Top 10 Fantasy QB Seasons of 2017
Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks posted the number one fantasy quarterback season of 2017, scoring 344 fantasy points across 16 games at 21 points per game. Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers finished second at 298 points, and Alex Smith of the Kansas City Chiefs took third at 295. Wilson's season stands apart because no other passer on the board reached his total or matched his per-game mark.
The Full 2017 Quarterback Board
Here is the top 10 at quarterback for the 2017 season, ranked exactly by the fantasy points each passer recorded.
| Rank | Player | Team | Games | Points | Points per game | Best week | | 1 | Russell Wilson | Seattle Seahawks | 16 | 344 | 21 | 35 | | 2 | Cam Newton | Carolina Panthers | 16 | 298 | 19 | 36 | | 3 | Alex Smith | Kansas City Chiefs | 16 | 295 | 18 | 38 | | 4 | Tom Brady | New England Patriots | 16 | 292 | 18 | 34 | | 5 | Kirk Cousins | Washington Commanders | 16 | 278 | 17 | 28 | | 6 | Carson Wentz | Philadelphia Eagles | 14 | 274 | 20 | 31 | | 7 | Philip Rivers | Los Angeles Chargers | 16 | 270 | 17 | 29 | | 8 | Matthew Stafford | Detroit Lions | 16 | 270 | 17 | 27 | | 9 | Drew Brees | New Orleans Saints | 16 | 263 | 16 | 22 | | 10 | Dak Prescott | Dallas Cowboys | 16 | 261 | 16 | 30 |
Where Russell Wilson Separated from the Field
Wilson's 344 points tower over the rest of the 2017 board. Newton's 298 is the next-best total, and Wilson's 21 points per game also stands alone at the top, one clear of Newton's 19. His best week of 35 was the second-highest single-game mark in the top 10, behind only Alex Smith's 38. Wilson paired the highest weekly rate with the highest season total, which is why this leaderboard starts with him and does not invite much argument.
The drop after the top spot is steep. Newton at 298, Smith at 295 and Tom Brady at 292 sit bunched together, but all three sit well short of Wilson's figure. From Brady in fourth down to Dak Prescott in tenth, the totals run 292, 278, 274, 270, 270, 263 and 261, a tight staircase with no second runaway scorer anywhere in it.
The Per-Game Column Disagrees with the Totals
Carson Wentz is the entry that jumps out when you read the per-game numbers rather than the totals. He scored 274 points, sixth most in the league, but he did it in 14 games, which lifts his average to 20 per game, second only to Wilson. Every other quarterback in the top 10 played 16 games, so Wentz finished sixth in total points while sitting second in scoring rate.
The tie between Philip Rivers and Matthew Stafford at 270 points is broken only by rank order; both played 16 games and both averaged 17 per game. Their best weeks tell them apart, with Rivers posting a 29-point game against Stafford's 27. Drew Brees and Dak Prescott close the board in another matching pair, each at 16 points per game with totals of 263 and 261.
The Best Weeks That Defined the Year
Alex Smith owns the biggest single week of any quarterback on this board, a 38-point game that outdid even Wilson's best. Newton posted 36 in his best week and Wilson 35, so the three heaviest scoring days of the season all belong to the top three finishers in some order. Kirk Cousins's best week of 28 is the lowest top game among the top five, and Drew Brees's 22 is the smallest peak anywhere in the top 10, a signal that his season ran steady rather than spectacular.
The spread between Smith's 38-point peak and Brees's 22-point peak shows how differently these seasons were built. Brees reached the ninth spot without a headline week, while Smith rode the board's loudest game into third place overall.
Common questions
Who was the best fantasy quarterback in 2017?
- Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks, with 344 fantasy points in 16 games. He also led the position in points per game at 21, so the 2017 crown was his on both counts.
How many fantasy points did Carson Wentz score in 2017?
- Carson Wentz scored 274 fantasy points for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2017, doing so in 14 games. That is 20 points per game, the second-best rate among all quarterbacks that season.
Which quarterback had the highest single-game fantasy total in 2017?
- Alex Smith of the Kansas City Chiefs, whose best week of the 2017 season was 38 fantasy points, the largest single-week figure anywhere in the top 10 at the position.
Did any 2017 quarterback besides Russell Wilson average more than 19 fantasy points per game?
- Only Carson Wentz, who averaged 20 per game. Cam Newton at 19 was next, and every other top 10 quarterback averaged 18 or fewer.
Which teams placed a quarterback in the 2017 fantasy top 10?
- The Seattle Seahawks, Carolina Panthers, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, Washington Commanders, Philadelphia Eagles, Los Angeles Chargers, Detroit Lions, New Orleans Saints and Dallas Cowboys each had one passer on the list, with no team landing two.