Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
Better Than Average (BTA) shows which players were 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 the others who faced that defense. It counts three occurrences:
“Top 8” – Scored in the Top-8 fantasy points allowed by a defense
“Top 4” – Scored in the Top-4 fantasy points allowed by a defense
“#1” – Scored the most fantasy points allowed by a defense.
BTA – The combination of the three categories. Since a #1 performance also falls into a top 4 and top 8, it gets weighted three times more than a top 8. A Top 4 is counted twice since it is also a Top 8.
| Tight End | Highest Score |
|---|---|
| Rob Gronkowski | 6 |
| Zach Ertz | 4 |
| Travis Kelce | 3 |
| Evan Engram | 2 |
| Jimmy Graham | 2 |
| Greg Olsen | 2 |
The Top 3 with the most “highest scores” allowed by a defense were the same as the Top 3 in fantasy scores but Travis Kelce was tops for fantasy points but only third in this metric.
One interesting notable, Cameron Brate showed well in this BTA metric and yet tailed off in the second half of the season while O.J. Howard started to assert himself in the final weeks of the season. They combined for only one “highest score allowed” but had half their games where they scored in the Top 4 allowed by a defense. In 13 games, they recorded a better than average showing against a defense.
| Tight End | BTA | Highest Score | Top 4 | Top 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rob Gronkowski | 28 | 6 | 10 | 12 |
| Zach Ertz | 28 | 4 | 11 | 13 |
| Travis Kelce | 23 | 3 | 9 | 11 |
| Evan Engram | 20 | 2 | 8 | 10 |
| Kyle Rudolph | 18 | 0 | 5 | 13 |
| Delanie Walker | 16 | 0 | 5 | 11 |
| Cameron Brate | 14 | 0 | 6 | 8 |
| Jimmy Graham | 14 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| Jack Doyle | 13 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| Jason Witten | 13 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Benjamin Watson | 11 | 0 | 3 | 8 |
| Eric Ebron | 11 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
| Jared Cook | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Tyler Kroft | 10 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| Vernon Davis | 10 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| Hunter Henry | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| Charles Clay | 8 | 0 | 3 | 5 |
| O.J. Howard | 8 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| Austin Hooper | 7 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| George Kittle | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| David Njoku | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Greg Olsen | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Trey Burton | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| A.J. Derby | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Austin Seferian-Jenkins | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Darren Fells | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Jesse James | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Marcedes Lewis | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Rhett Ellison | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Zach Miller | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
