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

TENYG#87ACT

Howard Cross

Top 15% all-time TEsElite Playmaker📉 Fades · -14% playoffs ⭐ Shooting Star · 1999

Height6'5"

Weight270 lb

BornAug 8, 1967

Age58

CollegeAlabama See College Stats

Rookie yr1989

Draft1989 · Rd 6, Pick 158 · NYG

Archetype Intelligence

Elite PlaymakerExplore archetypes →

A top 20% all-time tight end who consistently made an impact across multiple seasons.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 142 · #690 · High-Value

Worth 142 points of value above a freely-available replacement tight end — top 16% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 10 of 12 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +14.2 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

10 cleared

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+14.2

Avg surplus

peak +24

10 seasons × ~14.2 surplus ≈ VORP 142

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	Receiving									Defense													Advanced (EPA)
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	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	Pass EPA	Rush EPA	Rec EPA	Pass AirYd	Rec AirYd
1989	—	NYG	4	—	—	6	107	1	—	17.8	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1990	—	NYG	8	—	—	8	106	0	—	13.3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1991	—	NYG	16	—	—	20	283	2	—	14.2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1992	—	NYG	16	—	—	27	357	2	—	13.2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1993	—	NYG	16	—	—	21	272	5	—	13.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1994	—	NYG	16	—	—	31	364	4	—	11.7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1995	—	NYG	15	—	—	18	197	0	—	10.9	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1996	—	NYG	16	—	—	22	178	1	—	8.1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1997	—	NYG	16	—	—	21	150	2	—	7.1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1998	—	NYG	16	—	—	13	90	0	—	6.9	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1999	—	NYG	13	—	18	9	55	0	50.0%	6.1	3.1	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1999	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	-2.5	0	0
2000	—	NYG	7	—	7	4	30	0	57.1%	7.5	4.3	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2000	—	ARI	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
2000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2.0	0	0
2001	—	NYG	3	—	3	1	5	0	33.3%	5.0	1.7	—	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2001	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	-1.3	0	0
Career		—	163	—	28	201	2,194	17	717.9%	10.9	78.4	—	4	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	-1.8	0	0

Career EPA-1.8·-2 receiving·-0.6/season

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D	VAL
1989	22	NYG	4	—	—	6	107	1	—	17.8	—	—	—	4.2
1990	23	NYG	8	—	—	8	106	0	—	13.3	—	—	—	4.1
1991	24	NYG	16	—	—	20	283	2	—	14.2	—	—	—	11.9
1992	25	NYG	16	—	—	27	357	2	—	13.2	—	—	—	12.4
1993	26	NYG	16	—	—	21	272	5	—	13.0	—	—	—	15.6
1994	27	NYG	16	—	—	31	364	4	—	11.7	—	—	—	13.6
1995	28	NYG	15	—	—	18	197	0	—	10.9	—	—	—	8.2
1996	29	NYG	16	—	—	22	178	1	—	8.1	—	—	—	10.7
1997	30	NYG	16	—	—	21	150	2	—	7.1	—	—	—	10
1998	31	NYG	16	—	—	13	90	0	—	6.9	—	—	—	6.3
1999	32	NYG	13	—	18	9	55	0	50.0%	6.1	3.1	—	2	3.6
2000	33	NYG	7	—	7	4	30	0	57.1%	7.5	4.3	—	2	1.2
2001	34	NYG	3	—	3	1	5	0	33.3%	5.0	1.7	—	0	—
Career			162		28	201	2,194	17	717.9%	10.9	78.4	—	4	101.8

Advanced (EPA)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Pass EPA	Rush EPA	Rec EPA
1999	32	—	—	—	—	—	-2.5
2000	33	—	—	—	—	—	2.0
2001	34	—	—	—	—	—	-1.3
Career					—	—	—

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 65 · Strong Starter

A strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 65 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 12 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 63 × longevity 1 = KV-H 65· confidence 95%

What builds the career mark of 59

On-field 40.8

Availability 18.2

On-field production Staying available

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

1989bestavg 55elite 702000

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 13% of the all-time Receptions leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

13% of the all-time Receptions leader13

0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0

-0.61 EPA/season over 3 seasons50

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 basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average tight ends aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Playoff vs Regular Season

📉 Regular Season Player

Yards / Reception: 10.9 regular season → 9.4 playoffs (5 playoff seasons)

-14%

vs reg season

Postseason Career

5 playoff games

Receiving

Tgt1Rec10Yds94TD1Ctch%1000.0%Y/R9.4Y/Tgt94.0

Defense

Tkl1Solo1

Advanced (EPA)

Rec EPA0.3

College Stats

AlabamaCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Alabama), 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 #158

#130Mark GreenRB #132Dave MeggettRB #141Rodney PeeteQB #143Robb ThomasWR #144Mark StockWR #145Troy SadowskiTE #146Chris MohrP #151Marvin WashingtonDE #159Floyd TurnerWR #162Heath ShermanRB #166Craig TaylorRB #167Steve HendricksonTE #180Mel BrattonFB #181Stevon MooreDB #182Ivy Joe HunterRB #183Marion ButtsRB

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Howard inherited the New York Giants TE room from Mark Bavaro (1985–1990), and handed it to Aaron Pierce (1993–1997).

Mark Bavaro 1985–1990Howard Cross 1989–2001Aaron Pierce 1993–1997Pete Mitchell 1999–2000Dan Campbell 1999–2002Jeremy Shockey

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

2001final season
Last recorded season with NYG
1989draft
Drafted by NYG — Round 6, Pick 158

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'5" / 270 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 12-season peers. See all →

peak 69

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

F1989

C+1990

B1991

B+1992

B1993

B+1994

B1995

B1996

C+1997

C+1998

C1999

D2000

Availability

Era Translator

Rec 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 Rec Yds	Rec Yds/G	→ 2025 Rec Yds	→ 2025 /G
1989	107	26.8	734+627	43.2
1990	106	13.3	476+370	28
1991	283	17.7	574+291	33.8
1992	357	22.3	654+297	38.5
1993	272	17	527+255	31
1994	364	22.8	661+297	38.9
1995	197	13.1	450+253	26.5
1996	178	11.1	414+236	24.4
1997	150	9.4	341+191	20.1
1998	90	5.6	252+162	14.8
1999	55	4.2	183+128	10.8
2000	30	4.3	100+70	5.9

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:advanced-epa (CC-BY 4.0), wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

142 career value over replacement — #690 all-time of 4,642. 11.8/season above a replacement-level TE.

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #158 (Rd 6) · NYG · 1989 · +33.1 vs expected KV-H

65actual

31.9 expected · Δ+33.1

Fan Rating

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Compare Howard Cross vs Player Report data error

Howard Cross

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Receiving

Advanced (EPA)

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

Postseason Career

Receiving

Defense

Advanced (EPA)

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1989 Draft Class· this player went #158

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography