Throughout the NFL offseason, The Touchback will take a look at some of the best fantasy football seasons you don’t remember. Today, we are looking at Willie Parker and his under the radar 2006 season. Click here to read about the other best fantasy football seasons you don’t remember.
It is easy to forget about the numbers Willie Parker put up in 2006 because of what other running backs were doing at the time. LaDainian Tomlinson scored 31 touchdowns; Stephen Jackson caught 90 passes and had more than 2,300 total yards; Larry Johnson was doing his thing; and Brian Westbrook was crushing it.
We tend to remember all those guys because they had long careers and were first round fantasy football draft picks throughout the mid-2000s. Parker came out of nowhere for the Pittsburgh Steelers, had three seasons as an RB1 and then vanished almost as quickly as he appeared.
Injuries derailed his career, although Parker had no shortage of memorable moments during an impressive three-year stretch between 2005-2007. Despite having 1,420 yards from scrimmage in 2005, his fantasy football numbers were depressed by Jerome Bettis vulturing touchdowns. That wasn’t a problem in Super Bowl XL, however.
‘The Bus’ retired after that game and 2006 was the year of Parker in Pittsburgh. The undrafted player recorded 16 total touchdowns along with 1,716 yards from scrimmage and 31 catches. He had a pair of 200-yard rushing games that season and scored a touchdown in nine games.
However, he disappeared in week 16, or the championship game for most managers. Parker could only muster 29 yards with no touchdowns and no catches as the Steelers were crushed by the Baltimore Ravens 31-7.
Willie Parker wasn’t that impressive in 2006 when you look at his positional finish. However, that was due more to a generational crop of bellcow running backs plying their trade during this time than any weakness on his part. His 288.6 PPR points would have been good enough to finish as RB4 this past season.
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| Position Finish (PPR) | Overall Finish (Standard/PPR) | |
| 2006 | RB7 | 8/9 |
| 2020 | RB4 | 15/19 |
Willie Parker shined in 2006 but star faded quickly
Parker posted more than 1,400 yards from scrimmage in 2005, 2006 and 2007, but that was it in terms of being a fantasy relevant player. And even then, his 2005 and 2007 seasons saw him score five and two touchdowns, respectively.
That two touchdown effort in 2007 is a source of contention in the fantasy football community as Parker lost red zone touches to Najeh Davenport who was on his way out of the NFL at that point. The laundry basket dumper had seven scores that year.
As for Parker, he missed time in 2008 due to a knee injury but still managed 710 yards in 11 games. A turf toe injury in 2009 combined with the emergence of Rashard Mendenhall saw Parker’s role limited although he played in 14 games.
He signed for Washington in the offseason but was cut prior to the 2010 regular season. And that was that. Parker never played another down in the NFL and has since moved into coaching.
Present day comparison
Parker was fast, strong and elusive but not elite at any of those things. He was never asked to do a lot in the way pass catching either. In many ways, he is similar to Aaron Jones as a rusher. They are both well rounded running backs who were threats for a long gain on any play. Parker and Jones are similarly built as well.
