Carlos Carson ranks in the all-time elite tier for receivers β a career that places Carson in the top 10% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Carson a career score of 71, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.
Carlos Carson
Height5'11"
Weight180 lb
BornDec 28, 1958
Age67
CollegeLSUSee College Stats
Rookie yr1980
Draft1980 Β· Rd 5, Pick 114 Β· KAN
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context2x
Pro Bowls
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 Β· VORP
VORP 169 Β· #524 Β· High-ValueWorth 169 points of value above a freely-available replacement receiver β top 12% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 7 of 10 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +24.1 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
7 cleared
3 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
48
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
7
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+24.1
Avg surplus
peak +36
7 seasons Γ ~24.1 surplus β VORP 169
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 | |||||
| 1980 | β | KC | 16 | β | β | 5 | 68 | 0 | β | 13.6 | β | β | β |
| 1981 | β | KC | 5 | β | β | 7 | 179 | 1 | β | 25.6 | β | β | β |
| 1982 | β | KC | 9 | β | β | 27 | 494 | 2 | β | 18.3 | β | β | β |
| 1983 | β | KC | 16 | β | β | 80 | 1,351 | 7 | β | 16.9 | β | β | β |
| 1984 | β | KC | 16 | β | β | 57 | 1,078 | 4 | β | 18.9 | β | β | β |
| 1985 | β | KC | 15 | β | β | 47 | 843 | 4 | β | 17.9 | β | β | β |
| 1986 | β | KC | 10 | β | β | 21 | 497 | 4 | β | 23.7 | β | β | β |
| 1987 | β | KC | 12 | β | β | 55 | 1,044 | 7 | β | 19.0 | β | β | β |
| 1988 | β | KC | 14 | β | β | 46 | 711 | 3 | β | 15.5 | β | β | β |
| 1989 | β | KC | 13 | β | β | 7 | 95 | 1 | β | 13.6 | β | β | β |
| 1989 | β | PHI | 13 | β | β | 1 | 12 | 0 | β | 12.0 | β | β | β |
| Career | β | 139 | β | β | 353 | 6,372 | 33 | β | 18.1 | β | β | β | |
Passing
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | TD% | Int% | Y/A | AdjY/A | TD:INT | Rate | Sk | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 1 | 1 | 100.0% | 48 | 1 | 0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 48.0 | β | β | 158.3 | β | 110.3 |
Rushing
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 12 | 62 | 0 | 5.2 | β | β | β | β |
Receiving
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 22 | KC | 16 | β | β | 5 | 68 | 0 | β | 13.6 | β | β | β |
| 1981 | 23 | KC | 5 | β | β | 7 | 179 | 1 | β | 25.6 | β | β | β |
| 1982 | 24 | KC | 9 | β | β | 27 | 494 | 2 | β | 18.3 | β | β | β |
| 1983 | 25 | KC | 16 | β | β | 80 | 1,351 | 7 | β | 16.9 | β | β | β |
| 1984 | 26 | KC | 16 | β | β | 57 | 1,078 | 4 | β | 18.9 | β | β | β |
| 1985 | 27 | KC | 15 | β | β | 47 | 843 | 4 | β | 17.9 | β | β | β |
| 1986 | 28 | KC | 10 | β | β | 21 | 497 | 4 | β | 23.7 | β | β | β |
| 1987 | 29 | KC | 12 | β | β | 55 | 1,044 | 7 | β | 19.0 | β | β | β |
| 1988 | 30 | KC | 14 | β | β | 46 | 711 | 3 | β | 15.5 | β | β | β |
| 1989 | 31 | KC | 13 | β | β | 7 | 95 | 1 | β | 13.6 | β | β | β |
| 1989 | 31 | PHI | 13 | β | β | 1 | 12 | 0 | β | 12.0 | β | β | β |
| Career | 139 | β | 353 | 6,372 | 33 | β | 18.1 | β | β | β |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 71 Β· GreatA great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 71 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 10 scored seasons.
65
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
80
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 71 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 71Β· confidence 96%
What builds the career mark of 65
On-field 47.5
Availability 17.5
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rec yds/g)
1980bestavg 63elite 701989
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position29
Depth
of 100
Reached 28% of the all-time Receiving Yards leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
28% of the all-time Receiving Yards leader28
1 category β₯25% of the all-time leader33
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: 95%.
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 (LSU), 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
Herman HeardRB6yJonathan HayesTE5yWillie ScottTE5yAnthony HancockWR5yTodd BlackledgeQB5yBilly JacksonRB4yJim HadnotRB4yJim ArnoldP3yLarry MoriartyRB3yEmile HarryWR3yChristian OkoyeRB3yNeil SmithDE2yJack Del RioMLB2yJames SaxonRB2yAlfredo RobertsTE2yPaul PalmerRB2yJoe DelaneyRB2yKenny GambleRB2yLawrence RicksRB2yCris CarterWR1yClyde SimmonsDE1yReggie WhiteDE1yEric AllenCB1yKeith ByarsFB1y
1980 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #114
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterCarlos opened the Kansas City Chiefs WR lineage the corpus knows, and handed it to Anthony Hancock (1982β1986).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1989final season
Last recorded season with KC
- 1980draft
Drafted by KAN β Round 5, Pick 114
- 1980team change
Joined KC (from KAN)
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts5'11" / 180 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 10-season peers. See all β
71
peak 80
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C1980
D1981
B+1982
A1983
B+1984
B+1985
B1986
B+1987
B1988
C1989
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 10 seasons.
83%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 68 | 4.3 | 122+54 | 7.2 |
| 1981 | 179 | 35.8 | 630+451 | 37 |
| 1982 | 494 | 54.9 | 937+443 | 55.1 |
| 1983 | 1,351 | 84.4 | 1,411+60 | 83 |
| 1984 | 1,078 | 67.4 | 1,136+58 | 66.8 |
| 1985 | 843 | 56.2 | 940+97 | 55.3 |
| 1986 | 497 | 49.7 | 820+323 | 48.2 |
| 1987 | 1,044 | 87 | 1,382+338 | 81.3 |
| 1988 | 711 | 50.8 | 831+120 | 48.9 |
| 1989 | 95 | 7.3 | 168+73 | 9.9 |
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
169 career value over replacement β #524 all-time of 4,642. 16.9/season above a replacement-level WR.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #114 (Rd 5) Β· KAN Β· 1980 Β· +34.2 vs expected KV-H
71actual
36.8 expected Β· Ξ+34.2
Fan Rating
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