Earnest Byner ranks in the all-time elite tier for running backs — a career that places Byner in the top 5% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Byner a career score of 78, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

RBBAL#21ACT

Earnest Byner

2× Pro BowlTop 4% all-time RBsIron Legend

Height5'10"

Weight215 lb

BornSep 15, 1962

Age63

CollegeEast Carolina See College Stats

Rookie yr1984

Draft1984 · Rd 10, Pick 280 · CLE

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Regular-season all-time ranks

46thRushing Yards·8,261 yds 70thRushing Touchdowns·56

Pro Bowls

Archetype Intelligence

Iron LegendExplore archetypes →

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 270 · #181 · Elite

Worth 270 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back — top 5% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 13 of 14 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +20.8 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

13 cleared

Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+20.8

Avg surplus

peak +42

13 seasons × ~20.8 surplus ≈ VORP 270

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
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
1984	—	CLE	16	—	72	426	2	5.9	2.8	—	—	—	—	11	118	0	—	10.7	—	—	—
1985	—	CLE	16	—	244	1,002	8	4.1	3.3	—	—	—	—	45	460	2	—	10.2	—	—	—
1986	—	CLE	7	—	94	277	2	2.9	2.1	—	—	—	—	37	328	2	—	8.9	—	—	—
1987	—	CLE	12	—	105	432	8	4.1	7.6	—	—	—	—	52	552	2	—	10.6	—	—	—
1988	—	CLE	16	—	157	576	3	3.7	1.9	—	—	—	—	59	576	2	—	9.8	—	—	—
1989	—	WAS	16	—	134	580	7	4.3	5.2	—	—	—	—	54	458	2	—	8.5	—	—	—
1990	—	WAS	16	—	297	1,219	6	4.1	2.0	—	—	—	—	31	279	1	—	9.0	—	—	—
1991	—	WAS	16	—	274	1,048	5	3.8	1.8	—	—	—	—	34	308	0	—	9.1	—	—	—
1992	—	WAS	16	—	262	998	6	3.8	2.3	—	—	—	—	39	338	1	—	8.7	—	—	—
1993	—	WAS	16	—	23	105	1	4.6	4.3	—	—	—	—	27	194	0	—	7.2	—	—	—
1994	—	CLE	16	—	75	219	2	2.9	2.7	—	—	—	—	11	102	0	—	9.3	—	—	—
1995	—	CLE	16	—	115	432	2	3.8	1.7	—	—	—	—	61	494	2	—	8.1	—	—	—
1996	—	BAL	16	—	159	634	4	4.0	2.5	—	—	—	—	30	270	1	—	9.0	—	—	—
1997	—	BAL	16	—	84	313	0	3.7	0.0	—	—	—	—	21	128	0	—	6.1	—	—	—
Career		—	211	—	2,095	8,261	56	3.9	2.7	—	—	—	—	512	4,605	15	—	9.0	—	—	—

Passing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	TD%	Int%	Y/A	AdjY/A	TD:INT	Rate	Sk	VAL
Career					3	10	30.0%	90	3	0	30.0	0.0	9.0	—	—	104.2	—	192.3

Rushing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb
1984	22	CLE	16	—	72	426	2	5.9	2.8	—	—	—
1985	23	CLE	16	—	244	1,002	8	4.1	3.3	—	—	—
1986	24	CLE	7	—	94	277	2	2.9	2.1	—	—	—
1987	25	CLE	12	—	105	432	8	4.1	7.6	—	—	—
1988	26	CLE	16	—	157	576	3	3.7	1.9	—	—	—
1989	27	WAS	16	—	134	580	7	4.3	5.2	—	—	—
1990	28	WAS	16	—	297	1,219	6	4.1	2.0	—	—	—
1991	29	WAS	16	—	274	1,048	5	3.8	1.8	—	—	—
1992	30	WAS	16	—	262	998	6	3.8	2.3	—	—	—
1993	31	WAS	16	—	23	105	1	4.6	4.3	—	—	—
1994	32	CLE	16	—	75	219	2	2.9	2.7	—	—	—
1995	33	CLE	16	—	115	432	2	3.8	1.7	—	—	—
1996	34	BAL	16	—	159	634	4	4.0	2.5	—	—	—
1997	35	BAL	16	—	84	313	0	3.7	0.0	—	—	—
Career			211		2,095	8,261	56	3.9	—	—	—	—

