Garry James is a career quality starter β a running back whose body of work places James in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and James's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Garry James
Top 27% all-time RBsReliable Starter
Height5'10"
Weight214 lb
BornSep 4, 1963
Age62
CollegeLSUSee College Stats
Rookie yr1986
Draft1986 Β· Rd 2, Pick 29 Β· DET
A running back with a top 30% among starters β the kind of consistent contributor every roster needs. Solid availability (excellent availability over their career) added to their value.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 47 Β· #2133 Β· Above AverageWorth 47 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back β top 47% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 3 of 3 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +15.7 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
3 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
50
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
3
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+15.7
Avg surplus
peak +20
3 seasons Γ ~15.7 surplus β VORP 47
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at onceβno tab hopping.
3 grids split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Rushing | Receiving | Defense | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||||
| 1986 | β | DET | 16 | β | 159 | 688 | 3 | 4.3 | 1.9 | β | β | β | β | 34 | 219 | 0 | β | 6.4 | β | β | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1987 | β | DET | 8 | β | 82 | 270 | 4 | 3.3 | 4.9 | β | β | β | β | 16 | 215 | 0 | β | 13.4 | β | β | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1988 | β | DET | 16 | β | 182 | 552 | 5 | 3.0 | 2.7 | β | β | β | β | 39 | 382 | 2 | β | 9.8 | β | β | β | 2 | 2 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| Career | β | 40 | β | 423 | 1,510 | 12 | 3.6 | 2.8 | β | β | β | 0 | 89 | 816 | 2 | β | 9.2 | β | β | β | 4 | 4 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | β | |
Rushing
Receiving
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 57 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a remarkably steady profile that scores 57 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 3 scored seasons, with a short career trimming the score.
67
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
66
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ0.86
Longevity
career length
Blend 66.6 Γ longevity 0.86 = KV-H 57Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 67
On-field 48.9
Availability 18.1
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rush yds/g)
1986bestavg 66elite 701988
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position7
Depth
of 100
Reached 8% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
8% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader8
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: 90%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average RBs aging curve. Group peak age: 21. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
From Scrimmage Β· Career
Scrimmage Yds
2,326
1,510 rush Β· 816 recv
Total TDs
14
12 rush Β· 2 recv
Total Touches
512
423 carries Β· 89 rec
Yds / Touch
4.5
rushing + receiving
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (LSU), 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
Jim ArnoldP3yPete MandleyWR3yRob RubickTE3yScott WilliamsRB3yChuck LongQB3yJerry BallDT2yTony PaigeFB2yEric HippleQB2yButch WoolfolkRB2yRaphel CherryDB2yGary LeeWR2yPat CarterTE1yDave AhrensOLB1yStephen StarringWR1yMark NicholsWR1yAlvin MooreRB1yStan EdwardsRB1yDavid LewisTE1yVyto KabTE1yGary EllersonRB1yHerman HunterRB1yMark WitteTE1yCarl PainterRB1yRusty HilgerQB1y
1986 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #29
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterGarry inherited the Detroit Lions RB room from Billy Sims (1980β1984), and handed it to Barry Sanders (1989β1998).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1988final season
Last recorded season with DET
- 1986draft
Drafted by DET β Round 2, Pick 29
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts5'10" / 214 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 3-season peers. See all β
57
peak 66
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
B+1986
C+1987
B1988
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 3 seasons.
85%
19861988
1987 Β· cause not documented Β· 53%
Era Translator
Rush 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 Rush Yds | Rush Yds/G | β 2025 Rush Yds | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 688 | 43 | 988+300 | 58.1 |
| 1987 | 270 | 33.8 | 861+591 | 50.6 |
| 1988 | 552 | 34.5 | 910+358 | 53.5 |
Data: nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:players, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), nfl.com:official-stats (facts-only reference), nfl.com:official-stats (games-played, facts-only reference) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
47 career value over replacement β #2133 all-time of 4,642. 15.7/season above a replacement-level RB.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #29 (Rd 2) Β· DET Β· 1986 Β· +2.1 vs expected KV-H
57actual
54.9 expected Β· Ξ+2.1
Fan Rating
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