Brent Jones ranks in the all-time elite tier for tight ends — a career that places Jones in the top 3% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Jones a career score of 86, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

TESF#84ACT

Brent Jones

4× Pro Bowl👑 Dynasty DNA · 11 seasons · 3 titles Top 2% all-time TEsIron Legend

Height6'4"

Weight230 lb

BornFeb 12, 1963

Age63

CollegeSanta Clara University See College Stats

Rookie yr1987

Draft1986 · Rd 5, Pick 135 · PIT

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Postseason all-time ranks

28thPlayoff Receptions·60 34thPlayoff Receiving Yards·740 yds 40thPlayoff Receiving Touchdowns·5

Pro Bowls

Title Seasons

Dynasty Seasons

Archetype Intelligence

Iron LegendExplore archetypes →

An all-time caliber tight end (top 5% all-time) who combined elite production with excellent availability over their career. Iron Legends define eras — they show up, every game, for years on end.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 332 · #94 · All-Time

Worth 332 points of value above a freely-available replacement tight end — top 3% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 10 of 11 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +33.2 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

10 cleared

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+33.2

Avg surplus

peak +46

10 seasons × ~33.2 surplus ≈ VORP 332

Combined Season Grid

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

1 grid split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Receiving
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
1987	—	SF	4	—	—	2	35	0	—	17.5	—	—	—
1988	—	SF	11	—	—	8	57	2	—	7.1	—	—	—
1989	—	SF	16	—	—	40	500	4	—	12.5	—	—	—
1990	—	SF	16	—	—	56	747	5	—	13.3	—	—	—
1991	—	SF	10	—	—	27	417	0	—	15.4	—	—	—
1992	—	SF	15	—	—	45	628	4	—	14.0	—	—	—
1993	—	SF	16	—	—	68	735	3	—	10.8	—	—	—
1994	—	SF	15	—	—	49	670	9	—	13.7	—	—	—
1995	—	SF	16	—	—	60	595	3	—	9.9	—	—	—
1996	—	SF	11	—	—	33	428	1	—	13.0	—	—	—
1997	—	SF	13	—	—	29	383	2	—	13.2	—	—	—
Career		—	143	—	—	417	5,195	33	—	12.5	—	—	—

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D	VAL
1987	24	SF	4	—	—	2	35	0	—	17.5	—	—	—	1.3
1988	25	SF	11	—	—	8	57	2	—	7.1	—	—	—	6.7
1989	26	SF	16	—	—	40	500	4	—	12.5	—	—	—	18.9
1990	27	SF	16	—	—	56	747	5	—	13.3	—	—	—	20
1991	28	SF	10	—	—	27	417	0	—	15.4	—	—	—	9.8
1992	29	SF	15	—	—	45	628	4	—	14.0	—	—	—	18.5
1993	30	SF	16	—	—	68	735	3	—	10.8	—	—	—	20.5
1994	31	SF	15	—	—	49	670	9	—	13.7	—	—	—	21.5
1995	32	SF	16	—	—	60	595	3	—	9.9	—	—	—	18.4
1996	33	SF	11	—	—	33	428	1	—	13.0	—	—	—	11.5
1997	34	SF	13	—	—	29	383	2	—	13.2	—	—	—	11.1
Career			143		—	417	5,195	33	—	12.5	—	—	—	158.2

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 86 · All-Time Great

A all-time great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 86 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 11 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 84.2 × longevity 1 = KV-H 86· confidence 95%

What builds the career mark of 79

On-field 61.5

Availability 17.5

On-field production Staying available

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

1987bestavg 74elite 701997

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 27% of the all-time Receptions leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

27% of the all-time Receptions leader27

1 category ≥25% of the all-time leader33

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: 93%.

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average tight ends aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Playoff vs Regular Season

📊 Consistent

Yards / Reception: 12.5 regular season → 12.3 playoffs (10 playoff seasons)

-1%

vs reg season

Postseason Career

Receiving

Rec60Yds740TD5Y/R12.3

College Stats

Santa Clara UniversityCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Santa Clara University), 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.

1986 Draft Class· this player went #135

#103Vance MuellerRB #107James PruittWR #108Napoleon McCallumRB #111Carl ByrumRB #114Jeff ParksTE #120Hassan JonesWR #121Ray CriswellP #126Bobby Joe EdmondsRB #138Lew BarnesWR #140Thornton ChandlerTE #145Ray WallaceRB #146Mark RypienQB #150Stan GelbaughQB #151Orson MobleyTE #154Floyd DixonWR #157Solomon MillerWR

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Brent inherited the San Francisco 49ers TE room from John Frank (1984–1988), and handed it to Jamie Williams (1989–1993).

John Frank 1984–1988Brent Jones 1987–1997Jamie Williams 1989–1993Wesley Walls 1989–1993Ted Popson 1994–1996Greg Clark

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

1997final season
Last recorded season with SF
1987team change
Joined SF (from PIT)
1986draft
Drafted by PIT — Round 5, Pick 135

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'4" / 230 lb

Frame

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 11-season peers. See all →

peak 92

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

F1987

C1988

B+1989

A+1990

A1991

A1992

A+1993

A1994

A1995

B+1996

B1997

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 11 seasons.

Era Translator

Rec 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 Rec Yds	Rec Yds/G	→ 2025 Rec Yds	→ 2025 /G
1987	35	8.8	354+319	20.8
1988	57	5.2	289+232	17
1989	500	31.3	826+326	48.6
1990	747	46.7	1,185+438	69.7
1991	417	41.7	1,103+686	64.9
1992	628	41.9	1,071+443	63
1993	735	45.9	1,167+432	68.7
1994	670	44.7	1,140+470	67.1
1995	595	37.2	914+319	53.8
1996	428	38.9	947+519	55.7
1997	383	29.5	729+346	42.9

Data: nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:players, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), espn.com:stats-api (games-played, facts-only reference) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

332 career value over replacement — #94 all-time of 4,642. 30.2/season above a replacement-level TE.

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #135 (Rd 5) · PIT · 1986 · +52.5 vs expected KV-H

86actual

33.5 expected · Δ+52.5

💔+39.5 stolen VORP·1.3 szns lost

Fan Rating

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Brent Jones

All-Time Rank & Honors

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Receiving

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

Postseason Career

Receiving

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1986 Draft Class· this player went #135

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography