Earnest Jackson ranks in the all-time elite tier for running backs — a career that places Jackson in the top 10% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Jackson a career score of 75, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

RBPIT#0ACT

Earnest Jackson

2× Pro BowlTop 6% all-time RBsIron Man

Height5'9"

Weight213 lb

BornDec 18, 1959

Age66

CollegeTexas A&M See College Stats

Rookie yr1983

Draft1983 · Rd 8, Pick 202 · SDG

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Regular-season all-time ranks

45thRushing Yards·8,334 yds

Pro Bowls

Archetype Intelligence

Iron ManExplore archetypes →

A high-end running back defined as much by excellent availability over their career as by their on-field impact (top 10% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 126 · #808 · High-Value

Worth 126 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back — top 18% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 5 of 6 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +25.2 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

5 cleared

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+25.2

Avg surplus

peak +33

5 seasons × ~25.2 surplus ≈ VORP 126

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
1983	—	SDG	12	—	11	39	0	3.5	0.0	—	—	—	—	5	42	0	—	8.4	—	—	—
1984	—	SDG	16	—	296	1,179	8	4.0	2.7	—	—	—	—	39	222	1	—	5.7	—	—	—
1985	—	PHI	16	—	282	1,028	5	3.6	1.8	—	—	—	—	10	126	1	—	12.6	—	—	—
1986	—	PIT	13	—	216	910	5	4.2	2.3	—	—	—	—	17	169	0	—	9.9	—	—	—
1987	—	PIT	12	—	180	696	1	3.9	0.6	—	—	—	—	7	52	0	—	7.4	—	—	—
1988	—	PIT	12	—	74	315	3	4.3	4.1	—	—	—	—	9	84	0	—	9.3	—	—	—
Career		—	81	—	2,118	8,334	44	3.9	2.1	—	—	—	—	174	1,390	4	—	8.0	—	—	—

Rushing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb	VAL
1983	24	SDG	12	—	11	39	0	3.5	0.0	—	—	—	5.1
1984	25	SDG	16	—	296	1,179	8	4.0	2.7	—	—	—	18.8
1985	26	PHI	16	—	282	1,028	5	3.6	1.8	—	—	—	12.6
1986	27	PIT	13	—	216	910	5	4.2	2.3	—	—	—	12.5
1987	28	PIT	12	—	180	696	1	3.9	0.6	—	—	—	8.1
1988	29	PIT	12	—	74	315	3	4.3	4.1	—	—	—	7.7
Career			81		2,118	8,334	44	3.9	—	—	—	—	64.8

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
1983	24	SDG	12	—	—	5	42	0	—	8.4	—	—	—
1984	25	SDG	16	—	—	39	222	1	—	5.7	—	—	—
1985	26	PHI	16	—	—	10	126	1	—	12.6	—	—	—
1986	27	PIT	13	—	—	17	169	0	—	9.9	—	—	—
1987	28	PIT	12	—	—	7	52	0	—	7.4	—	—	—
1988	29	PIT	12	—	—	9	84	0	—	9.3	—	—	—
Career			81		—	174	1,390	4	—	8.0	—	—	—

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 75 · Great

A great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 75 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 6 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 75.2 × longevity 1 = KV-H 75· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 72

On-field 54.6

Availability 17.4

On-field production Staying available

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

1983bestavg 71elite 701988

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

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: 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

9,724

8,334 rush · 1,390 recv

Total TDs

44 rush · 4 recv

Total Touches

2,292

2,118 carries · 174 rec

Yds / Touch

4.2

rushing + receiving

College Stats

Texas A&MCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Texas A&M), 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.

1983 Draft Class· this player went #202

#173Ken ThomasRB #176Rocky BelkWR #181Mike BlackP #187Craig JamesRB #188Jessie ClarkFB #196Kelvin BryantRB #197Gary KubiakQB #199Henry OdomRB #219Mark BortzG #220Lawrence RicksRB #221Mike MartinWR #229Mike MularkeyTE #240Mark KeelTE #247Bobby HumpheryCB #248Stanley WilsonRB #253Byron WilliamsWR

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Earnest inherited the Pittsburgh Steelers RB room from Rich Erenberg (1984–1986), and handed it to Rodney Carter (1987–1989).

Frank Pollard 1980–1988Walter Abercrombie 1982–1987Rich Erenberg 1984–1986Earnest Jackson 1986–1988Rodney Carter 1987–1989Merril Hoge

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

1988final season
Last recorded season with PIT
1986team change
Joined PIT (from PHI)
1985team change
Joined PHI (from SDG)
1983draft
Drafted by SDG — Round 8, Pick 202

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

5'9" / 213 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 6-season peers. See all →

peak 80

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

C1983

A1984

B+1985

B+1986

B+1987

C+1988

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 6 seasons.

85%

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
1983	39	3.3	167+128	9.9
1984	1,179	73.7	1,541+362	90.7
1985	1,028	64.3	1,369+341	80.6
1986	910	70	1,547+637	91
1987	696	58	1,397+701	82.2
1988	315	26.3	719+404	42.3

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

Career Value · VORP

126 career value over replacement — #808 all-time of 4,642. 21/season above a replacement-level RB.

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #202 (Rd 8) · SDG · 1983 · +50.6 vs expected KV-H

75actual

24.4 expected · Δ+50.6

💔+20.4 stolen VORP·0.9 szns lost

Fan Rating

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Earnest Jackson

All-Time Rank & Honors

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Rushing

Receiving

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

From Scrimmage · Career

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1983 Draft Class· this player went #202

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography