892
8	Warren Moon	1984	2000	882
9	Randall Cunningham	1985	2001	872
10	Joe Montana	1979	1994	871
11	Dan Fouts	1973	1987	757
12	Johnny Unitas	1956	1973	711
13	Tom Brady	2000	2014	684
14	Roger Staubach	1969	1979	679
15	Aaron Rodgers	2005	2014	676
16	Daunte Culpepper	1999	2009	579
17	Donovan McNabb	1999	2011	577
18	Ken Anderson	1971	1986	573
19	Jim Kelly	1986	1996	527
20	Sonny Jurgensen	1957	1974	509
21	Roman Gabriel	1962	1977	498
22	Boomer Esiason	1984	1997	483
23	Kurt Warner	1998	2009	476
24	Terry Bradshaw	1970	1983	474
25	John Hadl	1962	1977	418
26	Steve Grogan	1975	1990	411
27	Jim Everett	1986	1997	395
28	Daryle Lamonica	1963	1974	390
29	Tobin Rote	1950	1966	390
30	Dave Krieg	1980	1998	381
31	Bert Jones	1973	1982	377
32	Drew Bledsoe	1993	2006	376
33	Neil Lomax	1981	1988	374
34	Michael Vick	2001	2014	374
35	Rich Gannon	1987	2004	368
36	Vinny Testaverde	1987	2007	366
37	Y.A. Tittle	1948	1964	365
38	John Brodie	1957	1973	357
39	Tony Romo	2004	2014	348
40	Steve McNair	1995	2007	344
41	Jeff Garcia	1999	2011	329
42	Joe Namath	1965	1977	323
43	Mark Brunell	1994	2011	317
44	Bobby Layne	1948	1962	306
45	Jim Hart	1966	1984	294
46	Philip Rivers	2004	2014	287
47	Ben Roethlisberger	2004	2014	287
48	Jeff Blake	1992	2005	280
49	Brian Sipe	1974	1983	278
50	Ken Stabler	1970	1984	275
51	Greg Landry	1968	1984	274
52	Phil Simms	1979	1993	269
53	Cam Newton	2011	2014	269
54	Otto Graham	1946	1955	263
55	Trent Green	1997	2008	250
56	Tommy Kramer	1977	1990	249
57	Danny White	1976	1988	244
58	Jim Plunkett	1971	1986	238
59	Joe Theismann	1974	1985	236
60	Jim Zorn	1976	1987	236
61	Archie Manning	1971	1984	236
62	Bob Griese	1967	1980	232
63	Jeff George	1990	2001	232
64	Marc Bulger	2002	2009	229
65	Len Dawson	1957	1975	227
66	Norm Snead	1961	1976	218
67	Mark Rypien	1988	2001	207
68	Matthew Stafford	2009	2014	201
69	Billy Kilmer	1961	1978	200
70	Doug Williams	1978	1989	197
71	Scott Mitchell	1991	2001	193
72	Joe Ferguson	1973	1990	193
73	Charley Johnson	1961	1975	190
74	Norm Van Brocklin	1949	1960	186
75	Bernie Kosar	1985	1996	180

Have at it!

References[+]

References
↑1	Well, QB12 for every year since 1968. In 1966 and 1967, I used QB10 as the cut-off, since there were fewer than 26 teams that year. From ’61 to ’65, I used QB8, as there were 22 professional teams. 1960 was handled uniquely, since the AFL and NFL played a disparate number of games. I used QB3 for 8-team the AFL and QB4 for the 13-team NFL. For the years from 1950 to 1960, I used QB4 as the baseline.
↑2	Note: At this step, I pro-rated the VBD number for every NFL season with fewer than 16 games, but that’s obviously not an issue when it comes to Young/Manning.

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