Think back with me now, as you get ready for your 1997 Fantasy draft, and you’re looking over your 1997 Fantasy Football rankings from whichever magazine you grabbed that month. Think back with me about when you were wondering what the NFL was going to be like with no team in Cleveland or Houston for the first year neither city had an NFL team since the NFL merger.
Bud Adams picked up his Oilers and he moved them to Nashville (well, at first, they moved to Memphis while the stadium was being built in Nashville). Houston would rejoin the NFL in 2002, which was also the first year we had the current realignment of the NFL teams into eight divisions.
John Elway finally ended up on the right side of a Super Bowl win, as he beat Brett Favre’s Packers for the first of two titles for the Broncos HOFer.
NFL fans had to say goodbye to TNT broadcasts on Sunday night, with Pat Haden as the color commentator. This broadcast was a highlight of my 20s and the early years of my Fantasy Football life. Remember that the Sunday Night TNT halftime show was the first to show a stats crawl across the bottom, which helped Fantasy owners everywhere figure out if they were winning! Also, NBC wouldn’t broadcast NFL games again until 2006.
My beloved Buccaneers got rid of the winking pirate (Bucco Bruce!) and their creamsicle uniforms, while the Broncos also made the change to tougher shades of orange and blue, with a new horse logo.
Another major Fantasy history point was that 1997 should be considered the death of the run-n-shoot offense, as both Lions coach Wayne Fontes and Falcons coach June Jones were fired by their respective teams. And the NFL took a hard stance on showboating, installing the “Emmitt Smith” rule, which penalized a player for taking his helmet off on the field.
Fantasy Football was still in its early stages, as was the Internet in general. Some were buying commissioner software at this point, still getting used to not running their leagues on paper. We were in the late stages of the careers of several NFL deities, like Dan Marino, John Elway and Thurman Thomas, who was coming off what would end up being his last 1,000-yard season.
Fantasy Football owners were still getting used to “yardage leagues,” as opposed to the more popular “basic TD” scoring up to this point. Remember, back in the early stages, most Fantasy leagues based scoring on touchdowns only, which meant good running backs on bad teams weren’t quite as useful as they would be later on.
Every now and then, I like to go back in time and look through my old Fantasy magazines (like the 1992 Fantasy rankings, when Mark Rypien was ranked the No. 1 QB). I like to read some of the articles, check the rankings, and just enjoy a time when there was limited information for most Fantasy Football owners. It was a nice time, in spite of our ignorance.
How ignorant?
Well, you’ll notice that there are four quarterbacks ranked in the top 10 overall players. Looking back now, that makes no sense whatsoever, because we’ve smartened up. It makes me wonder what we’ll think, 17 years from now, about what we’re being ignorant about in 2014.
So enjoy these rankings, but please realize that this article was not meant to mock the magazine’s rankings. It was only meant to show some Fantasy history.
Fantasy Index Magazine was still running basic TD scoring for their default rankings, but they did list the “yardage league” rankings next to the basic TD rankings. Also, remember that these rankings were the preseason rankings, not end-of-the-season rankings. I’ll show the top 25 Fantasy scorers at the end of the 1997 season at the bottom of this article.
1. Brett Favre, QB, Green Bay
2. Emmitt Smith, RB, Dallas
3. Curtis Martin, RB, New England
4. Terrell Davis, RB, Denver
5. Barry Sanders, RB, Detroit
6. Jerry Rice, WR, San Francisco
7. Carl Pickens, WR, Cincinnati
8. Mark Brunell, QB, Jacksonville
9. Jeff Blake, QB, Cincinnati
10. Drew Bledsoe, QB, New England
11. Steve Young, QB, San Francisco
12. Herman Moore, WR, Detroit
13. Isaac Bruce, WR, St. Louis
14. Tim Brown, WR, Oakland
15. Ricky Watters, RB, Philadelphia
16. Jerome Bettis, RB, Pittsburgh
17. Eddie George, RB, Tennessee
18. Terry Allen, RB, Washington
19. Vinny Testaverde, QB, Baltimore
20. Terry Glenn, WR, New England
21. Michael Jackson, WR, Baltimore
22. Cris Carter, WR, Minnesota
23. Joey Galloway, WR, Seattle
24. Adrian Murrell, RB, N.Y. Jets
25. Antonio Freeman, WR, Green Bay
Favre looks weird at the top, doesn’t he? Seeing a non-50-TD-throwing quarterback leading the Fantasy rankings is just odd. Also, seeing Brunell as a first-round Fantasy pick makes my eyes hurt. Bruce fell out of the top 20 players when the scoring system switched to basic TD scoring. Terry Allen was one of my favorite running backs, as he came back from TWO torn ACL surgeries. He led the NFL in 1996 with 21 rushing touchdowns, which somehow only earned him second-round pick status?
1. Brett Favre, Green Bay
2. Mark Brunell, Jacksonville
3. Jeff Blake, Cincinnati
4. Drew Bledsoe, New England
5. Steve Young, San Francisco
6. Vinny Testaverde, Baltimore
7. John Elway, Denver
8. Dan Marino, Miami
9. Brad Johnson, Minnesota
10. Steve McNair, Tennessee
11. Tony Banks, St. Louis
12. Kerry Collins, Carolina
13. Jeff George, Oakland
14. Jim Harbaugh, Indianapolis
15. Scott Mitchell, Detroit
16. Stan Humphries, San Diego
17. Ty Detmer, Philadelphia
18. Gus Frerotte, Washington
19. Elvis Grbac, Kansas City
20. John Friesz, Seattle
21. Troy Aikman, Dallas
22. Trent Dilfer, Tampa Bay
23. Kordell Stewart, Pittsburgh
24. Neil O’Donnell, N.Y. Jets
25. Warren Moon, Seattle
26. Rick Mirer, Chicago
27. Chris Chandler, Atlanta
28. Dave Brown, N.Y. Giants
29. Todd Collins, Buffalo
30. Jake Plummer, Arizona (rookie season)
31. Heath Shuler, New Orleans
32. Kent Graham, Arizona
33. Mark Rypien, St. Louis
34. Jim Miller, Pittsburgh
35. Rodney Peete, Philadelphia
36. Erik Kramer, Chicago
37. Billy Joe Hobert, Buffalo
38. Randall Cunningham, Minnesota
39. Eric Zeier, Chicago
40. Frank Reich, Detroit
41. Dave Krieg, Tennessee
42. Craig Erickson, Miami
43. Boomer Esiason, Cincinnati
44. Steve Beuerlein, Carolina
45. Steve Bono, Green Bay
46. Jeff Hostetler, Washington
47. David Klingler, Oakland
48. Tommy Maddox, Atlanta
49. Jeff Lewis, Denver
50. Danny Kanell, N.Y. Giants
51. Jim Everett, San Diego
52. Paul Justin, Indianapolis
53. Rich Gannon, Kansas City
54. Mike Tomczak, Pittsburgh
55. Glenn Foley, N.Y. Jets
56. Steve Walsh, Tampa Bay
57. Scott Zolak, New England
58. Danny Wuerffel, New Orleans
59. Bobby Hoying, Philadelphia
60. Jim Druckenmiller, San Francisco (rookie season)
61. Rob Johnson, Jacksonville
62. Bobby Hebert, Retired
63. Wade Wilson, Dallas
64. Doug Pederson, Green Bay
65. Jeff Brohm, San Francisco
66. Alex Van Pelt, Buffalo
67. Craig Whelihan, San Diego (rookie season)
68. Jason Garrett, Dallas
69. Jon Kitna, Seattle (rookie season)
70. Pat Barnes, Kansas City
Yay! Top-70 rankings for quarterbacks for those 50-team Fantasy leagues!
Note where Kordell Stewart was ranked. He went on to be the second-highest scoring player in Fantasy this season, bringing back memories of Randall Cunningham’s run-and-gun ability. He threw for 21 touchdowns and rushed for 11 more that season, as he beat out Mike Tomczak for the job that summer. Unfortunately, he was like Fantasy heroin, as he would be a first-round pick for a couple more seasons, but never come close to his 1997 season ever again.
Speaking of TNT broadcasts and Cunningham, he was actually an analyst with the network in 1996 after he retired from the Eagles. The 1997 season saw him come back with the Vikings, where he worked as the backup to Brad Johnson. However, in 1998, he went on to have the best season of his NFL career, after the Vikings drafted WR Randy Moss out of Marshall University.
Jim Harbaugh was kind enough to play badly behind a horrible offensive line, allowing the Colts to get the first overall pick the next season, which turned into Peyton Manning.
Also, notice Dave Brown’s ranking in the top 30. Little known fact: Brown was the second-best fantasy quarterback ever to be coached by Steve Spurrier in college. (Rex Grossman should be considered first.) Brown played for Spurrier at Duke, but it’s interesting to know that Spurrier’s NFL legacy was the same as a coach and from when he was a player.
