Also in other sports:mlbJim Kelly (RF · 1914–1918).

Jim Kelly is a Hall of Fame quarterback whose career earned a strong career value score of 71 in the Knox value model. Kelly's enshrinement reflects a career that consistently placed him among the elite of his generation.

QBBUF#12ACT

Jim Kelly

★ HALL OF FAME5× Pro Bowl1× All-ProTop 5% all-time QBsIron LegendTwo-Way Profile

Height6'3"

Weight226 lb

BornFeb 14, 1960

Age66

CollegeMiami See College Stats

Rookie yr1986

Draft1983 · Rd 1, Pick 14 · BUF

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Regular-season all-time ranks

33rdPassing Yards·35,467 yds 33rdPassing Touchdowns·237

Pro Bowls

All-Pro

Yes

Hall of Fame

Season honors and record seasons

Led NFL1991·Pass TD33

Archetype Intelligence

Iron LegendExplore archetypes →

An all-time caliber quarterback (top 5% all-time) who combined elite production with exceptional availability — almost never missed time. Iron Legends define eras — they show up, every game, for years on end.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 324 · #100 · All-Time

Worth 324 points of value above a freely-available replacement quarterback — top 3% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 11 of 11 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +29.5 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

11 cleared

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+29.5

Avg surplus

peak +35

11 seasons × ~29.5 surplus ≈ VORP 324

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	Passing													Rushing								Receiving									Defense
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	TD%	Int%	Y/A	AdjY/A	TD:INT	Rate	Sk	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	—	BUF	16	—	285	480	59.4%	3,593	22	17	4.6	3.5	7.5	6.8	1.3	83.3	43	41	199	0	4.9	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1987	—	BUF	12	—	250	419	59.7%	2,798	19	11	4.5	2.6	6.7	6.4	1.7	83.8	27	29	133	0	4.6	0.0	—	—	—	—	1	35	0	—	35.0	—	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1988	—	BUF	16	—	269	452	59.5%	3,380	15	17	3.3	3.8	7.5	6.4	0.9	78.2	30	35	154	0	4.4	0.0	—	—	—	—	1	5	0	—	5.0	—	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1989	—	BUF	13	—	228	391	58.3%	3,130	25	18	6.4	4.6	8.0	7.2	1.4	86.2	30	29	137	2	4.7	6.9	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1990	—	BUF	14	—	219	346	63.3%	2,829	24	9	6.9	2.6	8.2	8.4	2.7	101.2	20	22	63	0	2.9	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1991	—	BUF	15	—	304	474	64.1%	3,844	33	17	7.0	3.6	8.1	7.9	1.9	97.6	31	20	45	1	2.3	5.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	0	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1992	—	BUF	16	—	269	462	58.2%	3,457	23	19	5.0	4.1	7.5	6.6	1.2	81.2	20	31	53	1	1.7	3.2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4	4	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1993	—	BUF	16	—	288	470	61.3%	3,382	18	18	3.8	3.8	7.2	6.2	1.0	79.9	25	36	102	0	2.8	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1994	—	BUF	14	—	285	448	63.6%	3,114	22	17	4.9	3.8	7.0	6.2	1.3	84.6	34	25	77	1	3.1	4.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1995	—	BUF	15	—	255	458	55.7%	3,130	22	13	4.8	2.8	6.8	6.5	1.7	81.1	26	17	20	0	1.2	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	3	3	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1996	—	BUF	13	—	222	379	58.6%	2,810	14	19	3.7	5.0	7.4	5.9	0.7	73.2	37	19	66	2	3.5	10.5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Career		—	160	—	2,874	4,779	60.1%	35,467	237	175	5.0	3.7	7.4	6.8	1.4	84.4	323	304	1,049	7	3.5	2.3	—	—	—	0	2	40	0	—	20.0	—	—	—	12	10	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	0	—	—

Passing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	TD%	Int%	Y/A	AdjY/A	TD:INT	Rate	Sk	VAL
1986	26	BUF	16	—	285	480	59.4%	3,593	22	17	4.6	3.5	7.5	6.8	1.3	83.3	43	15.2
1987	27	BUF	12	—	250	419	59.7%	2,798	19	11	4.5	2.6	6.7	6.4	1.7	83.8	27	11.4
1988	28	BUF	16	—	269	452	59.5%	3,380	15	17	3.3	3.8	7.5	6.4	0.9	78.2	30	12.8
1989	29	BUF	13	—	228	391	58.3%	3,130	25	18	6.4	4.6	8.0	7.2	1.4	86.2	30	12.8
1990	30	BUF	14	—	219	346	63.3%	2,829	24	9	6.9	2.6	8.2	8.4	2.7	101.2	20	13.6
1991	31	BUF	15	—	304	474	64.1%	3,844	33	17	7.0	3.6	8.1	7.9	1.9	97.6	31	21.8
1992	32	BUF	16	—	269	462	58.2%	3,457	23	19	5.0	4.1	7.5	6.6	1.2	81.2	20	15.1
1993	33	BUF	16	—	288	470	61.3%	3,382	18	18	3.8	3.8	7.2	6.2	1.0	79.9	25	12
1994	34	BUF	14	—	285	448	63.6%	3,114	22	17	4.9	3.8	7.0	6.2	1.3	84.6	34	12.4
1995	35	BUF	15	—	255	458	55.7%	3,130	22	13	4.8	2.8	6.8	6.5	1.7	81.1	26	11.2
1996	36	BUF	13	—	222	379	58.6%	2,810	14	19	3.7	5.0	7.4	5.9	0.7	73.2	37	9.3
Career			160		2,874	4,779	60.1%	35,467	237	175	5.0	3.7	7.4	—	—	84.4	323	147.6

Rushing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb
1986	26	BUF	16	—	41	199	0	4.9	0.0	—	—	—
1987	27	BUF	12	—	29	133	0	4.6	0.0	—	—	—
1988	28	BUF	16	—	35	154	0	4.4	0.0	—	—	—
1989	29	BUF	13	—	29	137	2	4.7	6.9	—	—	—
1990	30	BUF	14	—	22	63	0	2.9	0.0	—	—	—
1991	31	BUF	15	—	20	45	1	2.3	5.0	—	—	—
1992	32	BUF	16	—	31	53	1	1.7	3.2	—	—	—
1993	33	BUF	16	—	36	102	0	2.8	0.0	—	—	—
1994	34	BUF	14	—	25	77	1	3.1	4.0	—	—	—
1995	35	BUF	15	—	17	20	0	1.2	0.0	—	—	—
1996	36	BUF	13	—	19	66	2	3.5	10.5	—	—	—
Career			160		304	1,049	7	3.5	—	—	—	—

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
1987	27	BUF	12	—	—	1	35	—	35.0	—	—	—
1988	28	BUF	16	—	—	1	5	—	5.0	—	—	—
Career			28		0	2	40	—	20.0	—	—	—

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	FR	TD	Sfty
1986	26	BUF	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1987	27	BUF	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1988	28	BUF	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1991	31	BUF	—	—	2	0	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1992	32	BUF	—	—	4	4	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1995	35	BUF	—	—	3	3	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
Career					12	10	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	—	—

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 71 · Great

A great career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 71 of 100, era-normalized against pass yds/g peers across 11 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 68 × longevity 1 = KV-H 71· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 66

On-field 47.5

Availability 18.5

On-field production Staying available

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

1986bestavg 65elite 701996

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 40% of the all-time Passing Yards leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

40% of the all-time Passing Yards leader40

2 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader67

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: 90%.

