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 WR produced one of the top 8 game performances for fantasy points allowed by a defense.
“4” – When a WR 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 wideout 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” | |
|---|---|
| Dez Bryant | 4 |
| Calvin Johnson | 3 |
| Brandon Marshall | 2 |
| Roddy White | 2 |
| Danario Alexander | 2 |
| Torrey Smith | 2 |
It seems almost shocking that Calvin Johnson had such a huge year and yet only managed three games where he scored more fantasy points than any other wideout against that defense all year. His lack of touchdowns plays into that. Dez Bryant was tops in this metric and those all came in the second half of the season when Bryant had several monster games (though all were at home).
As an overall metric, it is interesting that both Demaryius Thomas and Wes Welker were both top five last year and now they are on the same team. Coming in 6th place – Eric Decker also on the Broncos. Manning may not have many more seasons left, but the Broncos are certainly giving him everything he needs to turn in a monster year. A.J. Green also drops surprisingly far in this metric. He played well, just not as well as you might think compared to what other receivers were doing against the very same defenses. Same for Vincent Jackson and Andre Johnson. James Jones ended up slightly higher than Randall Cobb. Notice too how well that Danario Alexander ranked despite never starting a game until week nine.
| NAME | BTA | 1 | 4 | 8 | NAME | BTA | 1 | 4 | 8 | NAME | BTA | 1 | 4 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calvin Johnson | 17 | 3 | 6 | 8 | Jeremy Maclin | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | Miles Austin | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Dez Bryant | 17 | 4 | 5 | 8 | Mike Wallace | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | Steve Smith | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Brandon Marshall | 16 | 2 | 6 | 8 | Reggie Wayne | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | Brian Hartline | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Demaryius Thomas | 13 | 0 | 5 | 8 | Anquan Boldin | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | Doug Baldwin | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Wes Welker | 13 | 0 | 5 | 8 | Cecil Shorts | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | Kenny Britt | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Eric Decker | 12 | 1 | 4 | 7 | Jordy Nelson | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Larry Fitzgerald | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Julio Jones | 12 | 1 | 4 | 7 | Josh Gordon | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | Michael Floyd | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Roddy White | 12 | 2 | 4 | 6 | Pierre Garcon | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | Santana Moss | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| A.J. Green | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | Sidney Rice | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Stevie Johnson | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Andre Johnson | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 | Andre Roberts | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Titus Young | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Vincent Jackson | 11 | 0 | 4 | 7 | Antonio Brown | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | Brandon LaFell | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| James Jones | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 | Brandon Lloyd | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | Darrius Heyward-Bey | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Danario Alexander | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | Dwayne Bowe | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Davone Bess | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Marques Colston | 9 | 1 | 4 | 4 | Kevin Ogletree | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | Devery Henderson | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Michael Crabtree | 9 | 0 | 4 | 5 | Mike Williams | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | Donnie Avery | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Torrey Smith | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 | Percy Harvin | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | Greg Jennings | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Randall Cobb | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 | Brandon Gibson | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | Greg Little | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| T.Y. Hilton | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | Danny Amendola | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | Julian Edelman | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Victor Cruz | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | Hakeem Nicks | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Kevin Walter | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Denarius Moore | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 | Justin Blackmon | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | Leonard Hankerson | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Golden Tate | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | Lance Moore | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | Rueben Randle | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
