Hugh McElhenny is a Hall of Fame running back whose career earned a solid career value score of 65 in the Knox value model. McElhenny's enshrinement reflects a career that consistently placed him among the elite of his generation.
Career Value · VORP
96 career value over replacement — #1212 all-time of 4,695. 7.4/season above a replacement-level RB.
Fan Rating
Rate Hugh McElhenny — All-Time
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Season totals or exact team stints. Career totals count each season once.
Career games unavailable for incomplete season coverage. Verified career totals remain shown; career per-game figures require complete coverage.
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | |||||
| 1952 | 23–24 | SF | 12 | — | 98 | 684 | 6 | 7.0 | 6.1 | — | — | — | — | 26 | 367 | 3 | — | 14.1 | — | — | — |
| 1953 | 24–25 | SF | 12 | — | 112 | 503 | 3 | 4.5 | 2.7 | — | — | — | — | 30 | 474 | 2 | — | 15.8 | — | — | — |
| 1954 | 25–26 | SF | 6 | — | 64 | 515 | 6 | 8.0 | 9.4 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 162 | 0 | — | 20.3 | — | — | — |
| 1955 | 26–27 | SF | 12 | — | 90 | 327 | 4 | 3.6 | 4.4 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 203 | 2 | — | 18.5 | — | — | — |
| 1956 | 27–28 | SF | 12 | — | 185 | 916 | 8 | 5.0 | 4.3 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 193 | 0 | — | 12.1 | — | — | — |
| 1957 | 28–29 | SF | 12 | — | 102 | 478 | 1 | 4.7 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | 37 | 458 | 2 | — | 12.4 | — | — | — |
| 1958 | 29–30 | SF | 12 | — | 113 | 451 | 6 | 4.0 | 5.3 | — | — | — | — | 31 | 366 | 2 | — | 11.8 | — | — | — |
| 1959 | 30–31 | SF | 10 | — | 18 | 67 | 1 | 3.7 | 5.6 | — | — | — | — | 22 | 329 | 3 | — | 15.0 | — | — | — |
| 1960 | 31–32 | SF | 11 | — | 95 | 347 | 0 | 3.7 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 14 | 114 | 1 | — | 8.1 | — | — | — |
| 1961 | 32–33 | MIN | 13 | — | 120 | 570 | 3 | 4.8 | 2.5 | — | — | — | — | 37 | 283 | 3 | — | 7.6 | — | — | — |
| 1962 | 33–34 | MIN | 11 | — | 50 | 200 | 0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 191 | 0 | — | 11.9 | — | — | — |
| 1963 | 34–35 | NYG | 14 | — | 55 | 175 | 0 | 3.2 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 91 | 2 | — | 8.3 | — | — | — |
| 1964 | 35–36 | DET | 8 | — | 22 | 48 | 0 | 2.2 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 16 | 0 | — | 3.2 | — | — | — |
| Career | — | — | — | 1,124 | 5,281 | 38 | 4.7 | 3.4 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 264 | 3,247 | 20 | — | 12.3 | — | — | 0 | |
Season honors and record seasons
A high-end running back defined as much by excellent availability over their career as by their on-field impact (top 20% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.
Worth 96 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back — top 27% of all 4,695 ranked at the position. 10 of 13 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +9.6 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
10 seasons × ~9.6 surplus ≈
Kerryon Johnson
RB
92% match