Charlie Sanders is a Hall of Fame tight end whose career earned a solid career value score of 61 in the Knox value model. Sanders's enshrinement reflects a career that consistently placed him among the elite of his generation.
C
Charlie Sanders
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title contextYes
Hall of Fame
A tight end with a top 30% among starters — the kind of consistent contributor every roster needs. Solid availability (excellent availability over their career) added to their value.
Career Value · VORP
VORP 116 · #912 · High-ValueWorth 116 points of value above a freely-available replacement tight end — top 21% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 9 of 10 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +12.9 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
9 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit
46
Replacement
the KC-H bar
→
9
Seasons over
cleared the bar
×
+12.9
Avg surplus
peak +24
9 seasons × ~12.9 surplus ≈ VORP 116
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 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | |||||
| 1968 | — | DET | 14 | — | — | 40 | 533 | 1 | — | 13.3 | — | — | — |
| 1969 | — | DET | 14 | — | — | 42 | 656 | 3 | — | 15.6 | — | — | — |
| 1970 | — | DET | 14 | — | — | 40 | 544 | 6 | — | 13.6 | — | — | — |
| 1971 | — | DET | 13 | — | — | 31 | 502 | 5 | — | 16.2 | — | — | — |
| 1972 | — | DET | 8 | — | — | 27 | 416 | 2 | — | 15.4 | — | — | — |
| 1973 | — | DET | 14 | — | — | 28 | 433 | 2 | — | 15.5 | — | — | — |
| 1974 | — | DET | 14 | — | — | 42 | 532 | 3 | — | 12.7 | — | — | — |
| 1975 | — | DET | 12 | — | — | 37 | 486 | 3 | — | 13.1 | — | — | — |
| 1976 | — | DET | 13 | — | — | 35 | 545 | 5 | — | 15.6 | — | — | — |
| 1977 | — | DET | 6 | — | — | 14 | 170 | 1 | — | 12.1 | — | — | — |
| Career | — | 122 | — | 0 | 336 | 4,817 | 31 | — | 14.3 | — | — | — | |
Receiving
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 22 | DET | 14 | — | — | 40 | 533 | 1 | — | 13.3 | — | — | — |
| 1969 | 23 | DET | 14 | — | — | 42 | 656 | 3 | — | 15.6 | — | — | — |
| 1970 | 24 | DET | 14 | — | — | 40 | 544 | 6 | — | 13.6 | — | — | — |
| 1971 | 25 | DET | 13 | — | — | 31 | 502 | 5 | — | 16.2 | — | — | — |
| 1972 | 26 | DET | 8 | — | — | 27 | 416 | 2 | — | 15.4 | — | — | — |
| 1973 | 27 | DET | 14 | — | — | 28 | 433 | 2 | — | 15.5 | — | — | — |
| 1974 | 28 | DET | 14 | — | — | 42 | 532 | 3 | — | 12.7 | — | — | — |
| 1975 | 29 | DET | 12 | — | — | 37 | 486 | 3 | — | 13.1 | — | — | — |
| 1976 | 30 | DET | 13 | — | — | 35 | 545 | 5 | — | 15.6 | — | — | — |
| 1977 | 31 | DET | 6 | — | — | 14 | 170 | 1 | — | 12.1 | — | — | — |
| Career | 122 | 0 | 336 | 4,817 | 31 | — | 14.3 | — | — | — |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 61 · Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 61 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 10 scored seasons.
56
Sustained
career value
×.6
63
Peak
best 3 seasons
×.4
×1
Longevity
career length
Blend 58.8 × longevity 1 = KV-H 61· confidence 98%
What builds the career mark of 56
On-field 38
Availability 18
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rec yds/g)
1968bestavg 55elite 701977
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position20
Depth
of 100
Reached 22% of the all-time Receptions leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
22% of the all-time Receptions leader22
0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0
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: 96%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average · KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average tight ends 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 (Minnesota), 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.
Top Teammates
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1977final season
Last recorded season with DET
- 1968signing
Entered the NFL with DET
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 10-season peers. See all →
61
peak 63
Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1968
B+1969
C+1970
C+1971
B1972
C+1973
C+1974
C+1975
C+1976
F1977
Availability
Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 10 seasons.
87%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 533 | 38.1 | 244-289 | 14.3 |
| 1969 | 656 | 46.9 | 643-13 | 37.8 |
| 1970 | 544 | 38.9 | 367-177 | 21.6 |
| 1971 | 502 | 38.6 | 382-120 | 22.4 |
| 1972 | 416 | 52 | 844+428 | 49.6 |
| 1973 | 433 | 30.9 | 187-246 | 11 |
| 1974 | 532 | 38 | 377-155 | 22.2 |
| 1975 | 486 | 40.5 | 365-121 | 21.5 |
| 1976 | 545 | 41.9 | 435-110 | 25.6 |
| 1977 | 170 | 28.3 | 0-170 | 0 |
Data: wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), wikipedia:pfhof-inductee-list · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 7/10/2026
Career Value · VORP
116 career value over replacement — #912 all-time of 4,642. 11.6/season above a replacement-level TE.
Fan Rating
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