Previously I wrote about Who Were The Most Valuable Players Last Season, that list was created to decide who the best players were for the entire season. This list, which yields different results, was created to tell us who were the most valuable player per game last season.

This list will provide an obvious boost to players who missed games (Julio Jones, Rob Gronkowski, Josh Gordon, Arian Foster, etc.). By checking how many points each player scores above the average per week, we can find who the most valuable players are on a per game basis.

To find the value that each player provided per game last season, I first found a baseline amount to average for each position using @FantasyDouche’s Value Based Drafting Revisited. If you’d like to learn more about how I created my projections or how you can create your own, check out this Apex Insider article.

Our unbiased metric to judge the true value of each player is Points Above Average or PAA. This number allows us to judge how many fantasy points each player is scoring compared to other players at his position. PAAPG stands for Points Above Average Per Game.

Here’s the list to show the top 100 players on a per game basis last season:

 

RankPlayerPointsPPGPAAPG
1Charles, Jamaal KCC RB38025.3312.07
2Gordon, Josh CLE WR314.422.468.95
3Jones, Julio ATL WR110.722.148.63
4Johnson, Calvin DET WR304.221.738.22
5Forte, Matt CHI RB339.321.217.95
6McCoy, LeSean PHI RB331.620.737.47
7Manning, Peyton DEN QB425.9826.627.37
8Graham, Jimmy NOS TE303.518.976.66
9Thomas, Demaryius DEN WR31919.946.43
10Brown, Antonio PIT WR314.919.686.17
11Green, A.J. CIN WR306.619.165.65
12Marshall, Brandon CHI WR305.519.095.59
13Moreno, Knowshon DEN RB296.618.545.28
14Murray, DeMarco DAL RB259.418.535.27
15Gronkowski, Rob NEP TE122.217.465.15
16Bryant, Dez DAL WR293.418.344.83
17Jeffery, Alshon CHI WR284.617.794.28
18Cobb, Randall GBP WR106.117.684.17
19Bush, Reggie DET RB243.217.374.11
20Decker, Eric DEN WR280.817.554.04
21Lynch, Marshawn SEA RB276.317.274.01
22Brees, Drew NOS QB371.6823.233.98
23Johnson, Andre HOU WR279.717.483.97
24Garcon, Pierre WAS WR278.517.413.90
25Peterson, Adrian MIN RB235.716.843.58
26Vereen, Shane NEP RB134.516.813.55
27Bell, Le'Veon PIT RB217.916.763.50
28Jackson, DeSean PHI WR269.416.843.33
29Thomas, Julius DEN TE215.815.413.10
30Nelson, Jordy GBP WR264.416.533.02
31Lacy, Eddie GBP RB243.516.232.97
32Welker, Wes DEN WR210.816.222.71
33Edelman, Julian NEP WR251.715.732.22
34Davis, Vernon SFO TE21414.271.96
35Cameron, Jordan CLE TE213.714.251.94
36Johnson, Chris TEN RB242.215.141.88
37Boldin, Anquan SFO WR24615.381.87
38Jackson, Vincent TBB WR242.415.151.64
39Jackson, Fred BUF RB235.314.711.45
40Gonzalez, Tony ATL TE218.913.681.37
41Allen, Keenan SDC WR222.614.841.33
42Fitzgerald, Larry ARI WR237.214.831.32
43Wayne, Reggie IND WR102.814.691.18
44Foles, Nick PHI QB262.1420.170.91
45Woodhead, Danny SDC RB225.414.090.83
46Bernard, Giovani CIN RB223.913.990.74
47Witten, Jason DAL TE206.112.880.57
48Cruz, Victor NYG WR195.813.990.48
49Bell, Joique DET RB219.713.730.47
50Reed, Jordan WAS TE114.712.740.43
51Foster, Arian HOU RB108.513.560.30
52Hilton, T.Y. IND WR220.913.810.30
53Rodgers, Aaron GBP QB175.4419.490.24
54Newton, Cam CAR QB311.6619.480.22
55Dalton, Andy CIN QB311.1419.450.19
56Thomas, Pierre NOS RB213.213.330.07
57Mathews, Ryan SDC RB211.413.21-0.05
58Stacy, Zac STL RB184.413.17-0.09
59Wright, Kendall TEN WR213.913.37-0.14
60Colston, Marques NOS WR199.313.29-0.22
61Olsen, Greg CAR TE190.611.91-0.40
62Rivers, Philip SDC QB300.4218.78-0.48
63Stafford, Matthew DET QB299.918.74-0.51
64Luck, Andrew IND QB299.5818.72-0.53
65Clay, Charles MIA TE188.411.78-0.53
66Gates, Antonio SDC TE186.211.64-0.67
67Jones-Drew, Maurice JAC RB188.0212.54-0.72
68Smith, Torrey BAL WR203.812.74-0.77
69Douglas, Harry ATL WR202.712.67-0.84
70Jackson, Steven ATL RB148.312.36-0.90
71Hartline, Brian MIA WR201.612.60-0.91
72Floyd, Michael ARI WR201.412.59-0.92
73Wallace, Mike MIA WR199.312.46-1.05
74Shorts, Cecil JAC WR161.712.44-1.07
75Gore, Frank SFO RB193.912.12-1.14
76Romo, Tony DAL QB270.9218.06-1.19
77Brown, Andre NYG RB96.512.06-1.20
78Rice, Ray BAL RB180.112.01-1.25
79Wilson, Russell SEA QB284.1817.76-1.49
80Sproles, Darren NOS RB176.411.76-1.50
81Martin, Doug TBB RB70.211.70-1.56
82Bradford, Sam STL QB123.5817.65-1.60
83Jennings, Rashad OAK RB174.511.63-1.63
84Smith, Alex KCC QB264.2217.62-1.64
85Bennett, Martellus CHI TE169.910.62-1.69
86Griffin III, Robert WAS QB228.0217.54-1.71
87Jones, Marvin CIN WR188.711.79-1.71
88Roethlisberger, Ben PIT QB279.8417.49-1.76
89Tate, Golden SEA WR186.911.68-1.83
90Morris, Alfred WAS RB182.311.39-1.86
91Kaepernick, Colin SFO QB276.2817.27-1.99
92Cooper, Riley PHI WR184.311.52-1.99
93Jennings, Greg MIN WR172.411.49-2.02
94Walker, Delanie TEN TE153.110.21-2.10
95Graham, Garrett HOU TE132.510.19-2.12
96McCown, Josh CHI QB137.0617.13-2.12
97Sanders, Emmanuel PIT WR181.511.34-2.16
98Williams, DeAngelo CAR RB165.611.04-2.22
99Ellington, Andre ARI RB165.311.02-2.24
100Jones, James GBP WR157.711.26-2.24

A Few Observations

  • Jamaal Charles provided insane value last season and has an added boost with this method because he led all running backs in scoring despite only playing 15 games.
  • With Aaron Rodgers’ points per game included, Peyton Manning drops from 4th to 7th in the overall rankings. Rodgers raises the average of the quarterback’s points per game, lowering the impact of having Manning as your signal caller. I talk more about Peyton Manning’s value here.
  • Let this serve as a reminder of how dominant Julio Jones is when he’s healthy. Julio was on pace for 131 receptions, 1,856 receiving yards, and 6.4 touchdowns before his season ending injury. He was scoring more fantasy points per game than any wide receiver not named Josh Gordon. Julio is a weekly difference maker that warrants an early round selection.
  • If you don’t already know, I prefer Demaryius Thomas to A.J. Green by quite a bit this season. Here’s why.
  • Knowshon Moreno’s 13th place finish gives owners a reason to take a good look at Montee Ball this season. The Peyton Manning effect is real.
  • DeMarco Murray scored more points per game than Marshawn Lynch last season. Murray gained Scott Linehan and should be catching even more passes this season. I’d be surprised to see Lynch top 30 catches again this season.
  • There’s a reason everyone is always giving Rob Gronkowski updates: he’s really good. Although he only played half of his last game, Gronk provided the 15th most value per game. He’s a special player that deserves to be a 1st round pick in fantasy when healthy. The only concern now is if he can continue to be the same player.
  • With only six running backs in the top 20, one can see why I advocate for taking wide receivers early. They score the most points and provide the most value with a lower risk of injury.
  • Shane Vereen is a very interesting guy in PPR leagues this year. Despite only playing eight games, he scored the 9th most fantasy points per game out of running backs. In the most recent MyFantasyLeague ADP, he’s currently the 18th back off the board. If the Patriots continue to target him frequently, he doesn’t need rushes to be a RB1 in PPR leagues.
  • Andy Dalton was the 6th highest scoring quarterback on a per game basis. Asher Molk reminds you why he’s a strong candidate to regress.
  • Randall Cobb is really good and I’m seeing him undervalued a bit. I’m a guy that likes tall receivers too, but there’s no doubt that Cobb is a playmaker with unbelievable hands that has arguably the league’s best passer throwing to him. Last year he was 10th in per game scoring out of wide receivers.
  • Although he missed 7 games due to lingering concussion issues, Jordan Reed was very effective when healthy. His per game scoring should be even higher as he hardly played in his concussion game and finished with just one catch for 12 yards. During his other eight games, he never finished with fewer than 3 catches – and that only happened once. He’s a quality sleeper this season.