1. Emmitt Smith, Dallas
2. Curtis Martin, New England
3. Terrell Davis, Denver
4. Barry Sanders, Detroit
5. Ricky Watters, Philadelphia
6. Jerome Bettis, Pittsburgh
7. Eddie George, Tennessee
8. Terry Allen, Washington
9. Adrian Murrell, N.Y. Jets
10. Marshall Faulk, Indianapolis
11. Karim Abdul-Jabbar, Miami
12. Bam Morris, Baltimore
13. Jamal Anderson, Atlanta
14. Chris Warren, Seattle
15. Troy Davis, New Orleans (rookie season)
16. Dorsey Levens, Green Bay
17. Natrone Means, Jacksonville
18. Napoleon Kaufman, Oakland
19. Lawrence Phillips, St. Louis
20. Thurman Thomas, Buffalo
21. Larry Centers, Arizona
22. Tshimanga Biakabutuka, Carolina
23. Garrison Hearst, San Francisco
24. Gary Brown, San Diego
25. Corey Dillon, Cincinnati (rookie season)
26. Greg Hill, Kansas City
27. Mike Alstott, Tampa Bay
28. Tyrone Wheatley, N.Y. Giants
29. Rashaan Salaam, Chicago
30. Errict Rhett, Tampa Bay
31. Robert Smith, Minnesota
32. Ki-Jana Carter, Cincinnati
33. Edgar Bennett, Green Bay
34. Leeland McElroy, Arizona
35. Antowain Smith, Buffalo (rookie season)
36. Raymont Harris, Chicago
37. Terry Kirby, San Francisco
38. Warrick Dunn, Tampa Bay (rookie season)
39. Tiki Barber, N.Y. Giants (rookie season)
40. Jerris McPhail, Miami
41. Terrell Fletcher, San Diego
42. Leroy Hoard, Minnesota
43. William Floyd, San Francisco
44. Lamar Smith, Seattle
45. Ironhead (Craig) Heyward
46. Kimble Anders, Kansas City
47. Zack Crockett, Indianapolis
48. Marcus Allen, Kansas City
49. Joe Aska, Oakland
50. Anthony Johnson, Carolina
51. Byron Hanspard, Atlanta (rookie season)
52. Aaron Hayden, San Diego
53. Rodney Hampton, N.Y. Giants
54. James Stewart, Jacksonville
55. Stephen Davis, Washington
56. Tommy Vardell, Detroit
57. Leon Johnson, N.Y. Jets
58. George Jones, Pittsburgh
59. Ronnie Harmon, San Diego
60. Rodney Thomas, Tennessee
61. LeShon Johnson, Arizona
62. Lamont Warren, Indianapolis
63. Jay Graham, Baltimore
64. Charlie Garner, Philadelphia
65. Harvey Williams, Oakland
66. Sedrick Shaw, New England
67. Marc Edwards, San Francisco
68. Mario Bates, New Orleans
69. Derek Loville, Denver
70. Duce Staley, Philadelphia
I’d like to point you to the fact that you do not see Priest Holmes ranked in the top 70 players. This was his rookie season with the Ravens, and he would still be a few years away from becoming the consensus No. 1 overall pick with the Chiefs.
Remember when fullbacks were pretty awesome in Fantasy play? Note that Mike Alstott, Larry Centers and Edgar Bennett were all ranked among the top 35 running backs. There was no true fullback ranked in the top-40 running backs before the 2013 season.
This was also the season that WR Michael Westbrook put a beatdown on second-year running back Stephen Davis in training camp. Good times.
