Regular season totals, playoffs not included

Revised as of 12/31/2012

Tight ends are ranked according to DYAR, or Defense-adjusted Yards Above Replacement. This gives the value of the performance on plays where this TE caught the ball, compared to a replacement-level TE in the same game situations and then translated into yardage. DYAR (and its cousin, YAR, which isn't adjusted based on opponent) is further explained here.

The other statistic given is DVOA, or Defense-adjusted Value Over Average. This number represents value, per play, over an average TE in the same game situations. The more positive the DVOA rating, the better the player's performance. DVOA (and its cousin, VOA, which isn't adjusted based on opponent) is further explained here.

The simple version: DYAR means a tight end with more total value. DVOA means a tight end with more value per play.

Effective Yards, listed in red, translate DVOA into a yards per attempt figure. This provides an easy comparison: in general, players with more Effective Yards than standard yards played better than standard stats would otherwise indicate, while players with fewer Effective Yards than standard yards played worse than standard stats would otherwise indicate. Effective Yards are not the best way to measure total value because they are more dependent on usage than DYAR.

DYAR and DVOA include all passes intended for the receiver, both complete and incomplete. Catch Rate represents the percentage of passes to this receiver completed. This is a reference to incomplete passes, not dropped passes: dropped passes are not specified in publicly available play-by-play, and unfortunately we cannot yet correct for this.

• We cannot yet fully separate the performance of a receiver from the performance of his quarterback. Be aware that one will affect the other.
• These statistics measure only passes thrown to a receiver, not performance on plays when he is not thrown the ball, such as blocking and drawing double teams.
• All fumbles are considered equal, whether recovered by the offense or defense.
• DPI lists the number of plays and yards where the tight end drew Defensive Pass Interference. These plays are incorporated into DVOA and DYAR, but are not included in the totals for Passes or Yards.

Clicking on a player's name will bring you to his FO player page with advanced stats through the most recent season.

RECEIVING: Minimum 25 passes, 49 players ranked

RECEIVING, OTHERS: 10-24 passes

Any tight end rushing numbers are listed on the wide receiver page for that particular year.