James Lofton is a Hall of Fame receiver whose career earned a historically elite career value score of 83 in the Knox value model. Lofton's enshrinement reflects a career that consistently placed him among the elite of his generation.
J
WRhistorical
James Lofton
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title contextRegular-season all-time ranks
Yes
Hall of Fame
Season honors and record seasons
An all-time caliber wide receiver (top 5% all-time) who combined elite production with excellent availability over their career. Iron Legends define eras — they show up, every game, for years on end.
Career Value · VORP
VORP 342 · #83 · All-TimeWorth 342 points of value above a freely-available replacement receiver — top 3% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 14 of 14 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +24.4 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
14 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit
48
Replacement
the KC-H bar
→
14
Seasons over
cleared the bar
×
+24.4
Avg surplus
peak +36
14 seasons × ~24.4 surplus ≈ VORP 342
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping.
1 grid split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Receiving | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | |||||
| 1978 | — | GB | 16 | — | — | 46 | 818 | 6 | — | 17.8 | — | — | — |
| 1979 | — | GB | 16 | — | — | 54 | 968 | 4 | — | 17.9 | — | — | — |
| 1980 | — | GB | 16 | — | — | 71 | 1,226 | 4 | — | 17.3 | — | — | — |
| 1981 | — | GB | 16 | — | — | 71 | 1,294 | 8 | — | 18.2 | — | — | — |
| 1982 | — | GB | 9 | — | — | 35 | 696 | 4 | — | 19.9 | — | — | — |
| 1983 | — | GB | 16 | — | — | 58 | 1,300 | 8 | — | 22.4 | — | — | — |
| 1984 | — | GB | 16 | — | — | 62 | 1,361 | 7 | — | 22.0 | — | — | — |
| 1985 | — | GB | 16 | — | — | 69 | 1,153 | 4 | — | 16.7 | — | — | — |
| 1986 | — | GB | 15 | — | — | 64 | 840 | 4 | — | 13.1 | — | — | — |
| 1987 | — | RAI | 12 | — | — | 41 | 880 | 5 | — | 21.5 | — | — | — |
| 1988 | — | RAI | 16 | — | — | 28 | 549 | 0 | — | 19.6 | — | — | — |
| 1989 | — | BUF | 2 | — | — | 8 | 166 | 3 | — | 20.8 | — | — | — |
| 1990 | — | BUF | 14 | — | — | 35 | 712 | 4 | — | 20.3 | — | — | — |
| 1991 | — | BUF | 15 | — | — | 57 | 1,072 | 8 | — | 18.8 | — | — | — |
| 1992 | — | BUF | 15 | — | — | 51 | 786 | 6 | — | 15.4 | — | — | — |
| 1993 | — | LARams | 2 | — | — | 1 | 16 | 0 | — | 16.0 | — | — | — |
| 1993 | — | PHI | 2 | — | — | 13 | 167 | 0 | — | 12.8 | — | — | — |
| Career | — | 214 | — | 0 | 764 | 14,004 | 75 | — | 18.3 | — | — | — | |
Receiving
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 22 | GB | 16 | — | — | 46 | 818 | 6 | — | 17.8 | — | — | — |
| 1979 | 23 | GB | 16 | — | — | 54 | 968 | 4 | — | 17.9 | — | — | — |
| 1980 | 24 | GB | 16 | — | — | 71 | 1,226 | 4 | — | 17.3 | — | — | — |
| 1981 | 25 | GB | 16 | — | — | 71 | 1,294 | 8 | — | 18.2 | — | — | — |
| 1982 | 26 | GB | 9 | — | — | 35 | 696 | 4 | — | 19.9 | — | — | — |
| 1983 | 27 | GB | 16 | — | — | 58 | 1,300 | 8 | — | 22.4 | — | — | — |
| 1984 | 28 | GB | 16 | — | — | 62 | 1,361 | 7 | — | 22.0 | — | — | — |
| 1985 | 29 | GB | 16 | — | — | 69 | 1,153 | 4 | — | 16.7 | — | — | — |
| 1986 | 30 | GB | 15 | — | — | 64 | 840 | 4 | — | 13.1 | — | — | — |
| 1987 | 31 | RAI | 12 | — | — | 41 | 880 | 5 | — | 21.5 | — | — | — |
| 1988 | 32 | RAI | 16 | — | — | 28 | 549 | 0 | — | 19.6 | — | — | — |
| 1989 | 33 | BUF | 2 | — | — | 8 | 166 | 3 | — | 20.8 | — | — | — |
| 1990 | 34 | BUF | 14 | — | — | 35 | 712 | 4 | — | 20.3 | — | — | — |
| 1991 | 35 | BUF | 15 | — | — | 57 | 1,072 | 8 | — | 18.8 | — | — | — |
| 1992 | 36 | BUF | 15 | — | — | 51 | 786 | 6 | — | 15.4 | — | — | — |
| 1993 | 37 | LARams | 2 | — | — | 1 | 16 | 0 | — | 16.0 | — | — | — |
| 1993 | 37 | PHI | 2 | — | — | 13 | 167 | 0 | — | 12.8 | — | — | — |
| Career | 214 | 0 | 764 | 14,004 | 75 | — | 18.3 | — | — | — |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 83 · GreatA great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 83 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 14 scored seasons.
72
Sustained
career value
×.6
84
Peak
best 3 seasons
×.4
×1
Longevity
career length
Blend 76.8 × longevity 1 = KV-H 83· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 72
On-field 52.7
Availability 19.3
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rec yds/g)
1978bestavg 72elite 701992
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position65
Strong
of 100
Reached 61% of the all-time Receiving Yards leader — a strong all-time profile at the position.
61% of the all-time Receiving Yards leader61
3 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader100
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: 96%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average · KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average wide receivers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Stanford), 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.
Top Teammates
Gerry EllisRB7yKenneth DavisRB5yPhil EppsWR5yBruce SmithDE4yPete MetzelaarsTE4yAndre ReedWR4yCornelius BennettOLB4yThurman ThomasRB4yJim KellyQB4yFrank ReichQB4yDon BeebeWR4yJessie ClarkFB4yKeith McKellerTE4yMarvcus PattonMLB3yMike LodishDT3yButch RolleTE3yCarwell GardnerRB3ySteve TaskerWR3yRandy WrightQB3yAl EdwardsWR3yHenry JonesDB2yPhil HansenDE2yChris MohrP2yLarry KinnebrewRB2y
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1993team change
Joined LARAMS (from BUF)
- 1993final season
Last recorded season with LARAMS
- 1989team change
Joined BUF (from RAI)
- 1987team change
Joined RAI (from GB)
- 1978signing
Entered the NFL with GB
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 14-season peers. See all →
83
peak 84
Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season
B1978
B1979
B+1980
B+1981
A1982
A1983
A1984
B+1985
B1986
B+1987
B1988
B1990
B+1991
B1992
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 818 | 51.1 | 575-243 | 33.8 |
| 1979 | 968 | 60.5 | 773-195 | 45.5 |
| 1980 | 1,226 | 76.6 | 965-261 | 56.8 |
| 1981 | 1,294 | 80.9 | 1,216-78 | 71.5 |
| 1982 | 696 | 77.3 | 1,270+574 | 74.7 |
| 1983 | 1,300 | 81.3 | 1,363+63 | 80.2 |
| 1984 | 1,361 | 85.1 | 1,409+48 | 82.9 |
| 1985 | 1,153 | 72.1 | 1,180+27 | 69.4 |
| 1986 | 840 | 56 | 915+75 | 53.8 |
| 1987 | 880 | 73.3 | 1,175+295 | 69.1 |
| 1988 | 549 | 34.3 | 580+31 | 34.1 |
| 1990 | 712 | 50.9 | 839+127 | 49.4 |
| 1991 | 1,072 | 71.5 | 1,141+69 | 67.1 |
| 1992 | 786 | 52.4 | 837+51 | 49.2 |
Data: wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), wikipedia:pfhof-inductee-list · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 7/10/2026
Career Value · VORP
342 career value over replacement — #83 all-time of 4,642. 24.4/season above a replacement-level WR.
Fan Rating
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