1. Jerry Rice, San Francisco
2. Carl Pickens, Cincinnati
3. Herman Moore, Detroit
4. Isaac Bruce, St. Louis
5. Tim Brown, Oakland
6. Terry Glenn, New England
7. Michael Jackson, Baltimore
8. Cris Carter, Minnesota
9. Joey Galloway, Seattle
10. Antonio Freeman, Green Bay
11. Robert Brooks, Green Bay
12. Michael Irvin, Dallas
13. Tony Martin, San Diego
14. Jimmy Smith, Jacksonville
15. Marvin Harrison, Indianapolis
16. Chris Sanders, Tennessee
17. Jake Reed, Minnesota
18. Eddie Kennison, St. Louis
19. Irving Fryar, Philadelphia
20. Derrick Alexander, Baltimore
21. Curtis Conway, Chicago
22. Chris T. Jones, Philadelphia
23. Yancey Thigpen, Pittsburgh
24. Michael Westbrook, Washington
25. Keyshawn Johnson, N.Y. Jets
26. Keenan McCardell, Jacksonville
27. Muhsin Muhammad, Carolina
28. Fred Barnett, Miami
29. Horace Copeland, Tampa Bay
30. O.J. McDuffie, Miami
31. Terrell Owens, San Francisco
32. Johnnie Morton, Detroit
33. Frank Sanders, Arizona
34. Wayne Chrebet, N.Y. Jets
35. Bert Emanuel, Atlanta
36. Tamarick Vanover, Kansas City
37. Bobby Engram, Chicago
38. Yatil Green, Miami
39. Darnay Scott, Cincinnati
40. Eric Metcalf, San Diego
41. Eric Moulds, Buffalo
42. Rod Smith, Denver
43. Anthony Miller, Dallas
44. Terance Mathis, Atlanta
45. Ed McCaffrey, Denver
46. Andre Reed, Buffalo
47. Ike Hilliard, N.Y. Giants (rookie season)
48. Charles Johnson, Pittsburgh
49. Rob Moore, Arizona
50. Shawn Jefferson, New England
51. Brian Blades, Seattle
52. Sean Dawkins, Indianapolis
53. Raghib Ismail, Carolina
54. Derrick Mayes, Green Bay
55. Andre Hastings, New Orleans
56. Quinn Early, Buffalo
57. Henry Ellard, Washington
58. Amani Toomer, N.Y. Giants
59. Bryan Still, San Diego
60. Daryl Hobbs, New Orleans
61. Andre Rison, Kansas City
62. James Jett, Oakland
63. Reidel Anthony, Tampa Bay (rookie season)
64. J.J. Stokes, San Francisco
65. Joey Kent, Tennessee
66. Brett Perriman, Kansas City
67. Will Blackwell, Pittsburgh
68. Willie Green, Denver
69. Jeff Graham, N.Y. Jets
70. Kevin Lockett, Kansas City
This was the rookie season for Rae Carruth, also. This was back in his pre-murderer days. He would lead all rookie receivers in Fantasy points this season. Derrick Mason would eventually be the class of this rookie class of receivers, but wow, this was a bad rookie WR crop. There were only two WRs in the top 80 WRs in Fantasy scoring, and none in the top 45. This was a year after Terry Glenn, Marvin Harrison, Eddie Kennison and Keyshawn Johnson all finished as top-25 receivers in their rookie year (1996). And this 1997 class of WRs was the year before Randy Moss led all WRs with 234 fantasy points.
Speaking of ’96 rookie WRs, Terrell Owens was coming off his first year in 1997, when he caught 35 passes for 520 yards and four touchdowns. He would finish 1997 with 142 Fantasy points, ranking 20th among all WRs.
The ’97 rookie WR class took a big hit when WR Yatil Green went down with a knee injury in training camp. He was the 15th overall draft pick by the Dolphins in the 1997 NFL Draft, but the Hurricanes product wouldn’t end up playing in the NFL until 1999 – when he started just one game and played in eight. Then he retired.
See Andre Rison there, in the late 60s? He was coming off two stinky seasons with three teams (Cleveland, Jacksonville and Green Bay). He signed with the Chiefs in 1997, and he went on to post his last 1,000-yard season of his career, ranking 15th among Fantasy wide receivers.
Veteran WR Rob Moore would end up leading the position in Fantasy points, despite being ranked outside the top 45 before the season began. The arrival of rookie QB Jake Plummer made the difference for Moore.
1. Shannon Sharpe, Denver
2. Mark Chmura, Green Bay
3. Ben Coates, New England
4. Wesley Walls, Carolina
5. Rickey Dudley, Oakland
6. Jamie Asher, Washington
7. Ken Dilger, Indianapolis
8. Tony Gonzalez, Kansas City
9. Troy Drayton, Miami
10. Brent Jones, San Francisco
11. Jason Dunn, Philadelphia
12. Jackie Harris, Tampa Bay
13. Eric Green, Baltimore
14. Tony McGee, Cincinnati
15. Frank Wycheck, Tennessee
16. Pete Mitchell, Jacksonville
17. Aaron Pierce, N.Y. Giants
18. Damon Jones, Jacksonville
19. David LaFleur, Dallas
20. Irv Smith, New Orleans
21. Freddie Jones, San Diego
22. Lonnie Johnson, Buffalo
23. Kyle Brady, N.Y. Jets
24. Keith Jennings, Chicago
25. David Sloan, Detroit
Shannon Sharpe went on to post 1,107 receiving yards, which was nearly 500 yards more than second-place Coates. It’s crazy to see Tony Gonzalez ranked eighth before he ever caught an NFL pass. He ended up finishing as the 19th-best Fantasy tight end, catching 33 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns. He would go on to play another 16 years, finishing as the greatest tight end in Fantasy Football history. Having Elvis Grbac as his QB in his rookie season might be why he stunk in 1997, not even getting a mention in the 1997 Fantasy Football Rankings.
