Earl Campbell is a Hall of Fame running back whose career earned a historically elite career value score of 83 in the Knox value model. Campbell's enshrinement reflects a career that consistently placed him among the elite of his generation.
E
Earl Campbell
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 running back (top 5% all-time) who combined elite production with excellent availability over their career. Iron Legends define eras — they show up, every game, for years on end.
Career Value · VORP
VORP 203 · #356 · EliteWorth 203 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back — top 9% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 7 of 8 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +29 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
7 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit
50
Replacement
the KC-H bar
→
7
Seasons over
cleared the bar
×
+29
Avg surplus
peak +42
7 seasons × ~29 surplus ≈ VORP 203
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping.
2 grids split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | |||||
| 1978 | — | HOU | 14 | — | 302 | 1,450 | 13 | 4.8 | 4.3 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 48 | 0 | — | 4.0 | — | — | — |
| 1979 | — | HOU | 16 | — | 368 | 1,697 | 19 | 4.6 | 5.2 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 94 | 0 | — | 5.9 | — | — | — |
| 1980 | — | HOU | 15 | — | 373 | 1,934 | 13 | 5.2 | 3.5 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 47 | 0 | — | 4.3 | — | — | — |
| 1981 | — | HOU | 16 | — | 361 | 1,376 | 10 | 3.8 | 2.8 | — | — | — | — | 36 | 156 | 0 | — | 4.3 | — | — | — |
| 1982 | — | HOU | 9 | — | 157 | 538 | 2 | 3.4 | 1.3 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 130 | 0 | — | 7.2 | — | — | — |
| 1983 | — | HOU | 14 | — | 322 | 1,301 | 12 | 4.0 | 3.7 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 216 | 0 | — | 11.4 | — | — | — |
| 1984 | — | HOU | 6 | — | 96 | 278 | 4 | 2.9 | 4.2 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 27 | 0 | — | 9.0 | — | — | — |
| 1984 | — | NO | 6 | — | 50 | 190 | 0 | 3.8 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0 | — | — | — |
| 1985 | — | NO | 12 | — | 158 | 643 | 1 | 4.1 | 0.6 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 88 | 0 | — | 14.7 | — | — | — |
| Career | — | 108 | — | 2,187 | 9,407 | 74 | 4.3 | 3.4 | — | — | — | 0 | 121 | 806 | 0 | — | 6.7 | — | — | — | |
Rushing
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 23 | HOU | 14 | — | 302 | 1,450 | 13 | 4.8 | 4.3 | — | — | — |
| 1979 | 24 | HOU | 16 | — | 368 | 1,697 | 19 | 4.6 | 5.2 | — | — | — |
| 1980 | 25 | HOU | 15 | — | 373 | 1,934 | 13 | 5.2 | 3.5 | — | — | — |
| 1981 | 26 | HOU | 16 | — | 361 | 1,376 | 10 | 3.8 | 2.8 | — | — | — |
| 1982 | 27 | HOU | 9 | — | 157 | 538 | 2 | 3.4 | 1.3 | — | — | — |
| 1983 | 28 | HOU | 14 | — | 322 | 1,301 | 12 | 4.0 | 3.7 | — | — | — |
| 1984 | 29 | HOU | 6 | — | 96 | 278 | 4 | 2.9 | 4.2 | — | — | — |
| 1984 | 29 | NO | 6 | — | 50 | 190 | 0 | 3.8 | 0.0 | — | — | — |
| 1985 | 30 | NO | 12 | — | 158 | 643 | 1 | 4.1 | 0.6 | — | — | — |
| Career | 108 | 2,187 | 9,407 | 74 | 4.3 | — | — | — | — |
Receiving
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 83 · GreatA great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 83 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 8 scored seasons.
78
Sustained
career value
×.6
87
Peak
best 3 seasons
×.4
×1
Longevity
career length
Blend 81.6 × longevity 1 = KV-H 83· confidence 97%
What builds the career mark of 78
On-field 60.2
Availability 17.8
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rush yds/g)
1978bestavg 75elite 701985
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position53
Solid
of 100
Reached 51% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader — a solid all-time profile at the position.
51% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader51
2 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader67
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: 89%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average · KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average RBs aging curve. Group peak age: 21. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Playoff vs Regular Season
📉 Regular Season Player
Yards / Carry: 4.3 regular season → 3.1 playoffs (3 playoff seasons)
-28%
vs reg season
From Scrimmage · Career
Scrimmage Yds
10,213
9,407 rush · 806 recv
Total TDs
74
74 rush · 0 recv
Total Touches
2,308
2,187 carries · 121 rec
Yds / Touch
4.4
rushing + receiving
Postseason Career
Rushing
Att135Yds420TD4Y/A3.1TD%3.0
Receiving
Rec5Yds45Y/R9.0
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Texas), 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
- 1985team change
Joined NO (from HOU)
- 1985final season
Last recorded season with NO
- 1978signing
Entered the NFL with HOU
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 8-season peers. See all →
83
peak 87
Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season
B+1978
B+1979
A+1980
A1981
B+1982
A1983
C1984
B1985
Availability
Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 8 seasons.
84%
Era Translator
Rush 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 Rush Yds | Rush Yds/G | → 2025 Rush Yds | → 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 1,450 | 103.6 | 1,172-278 | 68.9 |
| 1979 | 1,697 | 106.1 | 1,339-358 | 78.8 |
| 1980 | 1,934 | 128.9 | 2,016+82 | 118.6 |
| 1981 | 1,376 | 86 | 1,488+112 | 87.6 |
| 1982 | 538 | 59.8 | 1,177+639 | 69.3 |
| 1983 | 1,301 | 92.9 | 1,760+459 | 103.5 |
| 1984 | 278 | 46.3 | 1,020+742 | 60 |
| 1985 | 643 | 53.6 | 1,160+517 | 68.2 |
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
203 career value over replacement — #356 all-time of 4,642. 25.4/season above a replacement-level RB.
Fan Rating
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