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 RB produced one of the top 8 game performances for fantasy points allowed by a defense.
“4” – When a RB 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 running back 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” | |
|---|---|
| Le’Veon Bell | 4 |
| Jamaal Charles | 4 |
| Matt Forte | 3 |
| Marshawn Lynch | 2 |
| Arian Foster | 2 |
| C.J. Anderson | 2 |
| Matt Asiata | 2 |
| Ahmad Bradshaw | 2 |
DeMarco Murray turned in a top eight game in all but one matchup which is remarkable since he managed only once when he had the top fantasy score against an individual defense. He’s a poster boy for very good and yet never great. There were no real surprises at the top though C.J. Anderson showed up as eighth best even though he really only started in eight games. He was everything that Monte Ball was not.
The players with the biggest drops included Frank Gore and LeSean McCoy. Andre Ellington fared well rounding out the top ten despite missing the final four games of the season.
Jeremy Hill led all the rookies and even turned in one game when he had the most fantasy points allowed by a defense. Tre Mason turned in similar numbers though both were never worth more than a RB2 on a fantasy team. While a few players dropped this year, the top running backs were all no surprise though Eddie Lacy.
| NAME | BTA | 1 | 4 | 8 | NAME | BTA | 1 | 4 | 8 | NAME | BTA | 1 | 4 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DeMarco Murray | 27 | 1 | 11 | 15 | Alfred Morris | 9 | 0 | 4 | 5 | Andre Williams | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Le’Veon Bell | 25 | 4 | 8 | 13 | Jeremy Hill | 9 | 1 | 3 | 5 | Benny Cunningham | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Matt Forte | 23 | 3 | 9 | 11 | Fred Jackson | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | Bryce Brown | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Jamaal Charles | 20 | 4 | 7 | 9 | Joique Bell | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 | Chris Ivory | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Marshawn Lynch | 20 | 2 | 6 | 12 | Rashad Jennings | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 | Darren McFadden | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Arian Foster | 17 | 2 | 5 | 10 | Ronnie Hillman | 8 | 1 | 3 | 4 | Darren Sproles | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Eddie Lacy | 17 | 1 | 6 | 10 | Frank Gore | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 | Denard Robinson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| C.J. Anderson | 16 | 2 | 7 | 7 | LeSean McCoy | 7 | 0 | 1 | 6 | Isaiah Crowell | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Justin Forsett | 12 | 0 | 3 | 9 | Tre Mason | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | Jonas Gray | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Andre Ellington | 11 | 1 | 2 | 8 | Branden Oliver | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | Knile Davis | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Lamar Miller | 11 | 0 | 3 | 8 | Jonathan Stewart | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | Latavius Murray | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Matt Asiata | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 | Reggie Bush | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | LeGarrette Blount | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Ahmad Bradshaw | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | Shane Vereen | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | Lorenzo Taliaferro | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Giovani Bernard | 10 | 0 | 4 | 6 | Steven Jackson | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | Pierre Thomas | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Mark Ingram | 10 | 0 | 3 | 7 | Terrance West | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | Roy Helu | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
