Anthony Thomas is a career quality starter — a running back whose body of work places Thomas in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Thomas's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.

RBBUF#28RES

Anthony Thomas

Top 14% all-time RBsElite Playmaker🌅 Early Bloomer · 2001Two-Way Profile

Height6'2"

Weight221 lb

BornNov 7, 1977

Age48

CollegeMichigan See College Stats

Rookie yr2001

Draft2001 · Rd 2, Pick 38 · CHI

Archetype Intelligence

Elite PlaymakerExplore archetypes →

A top 20% all-time running back who consistently made an impact across multiple seasons.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 79 · #1437 · Above Average

Worth 79 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back — top 32% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 5 of 7 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +15.8 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

5 cleared

2 replaced

Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+15.8

Avg surplus

peak +28

5 seasons × ~15.8 surplus ≈ VORP 79

Combined Season Grid

The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping.

4 grids split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Rushing								Receiving									Defense													Advanced (EPA)
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty	Pass EPA	Rush EPA	Rec EPA	Pass AirYd	Rec AirYd
2001	—	CHI	14	—	278	1,183	7	4.3	2.5	57	20.5	0	30	22	178	0	73.3%	8.1	5.9	—	9	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2001	—	GB	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	0	1	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
2001	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	-3.5	8.0	0	0
2002	—	CHI	12	—	214	721	6	3.4	2.8	34	15.9	3	41	24	163	0	58.5%	6.8	4.0	—	4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2002	—	MIN	4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5	5	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
2002	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	-36.9	-10.9	0	0
2003	—	CHI	13	—	244	1,024	6	4.2	2.5	47	19.3	0	9	9	36	0	100.0%	4.0	4.0	—	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2003	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	-4.4	-0.8	0	0
2004	—	CHI	12	—	122	404	2	3.3	1.6	16	13.1	1	17	17	132	0	100.0%	7.8	7.8	—	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2004	—	TEN	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
2004	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	-24.3	5.8	0	0
2005	—	NO	9	—	43	92	0	2.1	0.0	5	11.6	0	4	4	13	0	100.0%	3.3	3.3	—	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2005	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	-12.5	-0.8	0	0
2006	—	BUF	14	—	107	378	2	3.5	1.9	15	14.0	1	22	22	139	0	100.0%	6.3	6.3	—	6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2006	—	NYJ	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	3	3	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
2006	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	-25.8	3.9	0	15
2007	—	BUF	8	—	36	89	0	2.5	0.0	4	11.1	0	15	15	95	1	100.0%	6.3	6.3	—	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2007	—	JAX	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
2007	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	-8.5	4.8	0	-12
Career		—	91	—	1,044	3,891	23	3.7	2.2	178	17.0	5	138	113	756	1	81.9%	6.7	5.5	—	28	11	10	1	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	-115.9	10.1	0	3

Career EPA-105.8·-116 rushing · 10 receiving·-15.1/season

Rushing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb	VAL
2001	24	CHI	14	—	278	1,183	7	4.3	2.5	57	20.5	0	14
2002	25	CHI	12	—	214	721	6	3.4	2.8	34	15.9	3	10.7
2003	26	CHI	13	—	244	1,024	6	4.2	2.5	47	19.3	0	11.2
2004	27	CHI	12	—	122	404	2	3.3	1.6	16	13.1	1	7.1
2005	28	NO	9	—	43	92	0	2.1	0.0	5	11.6	0	3.5
2006	29	BUF	14	—	107	378	2	3.5	1.9	15	14.0	1	8.5
2007	30	BUF	8	—	36	89	0	2.5	0.0	4	11.1	0	4.8
Career			82		1,044	3,891	23	3.7	—	178	—	5	59.8

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
2001	24	CHI	14	—	30	22	178	0	73.3%	8.1	5.9	—	9
2002	25	CHI	12	—	41	24	163	0	58.5%	6.8	4.0	—	4
2003	26	CHI	13	—	9	9	36	0	100.0%	4.0	4.0	—	1
2004	27	CHI	12	—	17	17	132	0	100.0%	7.8	7.8	—	5
2005	28	NO	9	—	4	4	13	0	100.0%	3.3	3.3	—	0
2006	29	BUF	14	—	22	22	139	0	100.0%	6.3	6.3	—	6
2007	30	BUF	8	—	15	15	95	1	100.0%	6.3	6.3	—	3
Career			82		138	113	756	1	81.9%	6.7	5.5	—	28

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	Sk	Dis	FR
2001	24	GB	1	—	1	0	1	0.0	0.0	—
2002	25	MIN	4	—	5	5	0	0.0	0.0	—
2004	27	TEN	1	—	1	1	0	0.0	0.0	—
2006	29	NYJ	2	—	3	3	0	0.0	0.0	—
2007	30	JAX	1	—	1	1	0	0.0	0.0	—
Career			9		11	10	1	—	—	—

Advanced (EPA)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Pass EPA	Rush EPA	Rec EPA	Rec AirYd
2001	24	—	—	—	—	-3.5	8.0	0
2002	25	—	—	—	—	-36.9	-10.9	0
2003	26	—	—	—	—	-4.4	-0.8	0
2004	27	—	—	—	—	-24.3	5.8	0
2005	28	—	—	—	—	-12.5	-0.8	0
2006	29	—	—	—	—	-25.8	3.9	15
2007	30	—	—	—	—	-8.5	4.8	-12
Career					—	—	—	3

