Byron Franklin is a career quality starter β a receiver whose body of work places Franklin in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Franklin's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Byron Franklin
Top 23% all-time WRsHigh-End Starter
Height6'1"
Weight179 lb
BornSep 4, 1958
Age67
CollegeAuburnSee College Stats
Rookie yr1981
Draft1981 Β· Rd 2, Pick 50 Β· BUF
A quality wide receiver with a top 30% among starters β a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 48 Β· #2101 Β· Above AverageWorth 48 points of value above a freely-available replacement receiver β top 46% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 3 of 6 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +16 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
3 cleared
3 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
48
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
3
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+16
Avg surplus
peak +23
3 seasons Γ ~16 surplus β VORP 48
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at onceβno tab hopping.
1 grid split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Receiving | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | |||||
| 1981 | β | BUF | 13 | β | β | 2 | 29 | 0 | β | 14.5 | β | β | β |
| 1983 | β | BUF | 15 | β | β | 30 | 452 | 4 | β | 15.1 | β | β | β |
| 1984 | β | BUF | 16 | β | β | 69 | 862 | 4 | β | 12.5 | β | β | β |
| 1985 | β | SEA | 13 | β | β | 10 | 119 | 0 | β | 11.9 | β | β | β |
| 1986 | β | SEA | 14 | β | β | 33 | 547 | 2 | β | 16.6 | β | β | β |
| 1987 | β | SEA | 6 | β | β | 1 | 7 | 0 | β | 7.0 | β | β | β |
| Career | β | 77 | β | β | 290 | 4,032 | 20 | β | 13.9 | β | β | β | |
Rushing
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 5 | -8 | 0 | -1.6 | β | β | β | β | 47.6 |
Receiving
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 23 | BUF | 13 | β | β | 2 | 29 | 0 | β | 14.5 | β | β | β |
| 1983 | 25 | BUF | 15 | β | β | 30 | 452 | 4 | β | 15.1 | β | β | β |
| 1984 | 26 | BUF | 16 | β | β | 69 | 862 | 4 | β | 12.5 | β | β | β |
| 1985 | 27 | SEA | 13 | β | β | 10 | 119 | 0 | β | 11.9 | β | β | β |
| 1986 | 28 | SEA | 14 | β | β | 33 | 547 | 2 | β | 16.6 | β | β | β |
| 1987 | 29 | SEA | 6 | β | β | 1 | 7 | 0 | β | 7.0 | β | β | β |
| Career | 77 | β | 290 | 4,032 | 20 | β | 13.9 | β | β | β |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 59 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 59 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 6 scored seasons.
55
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
64
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 58.6 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 59Β· confidence 96%
What builds the career mark of 55
On-field 38.1
Availability 16.9
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rec yds/g)
1981bestavg 52elite 701987
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position17
Depth
of 100
Reached 19% of the all-time Receptions leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
19% of the all-time Receptions leader19
0 categories β₯25% of the all-time leader0
A 0β100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leaderat this position. Built only from visible encyclopedia data β career production vs. the all-time leader, plus efficiency (EPA) and comparable-player confidence β so it's a transparent context score, not a subjective rating. Tiers: Elite β₯ 85 Β· Strong β₯ 65 Β· Solid β₯ 45 Β· Depth < 45. Comparable-player confidence: 92%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average wide receivers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Auburn), 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 β every name is linked.
Top Teammates
Eugene RobinsonFS3ySteve LargentWR3yRay ButlerWR3yPaul SkansiWR3yCurt WarnerRB3yRobb RiddickRB3yMark BrammerTE3yRandall MorrisRB3yDaryl TurnerWR3yBuster BarnettTE3yJoe CribbsRB2yGreg CaterP2yBooker MooreRB2yRick ParrosRB2yMatt KoflerQB2yVan WilliamsRB2yJulius DawkinsWR2yMike MosleyWR2yJohn KiddP1yDavid WymanMLB1yGreg BellRB1yDavid HughesRB1yRuben RodriguezP1yAlvin MooreRB1y
1981 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #50
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterByron opened the Buffalo Bills WR lineage the corpus knows, and handed it to Chris Burkett (1985β1989).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1987final season
Last recorded season with SEA
- 1985team change
Joined SEA (from BUF)
- 1981draft
Drafted by BUF β Round 2, Pick 50
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'1" / 179 lb
Frame
Knox
StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works β
Historical Knox Β· KV-H
Era-normalized career quality β z-scored against 6-season peers. See all β
59
peak 64
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C1981
B1983
B+1984
C1985
B1986
F1987
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 6 seasons.
81%
Era Translator
Rec Yds translated to the 2025NFL β 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 | β 2025 Rec Yds | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 29 | 2.2 | 193+164 | 11.4 |
| 1983 | 452 | 30.1 | 593+141 | 34.9 |
| 1984 | 862 | 53.9 | 928+66 | 54.6 |
| 1985 | 119 | 9.2 | 231+112 | 13.6 |
| 1986 | 547 | 39.1 | 659+112 | 38.8 |
| 1987 | 7 | 1.2 | 82+75 | 4.8 |
Data: nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:players, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), nfl.com:official-stats (games-played, facts-only reference) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
48 career value over replacement β #2101 all-time of 4,642. 8/season above a replacement-level WR.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #50 (Rd 2) Β· BUF Β· 1981 Β· +10.1 vs expected KV-H
59actual
48.9 expected Β· Ξ+10.1
Fan Rating
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