Cliff Branch is a Hall of Fame receiver whose career earned a strong career value score of 75 in the Knox value model. Branch's enshrinement reflects a career that consistently placed him among the elite of his generation.
C
Cliff Branch
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title contextRegular-season all-time ranks
Postseason all-time ranks
Yes
Hall of Fame
An all-time caliber wide receiver (top 5% all-time) who combined elite production with exceptional availability — almost never missed time. Iron Legends define eras — they show up, every game, for years on end.
Career Value · VORP
VORP 213 · #333 · EliteWorth 213 points of value above a freely-available replacement receiver — top 8% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 11 of 11 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +19.4 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
11 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit
48
Replacement
the KC-H bar
→
11
Seasons over
cleared the bar
×
+19.4
Avg surplus
peak +39
11 seasons × ~19.4 surplus ≈ VORP 213
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 | |||||
| 1972 | — | OAK | 1 | — | — | 3 | 41 | 0 | — | 13.7 | — | — | — |
| 1973 | — | OAK | — | — | — | 19 | 290 | 3 | — | 15.3 | — | — | — |
| 1974 | — | OAK | 14 | — | — | 60 | 1,092 | 13 | — | 18.2 | — | — | — |
| 1975 | — | OAK | 14 | — | — | 51 | 893 | 9 | — | 17.5 | — | — | — |
| 1976 | — | OAK | 14 | — | — | 46 | 1,111 | 12 | — | 24.2 | — | — | — |
| 1977 | — | OAK | 13 | — | — | 33 | 540 | 6 | — | 16.4 | — | — | — |
| 1978 | — | OAK | 16 | — | — | 49 | 709 | 1 | — | 14.5 | — | — | — |
| 1979 | — | OAK | 13 | — | — | 59 | 844 | 6 | — | 14.3 | — | — | — |
| 1980 | — | OAK | 15 | — | — | 44 | 858 | 7 | — | 19.5 | — | — | — |
| 1981 | — | OAK | 15 | — | — | 41 | 635 | 1 | — | 15.5 | — | — | — |
| 1982 | — | RAI | 9 | — | — | 30 | 575 | 4 | — | 19.2 | — | — | — |
| 1983 | — | RAI | 12 | — | — | 39 | 696 | 5 | — | 17.8 | — | — | — |
| 1984 | — | RAI | 14 | — | — | 27 | 401 | 0 | — | 14.9 | — | — | — |
| 1985 | — | RAI | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | — | 150 | — | 0 | 501 | 8,685 | 67 | — | 17.3 | — | — | — | |
Receiving
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 24 | OAK | 1 | — | — | 3 | 41 | 0 | — | 13.7 | — | — | — |
| 1973 | 25 | OAK | — | — | — | 19 | 290 | 3 | — | 15.3 | — | — | — |
| 1974 | 26 | OAK | 14 | — | — | 60 | 1,092 | 13 | — | 18.2 | — | — | — |
| 1975 | 27 | OAK | 14 | — | — | 51 | 893 | 9 | — | 17.5 | — | — | — |
| 1976 | 28 | OAK | 14 | — | — | 46 | 1,111 | 12 | — | 24.2 | — | — | — |
| 1977 | 29 | OAK | 13 | — | — | 33 | 540 | 6 | — | 16.4 | — | — | — |
| 1978 | 30 | OAK | 16 | — | — | 49 | 709 | 1 | — | 14.5 | — | — | — |
| 1979 | 31 | OAK | 13 | — | — | 59 | 844 | 6 | — | 14.3 | — | — | — |
| 1980 | 32 | OAK | 15 | — | — | 44 | 858 | 7 | — | 19.5 | — | — | — |
| 1981 | 33 | OAK | 15 | — | — | 41 | 635 | 1 | — | 15.5 | — | — | — |
| 1982 | 34 | RAI | 9 | — | — | 30 | 575 | 4 | — | 19.2 | — | — | — |
| 1983 | 35 | RAI | 12 | — | — | 39 | 696 | 5 | — | 17.8 | — | — | — |
| 1984 | 36 | RAI | 14 | — | — | 27 | 401 | 0 | — | 14.9 | — | — | — |
| 1985 | 37 | RAI | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | 150 | 0 | 501 | 8,685 | 67 | — | 17.3 | — | — | — |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 75 · GreatA great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 75 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 11 scored seasons.
67
Sustained
career value
×.6
83
Peak
best 3 seasons
×.4
×1
Longevity
career length
Blend 73.4 × longevity 1 = KV-H 75· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 67
On-field 48.4
Availability 18.6
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rec yds/g)
1974bestavg 67elite 701984
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position44
Depth
of 100
Reached 38% of the all-time Receiving Yards leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
38% of the all-time Receiving Yards leader38
3 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader100
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 wide receivers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Playoff vs Regular Season
📊 Consistent
Yards / Reception: 17.3 regular season → 17.7 playoffs (10 playoff seasons)
+2%
vs reg season
Postseason Career
Receiving
Rec73Yds1,289TD5Y/R17.7
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Wharton County Colorado), 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.
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1985final season
Last recorded season with RAI
- 1982team change
Joined RAI (from OAK)
- 1972signing
Entered the NFL with OAK
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 →
75
peak 83
Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season
A1974
B+1975
A1976
C1977
C+1978
B1979
B1980
B1981
B+1982
B1983
C+1984
Availability
Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 1,092 | 78 | 1,446+354 | 85.1 |
| 1975 | 893 | 63.8 | 987+94 | 58.1 |
| 1976 | 1,111 | 79.4 | 1,515+404 | 89.1 |
| 1977 | 540 | 41.5 | 209-331 | 12.3 |
| 1978 | 709 | 44.3 | 428-281 | 25.2 |
| 1979 | 844 | 64.9 | 831-13 | 48.9 |
| 1980 | 858 | 57.2 | 739-119 | 43.5 |
| 1981 | 635 | 42.3 | 714+79 | 42 |
| 1982 | 575 | 63.9 | 1,071+496 | 63 |
| 1983 | 696 | 58 | 1,013+317 | 59.6 |
| 1984 | 401 | 28.6 | 539+138 | 31.7 |
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
213 career value over replacement — #333 all-time of 4,642. 19.4/season above a replacement-level WR.
Fan Rating
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