Other Positions: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End
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:
“Top 8” – When a TE produced one of the top 8 game performances for fantasy points allowed by a defense.
“Top 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.
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| Multiple “#1 Games” | |
|---|---|
| Rob Gronkowski | 4 |
| Jordan Reed | 4 |
| Tyler Eifert | 3 |
| Gary Barnidge | 2 |
| Benjamin Watson | 2 |
| Zach Ertz | 2 |
| Jimmy Graham | 2 |
Rob Gronkowski is just a given as the best tight end each season but the rest of the top was populated by mostly surprises. Jordan Reed, Tyler Eifert, Gary Barnidge, Zach Ertz and even Benjamin Watson all turned in career seasons. Delanie Walker rarely had a big game and yet he ranked #1 with an amazing 13 games where he turned in a Top 8 performance allowed by that defense. Beyond Gronkowski there are not a lot of big advantages to be had though and certainly at least eight tight ends that all carry solid fantasy value.
| Player | BTA | # 1 | Top 4 | Top 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rob Gronkowski | 26 | 4 | 10 | 12 |
| Gary Barnidge | 24 | 2 | 10 | 12 |
| Delanie Walker | 21 | 1 | 7 | 13 |
| Jordan Reed | 21 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| Greg Olsen | 19 | 1 | 7 | 11 |
| Tyler Eifert | 18 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| Travis Kelce | 17 | 1 | 6 | 10 |
| Benjamin Watson | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 |
| Antonio Gates | 14 | 1 | 4 | 9 |
| Zach Ertz | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Charles Clay | 12 | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| Eric Ebron | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Heath Miller | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Jimmy Graham | 11 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
| Richard Rodgers | 11 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Julius Thomas | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| Jason Witten | 9 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Zach Miller | 9 | 1 | 2 | 6 |
| Will Tye | 8 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
| Coby Fleener | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Jacob Tamme | 7 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| Kyle Rudolph | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Ladarius Green | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| Owen Daniels | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Austin Seferian-Jenkins | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Crockett Gillmore | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
| Martellus Bennett | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Vance McDonald | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Clive Walford | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Brent Celek | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Cameron Brate | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Jared Cook | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Larry Donnell | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Scott Chandler | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Jordan Cameron | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Maxx Williams | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Mychal Rivera | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Vernon Davis | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Virgil Green | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