1. John Kasay, Carolina
2. Jason Elam, Denver
3. Adam Vinatieri, New England
4. Cary Blanchard, Indianapolis
5. Chris Boniol, Dallas
6. Al Del Greco, Tennessee
7. Mike Hollis, Jacksonville
8. Doug Pelfrey, Cincinnati
9. Scott Blanton, Washington
10. Brett Conway, Green Bay
11. John Carney, San Diego
12. Todd Peterson, Seattle
13. Jason Hanson, Detroit
14. Richie Cunningham, Dallas
15. Matt Stover, Baltimore
16. Steve Christie, Buffalo
17. Norm Johnson, Pittsburgh
18. Cole Ford, Oakland
19. Jeff Wilkins, St. Louis
20. Michael Husted, Tampa Bay
21. Jon Baker, San Francisco
22. Joe Nedney, Miami
23. Morten Anderson, Atlanta
24. Chris Jacke, Washington
25. Olindo Mare, Miami
26. Ryan Longwell, San Francisco
27. Jeff Jaeger, Chicago
28. Marshall Young, Dallas
29. Pete Stoyanovich, Kansas City
30. Brad Daluiso, N.Y. Giants
31. Greg Davis, Minnesota
32. Doug Brien, New Orleans
33. Scott Sisson, Minnesota
34. John Hall, N.Y. Jets
1. Carolina Panthers
2. Green Bay Packers
3. San Francisco 49ers
4. St. Louis Rams
5. Miami Dolphins
6. Oakland Raiders
7. Pittsburgh Steelers
8. Philadelphia Eagles
9. Cincinnati Bengals
10. San Diego Chargers
11. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
12. New England Patriots
13. Kansas City Chiefs
14. Dallas Cowboys
15. Indianapolis Colts
16. Seattle Seahawks
17. Minnesota Vikings
18. Washington Redskins
19. Buffalo Bills
20. N.Y. Giants
21. Denver Broncos
22. Jacksonville Jaguars
23. N.Y. Jets
24. Arizona Cardinals
25. Tennessee Oilers
26. Baltimore Ravens
27. New Orleans Saints
28. Detroit Lions
29. Chicago Bears
30. Atlanta Falcons
I’d like to take this time to point out that my Buccaneers made the playoffs for the first time in 13 years in 1997, and they beat Scott Mitchell and the Detroit Lions in the final game played at Tampa Stadium (the Big Sombrero). I’m proud to say I was actually at that game, and I was loudly screaming along with Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping” playing on the PA system after the game ended. “I get knocked down, but I get up again! And you’re never gonna keep me down!”
That just makes me sad now, to think about what a horrible song that really was.
These are taken from the stat database over at FootballGuys.com, which is just awesome.
Hopefully, you enjoyed this look down Fantasy memory lane, and maybe you even came home with a championship using these 1997 Fantasy Football rankings — or a version of them. Don’t forget to check out our Top 45 Free Fantasy Football Draft Tools, which should help you THIS year!
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View Comments
Nice to see the 1997 rankings trotted out. I was surprised to see that we hadn't yet switched over to yardage as being the main rankings at that time (or at least printed two different Cheat Sheets -- one for each scoring system). Very surprised to see Mark Brunell ranked as the No. 2 quarterback. Had to flip open my copy to remember the reasoning. At the start of his career, recall, it looked like he might be kind of a poor man's Steve Young. In his first season as a starter, he had put up the 5th-most total yards by a quarterback in NFL history. Thinking was that the yards would be there again in 1997, and the touchdown numbers would improve (and that he'd be helped along by his Young-like running ability).
Good point about Brunell as a young Young! Those Jaguars picked up Fred Taylor I think the next year and just became a better running team I think. Hindsight rankings are so much easier for us than future rankings, haha, I'm happy you don't have access to my personal cheat sheet from back then! (I don't either, or I'd post that, too. But I'm sure I had some stinkers in there.)
Great to see you on here, Ian. Great magazine that has helped millions through the past few decades, and millions more in the coming decades.
The 2014 Fantasy Football Index comes out July 10, I see! Looking forward to it.
Thanks, David. Nice to see the Bucco Bruce avatar. It always bugs me, with teams doing those throwback uniform games, that the Seahawks and Bucs (as sister franchises) could never get on the same page and do 1976 original-season uniforms together.
Yeah, that's a good point. I'm officially going to start a campaign to make it happen the next time they play each other!