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 66 · Strong Starter

A strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 66 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 7 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 65.4 × longevity 1 = KV-H 66· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 61

On-field 45.9

Availability 15.1

On-field production Staying available

Season-by-season quality (era-relative rush yds/g)

2001bestavg 60elite 702007

All-Time Standing

how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position

Depth

of 100

Reached 21% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

21% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader21

0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0

-15.11 EPA/season over 7 seasons45

A 0–100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leaderat this position. Built only from visible encyclopedia data — career production vs. the all-time leader, plus efficiency (EPA) and comparable-player confidence — so it's a transparent context score, not a subjective rating. Tiers: Elite ≥ 85 · Strong ≥ 65 · Solid ≥ 45 · Depth < 45. Comparable-player confidence: 88%.

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average RBs aging curve. Group peak age: 21. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Combine · 2001

Percentiles compare each raw measurement against position peers, the full combine pool, and the same draft class where enough samples exist.

RB · 2001 class

4.58s

40-Yard

Below avg · 39th pct

Pos 39thAll 62thClass Pos 32thClass All 64th

32.5"

Vertical

Below avg · 27th pct

Pos 27thAll 39thClass Pos 42thClass All 29th

115"

Broad Jump

Below avg · 26th pct

Pos 26thAll 42thClass Pos 42thClass All 54th

20 reps

Bench

Above avg · 51th pct

Pos 51thAll 44thClass Pos 58thClass All 42th

7.48s

3-Cone

Low · 8th pct

Pos 8thAll 26thClass Pos 28thClass All 34th

4.44s

Shuttle

Low · 14th pct

Pos 14thAll 35thClass Pos 17thClass All 28th

From Scrimmage · Career

Scrimmage Yds

4,647

3,891 rush · 756 recv

Total TDs

23 rush · 1 recv

Total Touches

1,157

1,044 carries · 113 rec

Yds / Touch

4.0

rushing + receiving

Postseason Career

1 playoff game

Rushing

Att15Yds36Y/A2.4

Receiving

Tgt1Rec1Yds11Ctch%100.0%Y/R11.0Y/Tgt11.0

Advanced (EPA)

Rush EPA-4.6Rec EPA0.2

College Stats

MichiganCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Michigan), but no parsed college box-score table is present in this profile artifact. The section stays here so every profile has a consistent college-stats landing point without fabricating unavailable rows.

Reference Graph

Career teammates and draft class, derived from year-by-year rosters — every name is linked.

2001 Draft Class· this player went #38

#30Reggie WayneWR #31Todd HeapTE #32Drew BreesQB #33Quincy MorganWR #34Kyle Vanden BoschDE #35Alge CrumplerTE #36Chad JohnsonWR #37Idrees BashirDB #39Kendrell BellOLB #40Ken LucasCB #41Robert FergusonWR #42Tommy PolleyLB #43Maurice WilliamsG #44Kris JenkinsNT #45Fred SmootCB #46Aaron SchobelDE

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Anthony inherited the Chicago Bears RB room from James Allen (1998–2001), and handed it to Thomas Jones (2004–2006).

Matt Suhey 1980–1989Dennis Gentry 1982–1992Thomas Sanders 1985–1989Neal Anderson 1986–1993Brad Muster 1988–1992Mark Green

Similar Players

Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).

Movementderived from season history

2007final season
Last recorded season with BUF
2006team change
Joined BUF (from NO)
2005team change
Joined NO (from CHI)
2001draft
Drafted by CHI — Round 2, Pick 38

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'2" / 221 lb

Frame

229 lb at 4.58s

Size-speed

32.5" vert / 115" broad

Explosion

20 reps

Bench power

Knox

StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works →

Historical Knox · KV-H

Era-normalized career quality — z-scored against 7-season peers. See all →

peak 72

Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season

B+2001

B2002

B+2003

C+2004

C2005

C+2006

C2007

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 7 seasons.

73%

Era Translator

Rush Yds translated to the 2025NFL — each season's standing among its own-era peers, projected onto 2025's scoring environment. Modern-era (1999+) coverage.

Season	Actual Rush Yds	Rush Yds/G	→ 2025 Rush Yds	→ 2025 /G
2001	1,183	84.5	1,427+244	84
2002	721	60.1	1,012+291	59.5
2003	1,024	78.8	1,250+226	73.6
2004	404	33.7	591+187	34.8
2005	92	10.2	246+154	14.5
2006	378	27	440+62	25.9
2007	89	11.1	204+115	12

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:combine, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:advanced-epa (CC-BY 4.0) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

79 career value over replacement — #1437 all-time of 4,642. 11.3/season above a replacement-level RB.

Career Profile

2-phase playertwo-way

Draft OutcomeValue ↑

Pick #38 (Rd 2) · CHI · 2001 · +16.2 vs expected KV-H

66actual

49.8 expected · Δ+16.2

Fan Rating

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Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Rushing

Receiving

Defense

Advanced (EPA)

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

Combine · 2001

From Scrimmage · Career

Postseason Career

Rushing

Receiving

Advanced (EPA)

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

2001 Draft Class· this player went #38

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography