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

TEPIT#85ACT

Jonathan Hayes

Top 18% all-time TEsIron ManTwo-Way Profile

Height6'5"

Weight248 lb

BornAug 11, 1962

Age63

CollegeIowa See College Stats

Rookie yr1985

Draft1985 · Rd 2, Pick 41 · KAN

Archetype Intelligence

Iron ManExplore archetypes →

A high-end tight end defined as much by exceptional availability — almost never missed time as by their on-field impact (top 20% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 141 · #696 · High-Value

Worth 141 points of value above a freely-available replacement tight end — top 16% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 12 of 12 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +11.8 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

12 cleared

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+11.8

Avg surplus

peak +22

12 seasons × ~11.8 surplus ≈ VORP 141

Combined Season Grid

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

2 grids split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Receiving									Defense
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
1985	—	KC	16	—	—	5	39	1	—	7.8	—	—	—	10	9	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1986	—	KC	16	—	—	8	69	0	—	8.6	—	—	—	8	6	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1987	—	KC	12	—	—	21	272	2	—	13.0	—	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1988	—	KC	16	—	—	22	233	1	—	10.6	—	—	—	3	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1989	—	KC	16	—	—	18	229	2	—	12.7	—	—	—	2	2	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1990	—	KC	12	—	—	9	83	1	—	9.2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1991	—	KC	16	—	—	19	208	2	—	10.9	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1992	—	KC	16	—	—	9	77	2	—	8.6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1993	—	KC	16	—	—	24	331	1	—	13.8	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1994	—	PIT	16	—	—	5	50	1	—	10.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1995	—	PIT	16	—	—	11	113	0	—	10.3	—	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1996	—	PIT	16	—	—	2	14	0	—	7.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Career		—	184	—	0	153	1,718	13	—	11.2	—	—	—	25	20	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	0	—	—

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D	VAL
1985	23	KC	16	—	—	5	39	1	—	7.8	—	—	—	7.2
1986	24	KC	16	—	—	8	69	0	—	8.6	—	—	—	5.1
1987	25	KC	12	—	—	21	272	2	—	13.0	—	—	—	8.7
1988	26	KC	16	—	—	22	233	1	—	10.6	—	—	—	9.4
1989	27	KC	16	—	—	18	229	2	—	12.7	—	—	—	11.5
1990	28	KC	12	—	—	9	83	1	—	9.2	—	—	—	6.4
1991	29	KC	16	—	—	19	208	2	—	10.9	—	—	—	10.9
1992	30	KC	16	—	—	9	77	2	—	8.6	—	—	—	8.8
1993	31	KC	16	—	—	24	331	1	—	13.8	—	—	—	10.5
1994	32	PIT	16	—	—	5	50	1	—	10.0	—	—	—	6.7
1995	33	PIT	16	—	—	11	113	0	—	10.3	—	—	—	7.2
1996	34	PIT	16	—	—	2	14	0	—	7.0	—	—	—	6.5
Career			184		0	153	1,718	13	—	11.2	—	—	—	98.9

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	FR	TD	Sfty
1985	23	KC	—	—	10	9	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1986	24	KC	—	—	8	6	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1987	25	KC	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1988	26	KC	—	—	3	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1989	27	KC	—	—	2	2	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1995	33	PIT	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
Career					25	20	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	—	—

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 63 · Strong Starter

A strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 63 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 60.8 × longevity 1 = KV-H 63· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 58

On-field 38.5

Availability 19.5

On-field production Staying available

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

1985bestavg 581996

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 10% of the all-time Receptions leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

10% of the all-time Receptions leader10

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: 91%.

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+).

College Stats

IowaCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Iowa), 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.

1985 Draft Class· this player went #41

#22William PerryDT #23Jessie HesterWR #26Steve SewellRB #27Lorenzo HamptonRB #28Trevor MatichC #31Vance JohnsonWR #35Greg AllenRB #37Randall CunninghamQB #42Chris BurkettWR #46Stacy RobinsonWR #50Chuck ScottWR #53Owen GillRB #57Frank ReichQB #68Jack Del RioMLB #75Ricky MooreRB #77Dale HatcherP

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Jonathan inherited the Kansas City Chiefs TE room from Willie Scott (1981–1985), and handed it to Keith Cash (1992–1996).

Willie Scott 1981–1985Jonathan Hayes 1985–1993Keith Cash 1992–1996Tony Gonzalez 1997–2008Travis Kelce 2013–2025Noah Gray

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 PIT
1994team change
Joined PIT (from KC)
1985draft
Drafted by KAN — Round 2, Pick 41
1985team change
Joined KC (from KAN)

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'5" / 248 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 65

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

C+1985

C+1986

B1987

B1988

B1989

C+1990

B1991

C+1992

B1993

C+1994

C+1995

C+1996

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
1985	39	2.4	221+182	13
1986	69	4.3	250+181	14.7
1987	272	22.7	626+354	36.8
1988	233	14.6	476+243	28
1989	229	14.3	478+249	28.1
1990	83	6.9	342+259	20.1
1991	208	13	471+263	27.7
1992	77	4.8	281+204	16.5
1993	331	20.7	609+278	35.8
1994	50	3.1	232+182	13.6
1995	113	7.1	333+220	19.6
1996	14	0.9	218+204	12.8

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

141 career value over replacement — #696 all-time of 4,642. 11.8/season above a replacement-level TE.

Draft OutcomeValue ↑

Pick #41 (Rd 2) · KAN · 1985 · +13.2 vs expected KV-H

63actual

49.8 expected · Δ+13.2

Fan Rating

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Jonathan Hayes

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Receiving

Defense

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1985 Draft Class· this player went #41

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator