David Lewis is a career quality starter β a tight end whose body of work places Lewis in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Lewis's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
David Lewis
Top 30% all-time TEsHigh-End Starter
Height6'3"
Weight234 lb
BornJun 8, 1961
Age65
CollegeCaliforniaSee College Stats
Rookie yr1984
Draft1984 Β· Rd 1, Pick 20 Β· DET
A quality tight end with a top 30% among starters β a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 43 Β· #2245 Β· Above AverageWorth 43 points of value above a freely-available replacement tight end β top 49% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 3 of 4 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +14.3 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
3 cleared
1 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
46
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
3
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+14.3
Avg surplus
peak +22
3 seasons Γ ~14.3 surplus β VORP 43
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at onceβno tab hopping.
2 grids split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Receiving | Defense | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||||
| 1984 | β | DET | 16 | β | β | 16 | 236 | 3 | β | 14.8 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1985 | β | DET | 15 | β | β | 28 | 354 | 3 | β | 12.6 | β | β | β | 3 | 3 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1986 | β | DET | 11 | β | β | 10 | 88 | 1 | β | 8.8 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1987 | β | MIA | 5 | β | β | 6 | 53 | 1 | β | 8.8 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Career | β | 47 | β | 0 | 60 | 731 | 8 | β | 12.2 | β | β | β | 3 | 3 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | β | |
Receiving
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 55 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a remarkably steady profile that scores 55 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 4 scored seasons, with a short career trimming the score.
58
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
60
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ0.93
Longevity
career length
Blend 58.8 Γ longevity 0.93 = KV-H 55Β· confidence 91%
What builds the career mark of 58
On-field 41.5
Availability 16.5
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rec yds/g)
1984bestavg 531987
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position4
Depth
of 100
Reached 4% of the all-time Receiving Touchdowns leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
4% of the all-time Receiving Touchdowns leader4
0 categories β₯25% of the all-time leader0
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: 87%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· 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 (California), 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
Pete MandleyWR3yRob RubickTE3yEric HippleQB3yMark NicholsWR2yAlvin MooreRB2yDan MarinoQB1yReggie RobyP1yJim ArnoldP1yMark DuperWR1yJim JensenWR1yFred BanksWR1yTroy StradfordRB1yLorenzo HamptonRB1yRon DavenportRB1yDan JohnsonTE1yJames PruittWR1yBilly SimsRB1yRobbie MartinWR1yGarry JamesRB1yHerman HunterRB1yMike MeadeRB1yScott WilliamsRB1yChuck LongQB1yLawrence SampletonTE1y
1984 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #20
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterDavid inherited the Detroit Lions TE room from Rob Rubick (1982β1988), and handed it to Rodney Holman (1993β1995).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1987team change
Joined MIA (from DET)
- 1987final season
Last recorded season with MIA
- 1984draft
Drafted by DET β Round 1, Pick 20
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'3" / 234 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 4-season peers. See all β
55
peak 60
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
B1984
B1985
C+1986
F1987
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 4 seasons.
75%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | 236 | 14.8 | 479+243 | 28.2 |
| 1985 | 354 | 23.6 | 639+285 | 37.6 |
| 1986 | 88 | 8 | 319+231 | 18.8 |
| 1987 | 53 | 10.6 | 390+337 | 22.9 |
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
43 career value over replacement β #2245 all-time of 4,642. 10.8/season above a replacement-level TE.
Draft OutcomeMiss β
Pick #20 (Rd 1) Β· DET Β· 1984 Β· -1.5 vs expected KV-H
55actual
56.5 expected Β· Ξβ1.5
Fan Rating
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