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average QBs aging curve. Group peak age: 29. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

College Stats

MiamiImported college table

College Passing

Season	School	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	TD%	Int%	Y/A	AdjY/A	TD:INT	Rate	Sk
1979	Miami	48	104	46.2%	721	5	6	4.8	5.8	6.9	5.3	0.8	61.4	—
1980	Miami	109	206	52.9%	1,519	11	7	5.3	3.4	7.4	6.9	1.6	80.5	—
1981	Miami	168	285	58.9%	2,403	14	14	4.9	4.9	8.4	7.2	1.0	82.2	—
1982	Miami	51	81	63.0%	585	3	1	3.7	1.2	7.2	7.4	3.0	91.8	—
1984	Houston Gamblers	370	587	63.0%	5,219	44	26	7.5	4.4	8.9	8.4	1.7	98.2	—
1985	Houston Gamblers	360	567	63.5%	4,623	39	19	6.9	3.4	8.2	8.0	2.1	97.9	—
1984	Houston Gamblers	23	34	67.6%	301	0	2	0.0	5.9	8.9	6.2	0.0	70.8	—
1985	Houston Gamblers	23	40	57.5%	319	2	1	5.0	2.5	8.0	7.8	2.0	89.5	—
1986	BUF	285	480	59.4%	3,593	22	17	4.6	3.5	7.5	6.8	1.3	83.3	—
1987	BUF	250	419	59.7%	2,798	19	11	4.5	2.6	6.7	6.4	1.7	83.8	—
1988	BUF	269	452	59.5%	3,380	15	17	3.3	3.8	7.5	6.4	0.9	78.2	—
1989	BUF	228	391	58.3%	3,130	25	18	6.4	4.6	8.0	7.2	1.4	86.2	—
1990	BUF	219	346	63.3%	2,829	24	9	6.9	2.6	8.2	8.4	2.7	101.2	—
1991	BUF	304	474	64.1%	3,844	33	17	7.0	3.6	8.1	7.9	1.9	97.6	—
1992	BUF	269	462	58.2%	3,457	23	19	5.0	4.1	7.5	6.6	1.2	81.2	—
1993	BUF	288	470	61.3%	3,382	18	18	3.8	3.8	7.2	6.2	1.0	79.9	—
1994	BUF	285	448	63.6%	3,114	22	17	4.9	3.8	7.0	6.2	1.3	84.6	—
1995	BUF	255	458	55.7%	3,130	22	13	4.8	2.8	6.8	6.5	1.7	81.1	—
1996	BUF	222	379	58.6%	2,810	14	19	3.7	5.0	7.4	5.9	0.7	73.2	—
1988	BUF	33	63	52.4%	407	1	4	1.6	6.3	6.5	3.9	0.3	51.5	—
1989	BUF	28	54	51.9%	405	4	2	7.4	3.7	7.5	7.3	2.0	85.8	—
1990	BUF	54	82	65.9%	851	5	2	6.1	2.4	10.4	10.5	2.5	110.4	—
1991	BUF	64	118	54.2%	665	5	9	4.2	7.6	5.6	3.1	0.6	53.1	—
1992	BUF	21	31	67.7%	259	1	4	3.2	12.9	8.4	3.2	0.3	64.5	—
1993	BUF	75	114	65.8%	707	2	1	1.8	0.9	6.2	6.2	2.0	84.9	—
1995	BUF	26	51	51.0%	330	2	5	3.9	9.8	6.5	2.8	0.4	45.0	—
1996	BUF	21	32	65.6%	239	1	1	3.1	3.1	7.5	6.7	1.0	85.3	—
1990	BUF	18	30	60.0%	212	0	0	0.0	0.0	7.1	7.1	—	81.5	—
1991	BUF	28	58	48.3%	275	2	4	3.4	6.9	4.7	2.3	0.5	44.8	—
1992	BUF	4	7	57.1%	82	0	2	0.0	28.6	11.7	-1.1	0.0	58.9	—
1993	BUF	31	50	62.0%	260	0	1	0.0	2.0	5.2	4.3	0.0	67.1	—
Career		4,429	7,373	60.1%	55,849	378	286	5.1	3.9	7.6	6.9	1.3	84.6	0