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
1984	22	CLE	16	—	—	11	118	0	—	10.7	—	—	—
1985	23	CLE	16	—	—	45	460	2	—	10.2	—	—	—
1986	24	CLE	7	—	—	37	328	2	—	8.9	—	—	—
1987	25	CLE	12	—	—	52	552	2	—	10.6	—	—	—
1988	26	CLE	16	—	—	59	576	2	—	9.8	—	—	—
1989	27	WAS	16	—	—	54	458	2	—	8.5	—	—	—
1990	28	WAS	16	—	—	31	279	1	—	9.0	—	—	—
1991	29	WAS	16	—	—	34	308	0	—	9.1	—	—	—
1992	30	WAS	16	—	—	39	338	1	—	8.7	—	—	—
1993	31	WAS	16	—	—	27	194	0	—	7.2	—	—	—
1994	32	CLE	16	—	—	11	102	0	—	9.3	—	—	—
1995	33	CLE	16	—	—	61	494	2	—	8.1	—	—	—
1996	34	BAL	16	—	—	30	270	1	—	9.0	—	—	—
1997	35	BAL	16	—	—	21	128	0	—	6.1	—	—	—
Career			211		—	512	4,605	15	—	9.0	—	—	—

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 78 · Great

A great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 78 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 14 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 76.8 × longevity 1 = KV-H 78· confidence 99%

What builds the career mark of 70

On-field 50.7

Availability 19.3

On-field production Staying available

Season-by-season quality (era-relative rush yds/g)

1984bestavg 69elite 701997

All-Time Standing

how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position

Solid

of 100

Reached 45% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader — a solid all-time profile at the position.

45% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader45

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: 90%.

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average RBs aging curve. Group peak age: 21. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

From Scrimmage · Career

Scrimmage Yds

12,866

8,261 rush · 4,605 recv

Total TDs

56 rush · 15 recv

Total Touches

2,607

2,095 carries · 512 rec

Yds / Touch

4.9

rushing + receiving

College Stats

East CarolinaCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (East Carolina), 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.

1984 Draft Class· this player went #280

#237Brian HansenP #245Chris BrewerRB #247Rich ErenbergRB #248Derrick HarmonRB #250Jim BoyleOT #270Randall MorrisRB #272Bobby MichoTE #279Keith GriffinRB #281Blair KielQB #283Frank CephousRB #286Buford McGeeRB #293Michael HarperWR #298Gene LangRB #299Craig WhiteWR #300Mike SaxonP #303Elton VealsRB

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Earnest inherited the Cleveland Browns RB room from Boyce Green (1983–1984), and handed it to Tim Manoa (1987–1989).

Charles White 1980–1984Dwight Walker 1982–1984Boyce Green 1983–1984Earnest Byner 1984–1995Tim Manoa 1987–1989Leroy Hoard

Similar Players

Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).

Movementderived from season history

1997final season
Last recorded season with BAL
1996team change
Joined BAL (from CLE)
1994team change
Joined CLE (from WAS)
1989team change
Joined WAS (from CLE)
1984draft
Drafted by CLE — Round 10, Pick 280

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

5'10" / 215 lb

Frame

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 14-season peers. See all →

peak 87

Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season

B1984

B+1985

C+1986

B1987

B1988

B1989

A+1990

A1991

A1992

C+1993

B1994

B1995

B+1996

B1997

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
1984	426	26.6	644+218	37.9
1985	1,002	62.6	1,337+335	78.7
1986	277	39.6	916+639	53.9
1987	432	36	910+478	53.5
1988	576	36	944+368	55.5
1989	580	36.3	942+362	55.4
1990	1,219	76.2	1,921+702	113
1991	1,048	65.5	1,643+595	96.6
1992	998	62.4	1,522+524	89.5
1993	105	6.6	348+243	20.5
1994	219	13.7	517+298	30.4
1995	432	27	784+352	46.1
1996	634	39.6	1,040+406	61.2
1997	313	19.6	629+316	37

Data: nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:players, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), espn.com:stats-api (games-played, facts-only reference) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

270 career value over replacement — #181 all-time of 4,642. 19.3/season above a replacement-level RB.

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #280 (Rd 10) · CLE · 1984 · +70 vs expected KV-H

78actual

8 expected · Δ+70

Fan Rating

Rate Earnest Byner — All-Time

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Earnest Byner

All-Time Rank & Honors

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

From Scrimmage · Career

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1984 Draft Class· this player went #280

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography