Week 3 NFL Advanced Analytics Superstars

Tight End: Gary Barnidge

Gary Barnidge, TE, Cleveland Browns
6 Receptions, 105 Yards, 10 Targets, 1 TD
NEP: +12.49

This week's most efficient tight end was none other than Cleveland's Gary Barnidge. Barnidge repeatedly found the soft spots in Oakland's coverage en route to 6 receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown.

It's now safe to play literally anyone at the tight end position against Oakland this year. Week 1 gave us an analytic superstar performance by Tyler Eifert with a 9-catch, 104 yard game with 2 touchdowns. Week 2 led to Crockett Gillmore's breakout as the second best NEP performance of the week, after he caught 5 passes for 88 yards and another 2 touchdowns. Now with Gary Barnidge finding a way to torch the Oakland defense, the Raiders have become a must-target for tight ends on a weekly basis.

I'll give Barnidge some credit: he made a couple great plays. He found a hole in their zone coverage where Josh McCown was able to step up in the pocket and deliver a 40-yard strike on the post route. Barnidge also ran a terrific corner route on a 3rd-and-1 where he created enough space between him and a diving Charles Woodson to haul in a big 28-yard gain and waltz untouched into the end zone.

Despite a big performance by Greg Olsen -- 8 catches for 134 yards and 2 touchdowns -- our metrics found Barnidge to be this week's leader in NEP. The rest of the tight ends have cooled off considerably from their Week 1 red-hot start, but Rob Gronkowski and Jordan Reed continue to find their names on this list.

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