Better Than Average (BTA) was developed to show which players were truly better than their peers when the advantage of the schedule was removed. . This is a true 1:1 measurement because it only considers how well players did against all others who faced a particular defense. It counts up three occurrences:
“8” – When a TE produced one of the top 8 game performances for fantasy points allowed by a defense.
“4” – When a TE scored in the top 4 game performances for fantasy points allowed by a defense.
“1” – Who had the best fantasy game against a defense over the past year. There could only by 32 such events since each defense can only allow one “best game”.
BTA – Simply adding up the 1, 4 and 8 values for a numerical expression of how effective a tight end truly was last year against all other players in his position. The strength of schedule doesn’t matter. Only what a player produced against all other players in that position against that defense. It is a measurement of player ability against the others in his position.
| Multiple “Best Games” | |
|---|---|
| Rob Gronkowski | 6 |
| Tony Gonzalez | 4 |
| Jimmy Graham | 3 |
| Jason Witten | 2 |
| Kyle Rudolph | 2 |
| Brandon Myers | 2 |
| Dennis Pitta | 2 |
| Vernon Davis | 2 |
There is rarely much to learn in this position because the elite players tend to be few and the same guys every year. A small surprise perhaps was that while Jason Witten had a tremendous season, he only managed two games where he was the best tight end to face that defense all year. Jimmy Graham’s season was less than expected but still rock solid compared to other tight ends but he only had three games where he was the top dog that defense faced.
If there is anything to take away from this, it would be that Kyle Rudolph, Owen Daniels and Dennis Pitta were better than what their season totals may suggest. Antonio Gate’s decline is evident placing only 15th in this measurement and even Brandon Pettigrew didn’t perform as well as was expected. Both Witten and Gonzalez are aging fast and yet still productive but that’s bound to change by next year or so. Rob Gronkowski ended up tops in the position last year despite playing in only 11 games. His health continues to be an issue but when healthy he is even better than his stats suggest.
| NAME | BTA | 1 | 4 | 8 | NAME | BTA | 1 | 4 | 8 | NAME | BTA | 1 | 4 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rob Gronkowski | 23 | 6 | 8 | 9 | Martellus Bennett | 9 | 0 | 4 | 5 | Tom Crabtree | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Jimmy Graham | 20 | 3 | 5 | 12 | Brent Celek | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | Tony Scheffler | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Tony Gonzalez | 18 | 4 | 7 | 7 | Delanie Walker | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | Jeff Cumberland | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Jason Witten | 16 | 2 | 5 | 9 | Jacob Tamme | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | Rob Housler | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Kyle Rudolph | 16 | 2 | 5 | 9 | Jared Cook | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | Clay Harbor | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Owen Daniels | 16 | 0 | 5 | 11 | Jermichael Finley | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | Dante Rosario | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Heath Miller | 15 | 1 | 5 | 9 | Lance Kendricks | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | Kellen Davis | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Brandon Myers | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 | Marcedes Lewis | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | Logan Paulsen | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Dennis Pitta | 13 | 2 | 4 | 7 | Anthony Fasano | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | Tony Moeaki | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Jermaine Gresham | 13 | 0 | 4 | 9 | Anthony McCoy | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | Zach Miller | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Scott Chandler | 13 | 1 | 5 | 7 | Benjamin Watson | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | Coby Fleener | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Aaron Hernandez | 12 | 1 | 5 | 6 | Dallas Clark | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | Craig Stevens | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Vernon Davis | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | David Thomas | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | Fred Davis | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Greg Olsen | 11 | 0 | 5 | 6 | Dustin Keller | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | Gary Barnidge | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Antonio Gates | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 | Dwayne Allen | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | Jordan Cameron | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Brandon Pettigrew | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 | Garrett Graham | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Kevin Boss | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Joel Dreessen | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 | James Casey | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | Lee Smith | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
