Duane Young is a career quality starter β a tight end whose body of work places Young in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Young's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Duane Young
Top 32% all-time TEsReliable Starter
A tight end with a above-average career β the kind of consistent contributor every roster needs. Solid availability (exceptional availability β almost never missed time) added to their value.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 36 Β· #2454 Β· Role PlayerWorth 36 points of value above a freely-available replacement tight end β top 54% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 4 of 5 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +9 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
4 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
46
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
4
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+9
Avg surplus
peak +15
4 seasons Γ ~9 surplus β VORP 36
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 | |||||
| 1991 | β | LAC | 7 | β | β | 2 | 12 | 0 | β | 6.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1992 | β | LAC | 16 | β | β | 4 | 45 | 0 | β | 11.3 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1993 | β | LAC | 16 | β | β | 6 | 41 | 2 | β | 6.8 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1994 | β | LAC | 14 | β | β | 17 | 217 | 1 | β | 12.8 | β | β | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | LAC | 16 | β | β | 9 | 90 | 0 | β | 10.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Career | β | 69 | β | 0 | 38 | 405 | 3 | β | 10.7 | β | β | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | β | |
Receiving
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 54 Β· SolidA solid career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 54 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 5 scored seasons.
53
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
56
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 54.2 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 54Β· confidence 98%
What builds the career mark of 53
On-field 34.8
Availability 18.2
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rec yds/g)
1991bestavg 511995
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position2
Depth
of 100
Reached 2% of the all-time Receptions leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
2% of the all-time Receptions leader2
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: 89%.
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 (Michigan 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.
Reference Graph
Career teammates and draft class, derived from year-by-year rosters β every name is linked.
Top Teammates
John CarneyK5yJohn KiddP4yEric BieniemyRB4yChris MimsDE4yStan HumphriesQB4yRaylee JohnsonDE3yLewis BushOLB3yDarrien GordonDB3yAlfred PupunuTE3yNate LewisWR3ySteve HendricksonTE3yJohn ParrellaDT2yDwayne HarperDB2yMarquez PopeS2yRodney CulverRB2yBob GaglianoQB2yJohnnie BarnesWR2yJoe PhillipsNT1yCedric MackDB1yDarren BennettP1yTerrance ShawCB1yBilly Ray Smith Jr.LB1yJeff BradyLB1yDeems MayTE1y
1991 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #123
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterDuane inherited the Los Angeles Chargers TE room from Derrick Walker (1990β1993), and handed it to Alfred Pupunu (1993β1999).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1995final season
Last recorded season with LAC
- 1991draft
Drafted by SDG β Round 5, Pick 123
- 1991team change
Joined LAC (from SDG)
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'3" / 270 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 5-season peers. See all β
54
peak 56
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
D1991
C+1992
C+1993
B1994
C+1995
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 5 seasons.
97%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 12 | 1.7 | 223+211 | 13.1 |
| 1992 | 45 | 2.8 | 238+193 | 14 |
| 1993 | 41 | 2.6 | 208+167 | 12.2 |
| 1994 | 217 | 15.5 | 502+285 | 29.5 |
| 1995 | 90 | 5.6 | 305+215 | 18 |
Data: nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:players, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), nfl.com:official-stats (facts-only reference), espn.com:stats-api (games-played, facts-only reference) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
36 career value over replacement β #2454 all-time of 4,642. 7.2/season above a replacement-level TE.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #123 (Rd 5) Β· SDG Β· 1991 Β· +20.5 vs expected KV-H
54actual
33.5 expected Β· Ξ+20.5
Fan Rating
Rate Duane Young β All-Time
Tap a star to rate
Explore More
Similar Players