Eric Ball is a career quality starter — a running back whose body of work places Ball in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Ball's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.

RBLV#0ACT

Eric Ball

Top 32% all-time RBsReliable StarterTwo-Way Profile

Height6'2"

Weight230 lb

BornJul 1, 1966

Age60

CollegeUCLA See College Stats

Rookie yr1989

Draft1989 · Rd 2, Pick 35 · CIN

Archetype Intelligence

Reliable StarterExplore archetypes →

A running back with a above-average career — the kind of consistent contributor every roster needs. Solid availability (excellent availability over their career) added to their value.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 29 · #2706 · Role Player

Worth 29 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back — top 59% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 6 of 7 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +4.8 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

6 cleared

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+4.8

Avg surplus

peak +13

6 seasons × ~4.8 surplus ≈ VORP 29

Combined Season Grid

The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping.

3 grids split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Rushing								Receiving									Defense
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	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty
1989	—	CIN	15	—	98	391	3	4.0	3.1	—	—	—	—	6	44	0	—	7.3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1990	—	CIN	13	—	22	72	1	3.3	4.5	—	—	—	—	2	46	1	—	23.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1991	—	CIN	6	—	10	21	1	2.1	10.0	—	—	—	—	3	17	0	—	5.7	—	—	—	2	0	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1992	—	CIN	16	—	16	55	2	3.4	12.5	—	—	—	—	6	66	2	—	11.0	—	—	—	3	3	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1993	—	CIN	15	—	8	37	1	4.6	12.5	—	—	—	—	4	39	0	—	9.8	—	—	—	8	7	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1994	—	CIN	16	—	2	0	0	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—	1	4	0	—	4.0	—	—	—	13	10	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1995	—	LV	16	—	2	10	0	5.0	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6	6	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
Career		—	97	—	158	586	8	3.7	5.1	—	—	—	0	22	216	3	—	9.8	—	—	—	32	26	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	0	—	—

Rushing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb	VAL
1989	23	CIN	15	—	98	391	3	4.0	3.1	—	—	—	10.2
1990	24	CIN	13	—	22	72	1	3.3	4.5	—	—	—	7.3
1991	25	CIN	6	—	10	21	1	2.1	10.0	—	—	—	3
1992	26	CIN	16	—	16	55	2	3.4	12.5	—	—	—	10.4
1993	27	CIN	15	—	8	37	1	4.6	12.5	—	—	—	6.4
1994	28	CIN	16	—	2	0	0	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	6.1
1995	29	LV	16	—	2	10	0	5.0	0.0	—	—	—	7
Career			97		158	586	8	3.7	—	—	—	—	50.4

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
1989	23	CIN	15	—	—	6	44	0	—	7.3	—	—	—
1990	24	CIN	13	—	—	2	46	1	—	23.0	—	—	—
1991	25	CIN	6	—	—	3	17	0	—	5.7	—	—	—
1992	26	CIN	16	—	—	6	66	2	—	11.0	—	—	—
1993	27	CIN	15	—	—	4	39	0	—	9.8	—	—	—
1994	28	CIN	16	—	—	1	4	0	—	4.0	—	—	—
Career			81		0	22	216	3	—	9.8	—	—	—

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	FR	TD	Sfty
1991	25	CIN	—	—	2	0	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1992	26	CIN	—	—	3	3	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1993	27	CIN	—	—	8	7	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1994	28	CIN	—	—	13	10	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1995	29	LV	—	—	6	6	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
Career					32	26	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	—	—

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 55 · Strong Starter

A strong starter career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 55 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 7 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 54.6 × longevity 1 = KV-H 55· confidence 96%

What builds the career mark of 53

On-field 34.9

Availability 18.1

On-field production Staying available

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

1989bestavg 511995

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 5% of the all-time Rushing Touchdowns leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

5% of the all-time Rushing Touchdowns leader5

0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0

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: 92%.

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+).

College Stats

UCLACollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (UCLA), 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.

1989 Draft Class· this player went #35

#20Steve AtwaterFS #22Andre RisonWR #26Cleveland GaryRB #27Shawn CollinsWR #29Steve WisniewskiG #31Lawyer TillmanTE #33Danny PeeblesWR #34Carnell LakeDB #39Daryl JohnstonRB #40Walter ReevesTE #41Doug WidellG #51Billy Joe TolliverQB #56Wesley WallsTE #57Mark StepnoskiC #60Naz WorthenWR #61Derek HillWR

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Eric inherited the Cincinnati Bengals RB room from Craig Taylor (1989–1991), and handed it to Harold Green (1990–1995).

Larry Kinnebrew 1983–1987Stanford Jennings 1984–1990James Brooks 1984–1991Ickey Woods 1988–1991Craig Taylor 1989–1991Eric Ball

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

1995team change
Joined LV (from CIN)
1995final season
Last recorded season with LV
1989draft
Drafted by CIN — Round 2, Pick 35

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'2" / 230 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 7-season peers. See all →

peak 57

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

B1989

C+1990

D1991

C+1992

C+1993

C+1994

C+1995

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 7 seasons.

87%

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
1989	391	26.1	712+321	41.9
1990	72	5.5	275+203	16.2
1991	21	3.5	238+217	14
1992	55	3.4	259+204	15.3
1993	37	2.5	262+225	15.4
1994	0	0	251+251	14.8
1995	10	0.6	280+270	16.5

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) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

29 career value over replacement — #2706 all-time of 4,642. 4.1/season above a replacement-level RB.

Draft OutcomeValue ↑

Pick #35 (Rd 2) · CIN · 1989 · +0.1 vs expected KV-H

55actual

54.9 expected · Δ+0.1

Fan Rating

Rate Eric Ball — All-Time

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Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Rushing

Receiving

Defense

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1989 Draft Class· this player went #35

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator