- To calculate fantasy points, I will be using the following system: 1 point per 20 yards passing, 5 points per passing TD, -2 points per INT, 1 point per 10 yards rushing/receiving, 6 points per rushing/receiving touchdown, and 0.5 points per reception.
- To measure fantasy production, I will be using VBD, which stands for Value Based Drafting. For players who play a full 16-game schedule, the formula is easy: you begin with each player’s fantasy points, and then subtract from that number the baseline at that position. For QBs and TEs, the baseline is the player with the 12th most fantasy points at the position. For RBs, it’s RB24, and for WRs, the baseline is WR30. For players who missed time, I give them some credit for those missed games under the assumption that a fantasy player would put another player into their lineup if that player was out. So for every game a QB/TE misses, he gets the FP/G of QB18 or TE18, as applicable; for RBs, I used RB30 as replacement, and for WRs, I used WR36. If a player missed more than 10 games, he was excluded entirely, but if he played in at least 6 games, he was included.
- For players who finish below the baseline (i.e., would have negative VBD), I’m ranking them based on fantasy points per game. I’m not too concerned by this, and if you have another preference, that’s perfectly fine. I thought it would simply be the easiest way to present the data.
Below are the fantasy rankings for tight ends in 2017.
VBD Rk | Player | Tm | Age | G | Yds | TD | Rec | Yds | TD | FP | FP/G | POS RK | VBD |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Rob Gronkowski | NWE | 28 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 1084 | 8 | 190.9 | 13.6 | 2 | 97.3 |
2 | Travis Kelce | KAN | 28 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 83 | 1038 | 8 | 192.0 | 12.8 | 1 | 91.3 |
3 | Zach Ertz | PHI | 27 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 74 | 824 | 8 | 167.4 | 12.0 | 3 | 73.8 |
4 | Evan Engram | NYG | 23 | 15 | 14 | 0 | 64 | 722 | 6 | 141.6 | 9.4 | 4 | 40.9 |
5 | Delanie Walker | TEN | 33 | 16 | -2 | 1 | 74 | 807 | 3 | 141.5 | 8.8 | 5 | 33.7 |
6 | Jimmy Graham | SEA | 31 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 520 | 10 | 140.5 | 8.8 | 6 | 32.7 |
7 | Jack Doyle | IND | 27 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 80 | 690 | 4 | 133.0 | 8.9 | 7 | 32.3 |
8 | Kyle Rudolph | MIN | 28 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 532 | 8 | 129.7 | 8.1 | 8 | 21.9 |
9 | Cameron Brate | TAM | 26 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 591 | 6 | 119.1 | 7.4 | 9 | 11.3 |
10 | Hunter Henry | LAC | 23 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 579 | 4 | 104.4 | 7.5 | 14 | 10.8 |
11 | Jordan Reed | WAS | 27 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 211 | 2 | 46.6 | 7.8 | 39 | 9.8 |
12 | Jason Witten | DAL | 35 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 63 | 560 | 5 | 117.5 | 7.3 | 10 | 9.7 |
13 | Charles Clay | BUF | 28 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 558 | 2 | 92.3 | 7.1 | 18 | 5.8 |
14 | Eric Ebron | DET | 24 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 574 | 4 | 107.9 | 6.7 | 11 | 0.1 |
15 | Jared Cook | OAK | 30 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 688 | 2 | 107.8 | 6.7 | 12 | 0.0 |
16 | Ben Watson | BAL | 37 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 61 | 522 | 4 | 106.7 | 6.7 | 13 | 0.0 |
17 | O.J. Howard | TAM | 23 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 432 | 6 | 92.2 | 6.6 | 19 | 0.0 |
18 | Vernon Davis | WAS | 33 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 648 | 3 | 104.3 | 6.5 | 15 | 0.0 |
19 | Tyler Kroft | CIN | 25 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 404 | 7 | 103.4 | 6.5 | 16 | 0.0 |
20 | Austin Seferian-Jenkins | NYJ | 25 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 357 | 3 | 78.7 | 6.1 | 22 | 0.0 |
21 | Austin Hooper | ATL | 23 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 526 | 3 | 95.1 | 5.9 | 17 | 0.0 |
22 | Zach Miller | CHI | 33 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 236 | 2 | 45.6 | 5.7 | 41 | 0.0 |
23 | George Kittle | SFO | 24 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 515 | 2 | 85.0 | 5.7 | 20 | 0.0 |
24 | Julius Thomas | MIA | 29 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 388 | 3 | 77.3 | 5.5 | 23 | 0.0 |
25 | David Njoku | CLE | 21 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 386 | 4 | 78.7 | 4.9 | 21 | 0.0 |
26 | Martellus Bennett | 2TM | 30 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 286 | 0 | 43.6 | 4.8 | 44 | 0.0 |
27 | Greg Olsen | CAR | 32 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 191 | 1 | 33.6 | 4.8 | 50 | 0.0 |
28 | Jesse James | PIT | 23 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 372 | 3 | 76.7 | 4.8 | 24 | 0.0 |
29 | Coby Fleener | NOR | 29 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 295 | 2 | 52.5 | 4.8 | 34 | 0.0 |
30 | Marcedes Lewis | JAX | 33 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 318 | 5 | 73.8 | 4.6 | 25 | 0.0 |
31 | Trey Burton | PHI | 26 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 248 | 5 | 66.3 | 4.4 | 27 | 0.0 |
32 | Ricky Seals-Jones | ARI | 22 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 201 | 3 | 44.1 | 4.4 | 43 | 0.0 |
33 | Jermaine Gresham | ARI | 29 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 322 | 2 | 60.7 | 4.3 | 31 | 0.0 |
34 | A.J. Derby | 2TM | 26 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 244 | 2 | 46.9 | 4.3 | 37 | 0.0 |
35 | Garrett Celek | SFO | 29 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 336 | 4 | 68.1 | 4.3 | 26 | 0.0 |
36 | Ed Dickson | CAR | 30 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 437 | 1 | 64.7 | 4.0 | 28 | 0.0 |
37 | Ryan Griffin | HOU | 27 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 158 | 1 | 28.3 | 4.0 | 55 | 0.0 |
38 | Antonio Gates | LAC | 37 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 316 | 3 | 64.6 | 4.0 | 29 | 0.0 |
39 | Seth Devalve | CLE | 24 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 395 | 1 | 62.0 | 3.9 | 30 | 0.0 |
40 | Nick O'Leary | BUF | 25 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 322 | 2 | 55.2 | 3.7 | 32 | 0.0 |
As always, please leave your thoughts in the comments.