David Hughes is a career quality starter β a running back whose body of work places Hughes in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Hughes's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
A quality running back with a above-average career β a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Worth 27 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back β top 61% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 4 of 6 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +6.8 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
4 seasons Γ ~6.8 surplus β VORP 27
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at onceβno tab hopping.
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Rushing | Receiving | Defense | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | |||||
| 1981 | β | SEA | 16 | β | 47 | 135 | 0 | 2.9 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β | 35 | 263 | 2 | β | 7.5 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1982 | β | SEA | 9 | β | 30 | 106 | 0 | 3.5 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β | 11 | 98 | 1 | β | 8.9 | β | β | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1983 | β | SEA | 16 | β | 83 | 313 | 1 | 3.8 | 1.2 | β | β | β | β | 10 | 100 | 1 | β | 10.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1984 | β | SEA | 16 | β | 94 | 327 | 1 | 3.5 | 1.1 | β | β | β | β | 22 | 121 | 1 | β | 5.5 | β | β | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1985 | β | SEA | 12 | β | 40 | 128 | 0 | 3.2 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β | 19 | 184 | 0 | β | 9.7 | β | β | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1986 | β | PIT | 5 | β | 14 | 32 | 0 | 2.3 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β | 10 | 98 | 0 | β | 9.8 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Career | β | 74 | β | 308 | 1,041 | 2 | 3.4 | 0.6 | β | β | β | 0 | 107 | 864 | 5 | β | 8.1 | β | β | β | 3 | 1 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | β | |
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 22 | SEA | 16 | β | 47 | 135 | 0 | 2.9 | 0.0 | β | β | β | 9.6 |
| 1982 | 23 | SEA | 9 | β | 30 | 106 | 0 | 3.5 | 0.0 | β | β | β | 5.2 |
| 1983 | 24 | SEA | 16 | β | 83 | 313 | 1 | 3.8 | 1.2 | β | β | β | 9.3 |
| 1984 | 25 | SEA | 16 | β | 94 | 327 | 1 | 3.5 | 1.1 | β | β | β | 10.1 |
| 1985 | 26 | SEA | 12 | β | 40 | 128 | 0 | 3.2 | 0.0 | β | β | β | 5.7 |
| 1986 | 27 | PIT | 5 | β | 14 | 32 | 0 | 2.3 | 0.0 | β | β | β | 2.7 |
| Career | 74 | 308 | 1,041 | 2 | 3.4 | β | β | β | β | 42.6 |
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 22 | SEA | 16 | β | β | 35 | 263 | 2 | β | 7.5 | β | β | β |
| 1982 | 23 | SEA | 9 | β | β | 11 | 98 | 1 | β | 8.9 | β | β | β |
| 1983 | 24 | SEA | 16 | β | β | 10 | 100 | 1 | β | 10.0 | β | β | β |
| 1984 | 25 | SEA | 16 | β | β | 22 | 121 | 1 | β | 5.5 | β | β | β |
| 1985 | 26 | SEA | 12 | β | β | 19 | 184 | 0 | β | 9.7 | β | β | β |
| 1986 | 27 | PIT | 5 | β | β | 10 | 98 | 0 | β | 9.8 | β | β | β |
| Career | 74 | 0 | 107 | 864 | 5 | β | 8.1 | β | β | β |
A strong starter career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 55 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 6 scored seasons.
Blend 55.6 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 55Β· confidence 94%
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rush yds/g)
Reached 7% of the all-time Receptions leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
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%.
Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average RBs aging curve. Group peak age: 21. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Boise State), 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.
Career teammates and draft class, derived from year-by-year rosters β every name is linked.
David opened the Seattle Seahawks RB lineage the corpus knows, and handed it to Curt Warner (1983β1989).
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Joined PIT (from SEA)
Last recorded season with PIT
Drafted by SEA β Round 2, Pick 31
StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works β
Era-normalized career quality β z-scored against 6-season peers. See all β
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 6 seasons.
Rush 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 Rush Yds | Rush Yds/G | β 2025 Rush Yds | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 135 | 8.4 | 252+117 | 14.8 |
| 1982 | 106 | 11.8 | 301+195 | 17.7 |
| 1983 | 313 | 19.6 | 457+144 | 26.9 |
| 1984 | 327 | 20.4 | 526+199 | 31 |
| 1985 | 128 | 10.7 | 316+188 | 18.6 |
| 1986 | 32 | 6.4 | 229+197 | 13.5 |
Data: nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:players, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), nfl.com:official-stats (facts-only reference), 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
27 career value over replacement β #2778 all-time of 4,642. 4.5/season above a replacement-level RB.
Pick #31 (Rd 2) Β· SEA Β· 1981 Β· +0.1 vs expected KV-H
Fan Rating
Rate David Hughes β All-Time
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Composite score across availability, IR frequency, and injury severity. See all β
The room is reconstructed from arrival order among durable members (β₯4 seasons with the club) at the playerβs position group β a lineage by arrival, not a week-by-week depth chart. Distinct from the league-wide positional GOAT torch.
Brian Leonard
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89% match
1981 Draft ClassmatesFull class β