College Rushing

Season	School	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb
1986	BUF	41	199	0	4.9	0.0	—	—	—
1987	BUF	29	133	0	4.6	0.0	—	—	—
1988	BUF	35	154	0	4.4	0.0	—	—	—
1989	BUF	29	137	2	4.7	6.9	—	—	—
1990	BUF	22	63	0	2.9	0.0	—	—	—
1991	BUF	20	45	1	2.3	5.0	—	—	—
1992	BUF	31	53	1	1.7	3.2	—	—	—
1993	BUF	36	102	0	2.8	0.0	—	—	—
1994	BUF	25	77	1	3.1	4.0	—	—	—
1995	BUF	17	20	0	1.2	0.0	—	—	—
1996	BUF	19	66	2	3.5	10.5	—	—	—
1988	BUF	5	28	0	5.6	0.0	—	—	—
1989	BUF	1	5	0	5.0	0.0	—	—	—
1990	BUF	13	72	0	5.5	0.0	—	—	—
1991	BUF	6	27	0	4.5	0.0	—	—	—
1992	BUF	3	4	0	1.3	0.0	—	—	—
1993	BUF	9	10	0	1.1	0.0	—	—	—
1995	BUF	3	-3	0	-1.0	0.0	—	—	—
1996	BUF	4	18	0	4.5	0.0	—	—	—
1990	BUF	6	23	0	3.8	0.0	—	—	—
1991	BUF	3	16	0	5.3	0.0	—	—	—
1992	BUF	0	0	0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1993	BUF	2	12	0	6.0	0.0	—	—	—
Career		359	1,261	7	3.5	1.9	—	—	—

Reference Graph

Career teammates and draft class, derived from year-by-year rosters — every name is linked.

1983 Draft Class· this player went #14

#2Eric DickersonRB #3Curt WarnerRB #4Chris HintonG #5Billy Ray Smith Jr.LB #7Todd BlackledgeQB #8Michael HaddixFB #9Bruce MatthewsC #12Tony HunterTE #15Tony EasonQB #18Willie GaultWR #24Ken O'BrienQB #27Dan MarinoQB #28Darrell GreenCB #31Mark CooperG #32Henry EllardWR #41Ron BrownWR

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Jim inherited the Buffalo Bills QB room from Frank Reich (1985–1994), and handed it to Todd Collins (1995–1997).

Matt Kofler 1982–1984Frank Reich 1985–1994Jim Kelly 1986–1996Todd Collins 1995–1997Doug Flutie 1998–2000Rob Johnson

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

1996final season
Last recorded season with BUF
1983draft
Drafted by BUF — Round 1, Pick 14

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'3" / 226 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 11-season peers. See all →

peak 71

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

B1986

B1987

B1988

B1989

B1990

B+1991

B1992

B1993

B1994

B1995

B1996

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 11 seasons.

Era Translator

Pass 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 Pass Yds	Pass Yds/G	→ 2025 Pass Yds	→ 2025 /G
1986	3,593	224.6	4,210+617	247.6
1987	2,798	233.2	4,208+1,410	247.5
1988	3,380	211.3	4,022+642	236.6
1989	3,130	240.8	4,261+1,131	250.6
1990	2,829	202.1	3,981+1,152	234.2
1991	3,844	256.3	4,396+552	258.6
1992	3,457	216.1	4,118+661	242.2
1993	3,382	211.4	4,051+669	238.3
1994	3,114	222.4	4,103+989	241.4
1995	3,130	208.7	3,950+820	232.3
1996	2,810	216.2	4,051+1,241	238.3

Data: nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:players, wikipedia:college-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), 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

324 career value over replacement — #100 all-time of 4,642. 29.5/season above a replacement-level QB.

Draft OutcomeValue ↑

Pick #14 (Rd 1) · BUF · 1983 · +12.1 vs expected KV-H

71actual

58.9 expected · Δ+12.1

💔+29.1 stolen VORP·0.99 szns lost

Fan Rating

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Compare Jim Kelly vs Player Report data error

Jim Kelly

All-Time Rank & Honors

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Defense

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

College Stats

College Passing

College Rushing

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1983 Draft Class· this player went #14

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography