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

RBPHI#0ACT

James Saxon

Top 34% all-time RBsReliable StarterTwo-Way Profile

Height5'11"

Weight239 lb

BornMar 23, 1966

Age60

CollegeSan Jose State; American River See College Stats

Rookie yr1988

Draft1988 · Rd 6, Pick 139 · KAN

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 27 · #2790 · Role Player

Worth 27 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back — top 61% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 6 of 8 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +4.5 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

6 cleared

2 replaced

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+4.5

Avg surplus

peak +8

6 seasons × ~4.5 surplus ≈ VORP 27

Combined Season Grid

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

4 grids split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Rushing								Receiving									Passing													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	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	TD%	Int%	Y/A	AdjY/A	TD:INT	Rate	Sk	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty
1988	—	KC	16	—	60	236	2	3.9	3.3	—	—	—	—	19	177	0	—	9.3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	14	10	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	2	—	—	—
1989	—	KC	16	—	58	233	3	4.0	5.2	—	—	—	—	11	86	0	—	7.8	—	—	—	0	1	0.0%	0	0	1	0.0	100.0	0.0	-45.0	0.0	0.0	0	2	2	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1990	—	KC	6	—	3	15	0	5.0	0.0	—	—	—	—	1	5	0	—	5.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1991	—	KC	16	—	6	13	0	2.2	0.0	—	—	—	—	6	55	0	—	9.2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	11	0	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1992	—	MIA	16	—	4	7	0	1.8	0.0	—	—	—	—	5	41	0	—	8.2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	7	5	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1993	—	MIA	16	—	5	13	0	2.6	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	12	10	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1994	—	MIA	16	—	8	16	0	2.0	0.0	—	—	—	—	27	151	0	—	5.6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5	3	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1995	—	PHI	9	—	1	0	0	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Career		—	111	—	145	533	5	3.7	3.4	—	—	—	0	69	515	0	—	7.5	—	—	—	0	1	0.0%	0	0	1	0.0	100.0	0.0	-45.0	0.0	0.0	0	51	30	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	0	0	2	0	—	—

Passing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	TD%	Int%	Y/A	AdjY/A	TD:INT	Rate	Sk	VAL
1989	23	KC	16	—	0	1	0.0%	0	0	1	0.0	100.0	0.0	-45.0	0.0	0.0	0	10.2
Career			16		0	1	0.0%	0	0	1	0.0	100.0	0.0	—	—	0.0	0	50.8

Rushing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb
1989	23	KC	16	—	58	233	3	4.0	5.2	—	—	—
1988	22	KC	16	—	60	236	2	3.9	3.3	—	—	—
1990	24	KC	6	—	3	15	0	5.0	0.0	—	—	—
1991	25	KC	16	—	6	13	0	2.2	0.0	—	—	—
1992	26	MIA	16	—	4	7	0	1.8	0.0	—	—	—
1993	27	MIA	16	—	5	13	0	2.6	0.0	—	—	—
1994	28	MIA	16	—	8	16	0	2.0	0.0	—	—	—
1995	29	PHI	9	—	1	0	0	0.0	0.0	—	—	—
Career			111		145	533	5	3.7	—	—	—	—

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
1989	23	KC	16	—	—	11	86	—	7.8	—	—	—
1988	22	KC	16	—	—	19	177	—	9.3	—	—	—
1990	24	KC	6	—	—	1	5	—	5.0	—	—	—
1991	25	KC	16	—	—	6	55	—	9.2	—	—	—
1992	26	MIA	16	—	—	5	41	—	8.2	—	—	—
1994	28	MIA	16	—	—	27	151	—	5.6	—	—	—
Career			86		0	69	515	—	7.5	—	—	—

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	FF	FR	TD	Sfty
1989	23	KC	—	—	2	2	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	—	—	—
1988	22	KC	—	—	14	10	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	2	—	—	—
1991	25	KC	—	—	11	0	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	—	—	—
1992	26	MIA	—	—	7	5	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	—	—	—
1993	27	MIA	—	—	12	10	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	—	—	—
1994	28	MIA	—	—	5	3	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	—	—	—
Career					51	30	—	—	—	—	—	0	2	0	—	—

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 54 · Solid

A solid career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 54 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 8 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 54 × longevity 1 = KV-H 54· confidence 97%

What builds the career mark of 52

On-field 33.7

Availability 18.3

On-field production Staying available

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

1988bestavg 501995

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 4% of the all-time Receptions leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

4% of the all-time Receptions leader4

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+).

From Scrimmage · Career

Scrimmage Yds

1,048

533 rush · 515 recv

Total TDs

5 rush · 0 recv

Total Touches

214

145 carries · 69 rec

Yds / Touch

4.9

rushing + receiving

College Stats

San Jose State; American RiverCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (San Jose State; American River), 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.

1988 Draft Class· this player went #139

#112Greg ScalesTE #113William HowardRB #117Robert DelpinoFB #124Darrell FullingtonFS #125Cris DishmanCB #130Chris VerhulstTE #132Tony JordanRB #138George ThomasWR #142Carl PainterRB #151Scott SeculesQB #155Warren WilliamsRB #159Stan HumphriesQB #166Michael HaynesWR #167Kerry GoodeRB #174Pat KellyTE #179Ernie JonesWR

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

James inherited the Kansas City Chiefs RB room from Christian Okoye (1987–1992), and handed it to Todd McNair (1989–1996).

Jim Hadnot 1980–1983Joe Delaney 1981–1982Billy Jackson 1981–1984Herman Heard 1984–1989Larry Moriarty 1986–1988Paul Palmer

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

1995team change
Joined PHI (from MIA)
1995final season
Last recorded season with PHI
1992team change
Joined MIA (from KC)
1988draft
Drafted by KAN — Round 6, Pick 139
1988team change
Joined KC (from KAN)

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

5'11" / 239 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 8-season peers. See all →

peak 57

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

C+1988

C+1989

D1990

C+1991

C+1992

C+1993

C+1994

C1995

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 8 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
1988	236	14.8	453+217	26.6
1989	233	14.6	452+219	26.6
1990	15	2.5	205+190	12
1991	13	0.8	177+164	10.4
1992	7	0.4	195+188	11.5
1993	13	0.8	227+214	13.3
1994	16	1	271+255	15.9
1995	0	0	268+268	15.8

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

27 career value over replacement — #2790 all-time of 4,642. 3.4/season above a replacement-level RB.

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #139 (Rd 6) · KAN · 1988 · +21 vs expected KV-H

54actual

33 expected · Δ+21

Fan Rating

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James Saxon

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Defense

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

From Scrimmage · Career

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1988 Draft Class· this player went #139

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography