Carl Pickens ranks in the all-time elite tier for receivers — a career that places Pickens in the top 10% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Pickens a career score of 69, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

WRTEN#86ACT

Carl Pickens

2× Pro BowlTop 9% all-time WRsIron Man⭐ Shooting Star · 1999

Height6'2"

Weight206 lb

BornMar 23, 1970

Age56

CollegeTennessee See College Stats

Rookie yr1992

Draft1992 · Rd 2, Pick 31 · CIN

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Regular-season all-time ranks

71stReceiving Touchdowns·63

Pro Bowls

Season honors and record seasons

Led NFL1995·Rec TD17 5thsingle season·Rec TD1995

Archetype Intelligence

Iron ManExplore archetypes →

A high-end wide receiver defined as much by excellent availability over their career as by their on-field impact (top 10% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 150 · #634 · High-Value

Worth 150 points of value above a freely-available replacement receiver — top 15% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 8 of 9 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +18.8 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

8 cleared

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+18.8

Avg surplus

peak +27

8 seasons × ~18.8 surplus ≈ VORP 150

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	Receiving									Rushing								Passing													Defense
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	TD%	Int%	Y/A	AdjY/A	TD:INT	Rate	Sk	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty
1992	—	CIN	16	—	—	26	326	1	—	12.5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1993	—	CIN	13	—	—	43	565	6	—	13.1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	1	0.0%	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	39.6	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1994	—	CIN	15	—	—	71	1,127	11	—	15.9	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1995	—	CIN	16	—	—	99	1,234	17	—	12.5	—	—	—	1	6	0	6.0	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1996	—	CIN	16	—	—	100	1,180	12	—	11.8	—	—	—	2	2	0	1.0	0.0	—	—	—	1	1	100.0%	12	0	0	0.0	0.0	12.0	12.0	—	116.7	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1997	—	CIN	12	—	—	52	695	5	—	13.4	—	—	—	1	-6	0	-6.0	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1998	—	CIN	16	—	—	82	1,023	5	—	12.5	—	—	—	2	4	0	2.0	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1999	—	CIN	16	—	107	57	737	6	53.3%	12.9	6.9	—	32	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	100.0%	6	0	0	0.0	0.0	6.0	6.0	—	91.7	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1999	—	BAL	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0
2000	—	TEN	8	—	28	10	242	0	35.7%	24.2	8.6	—	9	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2000	—	PIT	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0
Career		—	130	—	135	540	7,129	63	400.0%	13.2	52.8	—	41	6	6	0	1.0	0.0	0	0.0	0	2	3	66.7%	18	0	0	0.0	0.0	6.0	6.0	—	82.6	0	2	2	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0

Career EPA4.0·1 passing · 3 receiving·2.0/season

Passing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	Y/A	AdjY/A	TD:INT	Rate	VAL
1993	23	CIN	13	—	0	1	0.0%	0	0.0	0.0	—	39.6	11.2
1996	26	CIN	16	—	1	1	100.0%	12	12.0	12.0	—	116.7	18
1999	29	CIN	16	—	1	1	100.0%	6	6.0	6.0	—	91.7	12.2
Career			45		2	3	66.7%	18	6.0	—	—	82.6	116.9

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
1992	22	CIN	16	—	—	26	326	1	—	12.5	—	—	—
1993	23	CIN	13	—	—	43	565	6	—	13.1	—	—	—
1994	24	CIN	15	—	—	71	1,127	11	—	15.9	—	—	—
1995	25	CIN	16	—	—	99	1,234	17	—	12.5	—	—	—
1996	26	CIN	16	—	—	100	1,180	12	—	11.8	—	—	—
1997	27	CIN	12	—	—	52	695	5	—	13.4	—	—	—
1998	28	CIN	16	—	—	82	1,023	5	—	12.5	—	—	—
1999	29	CIN	16	—	107	57	737	6	53.3%	12.9	6.9	—	32
2000	30	TEN	8	—	28	10	242	0	35.7%	24.2	8.6	—	9
Career			128		135	540	7,129	63	400.0%	13.2	52.8	—	41

Advanced (EPA)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Pass EPA	Rush EPA	Rec EPA
1999	29	—	—	—	1.3	—	2.6
2000	30	—	—	—	—	—	0.2
Career					—	—	—

Rushing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb
1995	25	CIN	16	—	1	6	6.0	0.0	—	—	—
1996	26	CIN	16	—	2	2	1.0	0.0	—	—	—
1997	27	CIN	12	—	1	-6	-6.0	0.0	—	—	—
1998	28	CIN	16	—	2	4	2.0	0.0	—	—	—
Career			60		6	6	1.0	—	0	—	0

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 69 · Strong Starter

A strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 69 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 9 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 69.6 × longevity 1 = KV-H 69· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 66

On-field 47.5

Availability 18.5

On-field production Staying available

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

1992bestavg 65elite 702000

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 35% of the all-time Receptions leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

35% of the all-time Receptions leader35

3 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader100

2 EPA/season over 2 seasons51

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: 91%.

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

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

Postseason Career

1 playoff game

Receiving

Tgt1

Advanced (EPA)

Rec EPA-1.5

College Stats

TennesseeCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Tennessee), 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.

1992 Draft Class· this player went #31

#23Chris MimsDE #24Robert JonesOLB #25Tommy MaddoxQB #26Robert PorcherDE #27John FinaOT #28Darryl WilliamsDB #29Ashley AmbroseCB #30Steve IsraelDB #33Marquez PopeS #36Jimmy SmithWR #37Darren WoodsonS #38Levon KirklandMLB #39Robert HarrisDT #41Phillippi SparksCB #44Courtney HawkinsWR #45Amp LeeRB

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Carl inherited the Cincinnati Bengals WR room from Jeff Query (1992–1994), and handed it to Darnay Scott (1994–2001).

David Verser 1981–1984Cris Collinsworth 1981–1988Tim McGee 1986–1994Jeff Query 1992–1994Carl Pickens 1992–1999Darnay Scott

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

2000team change
Joined TEN (from CIN)
2000final season
Last recorded season with TEN
1992draft
Drafted by CIN — Round 2, Pick 31

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'2" / 206 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 9-season peers. See all →

peak 75

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

C+1992

B1993

B+1994

B+1995

B+1996

B1997

B+1998

B1999

C2000

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 9 seasons.

89%

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
1992	326	20.4	349+23	20.5
1993	565	43.5	690+125	40.6
1994	1,127	75.1	1,116-11	65.6
1995	1,234	77.1	1,100-134	64.7
1996	1,180	73.8	1,022-158	60.1
1997	695	57.9	828+133	48.7
1998	1,023	63.9	915-108	53.8
1999	737	46.1	677-60	39.8
2000	242	30.3	426+184	25

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:advanced-epa (CC-BY 4.0), wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), nfl.com:official-stats (facts-only reference), espn.com:stats-api (games-played, facts-only reference) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

150 career value over replacement — #634 all-time of 4,642. 16.7/season above a replacement-level WR.

Draft OutcomeValue ↑

Pick #31 (Rd 2) · CIN · 1992 · +14.1 vs expected KV-H

69actual

54.9 expected · Δ+14.1

Fan Rating

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Compare Carl Pickens vs Player Report data error

Carl Pickens

All-Time Rank & Honors

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Passing

Receiving

Advanced (EPA)

Rushing

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

Postseason Career

Receiving

Advanced (EPA)

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1992 Draft Class· this player went #31

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator