Ken Margerum is a career quality starter β a receiver whose body of work places Margerum in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Margerum's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Ken Margerum
Height6'0"
Weight175 lb
BornOct 5, 1958
Age67
CollegeStanfordSee College Stats
Rookie yr1981
Draft1981 Β· Rd 3, Pick 67 Β· CHI
A quality wide receiver with a top 30% among starters β a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 38 Β· #2394 Β· Role PlayerWorth 38 points of value above a freely-available replacement receiver β top 53% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 4 of 5 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +9.5 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
4 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
48
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
4
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+9.5
Avg surplus
peak +15
4 seasons Γ ~9.5 surplus β VORP 38
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at onceβno tab hopping.
3 grids split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Receiving | Rushing | Defense | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | |||||
| 1981 | β | CHI | 16 | β | β | 39 | 584 | 1 | β | 15.0 | β | β | β | 1 | 11 | 0 | 11.0 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1982 | β | CHI | 9 | β | β | 14 | 207 | 3 | β | 14.8 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1983 | β | CHI | 15 | β | β | 21 | 336 | 2 | β | 16.0 | β | β | β | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7.0 | 0.0 | β | β | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1985 | β | CHI | 16 | β | β | 17 | 190 | 2 | β | 11.2 | β | β | β | 1 | -7 | 0 | -7.0 | 0.0 | β | β | β | 3 | 3 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1986 | β | SF | 5 | β | β | 2 | 12 | 0 | β | 6.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1987 | β | SF | 2 | β | β | 1 | 7 | 0 | β | 7.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Career | β | 63 | β | 0 | 94 | 1,336 | 8 | β | 14.2 | β | β | β | 3 | 11 | 0 | 3.7 | 0.0 | β | β | β | 5 | 5 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | β | |
Rushing
Receiving
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 23 | CHI | 16 | β | β | 39 | 584 | 1 | β | 15.0 | β | β | β |
| 1982 | 24 | CHI | 9 | β | β | 14 | 207 | 3 | β | 14.8 | β | β | β |
| 1983 | 25 | CHI | 15 | β | β | 21 | 336 | 2 | β | 16.0 | β | β | β |
| 1985 | 27 | CHI | 16 | β | β | 17 | 190 | 2 | β | 11.2 | β | β | β |
| 1986 | 28 | SF | 5 | β | β | 2 | 12 | 0 | β | 6.0 | β | β | β |
| 1987 | 29 | SF | 2 | β | β | 1 | 7 | 0 | β | 7.0 | β | β | β |
| Career | 63 | 0 | 94 | 1,336 | 8 | β | 14.2 | β | β | β |
Defense
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 56 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 56 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 5 scored seasons.
54
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
59
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 56 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 56Β· confidence 93%
What builds the career mark of 54
On-field 35.8
Availability 18.2
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rec yds/g)
1981bestavg 501986
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position5
Depth
of 100
Reached 6% of the all-time Receptions leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
6% of the all-time Receptions leader6
0 categories β₯25% of the all-time leader0
A 0β100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leaderat this position. Built only from visible encyclopedia data β career production vs. the all-time leader, plus efficiency (EPA) and comparable-player confidence β so it's a transparent context score, not a subjective rating. Tiers: Elite β₯ 85 Β· Strong β₯ 65 Β· Solid β₯ 45 Β· Depth < 45. Comparable-player confidence: 93%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· 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 β every name is linked.
Top Teammates
Walter PaytonRB4yMatt SuheyRB4yDennis GentryRB3yJim McMahonQB3yJerry RiceWR2yRonnie LottCB2yWillie GaultWR2yRoger CraigRB2yCharles HaleyDE2yRichard DentDE2yMike WilsonWR2yTom RathmanRB2yJoe CribbsRB2yJohn FrankTE2yWilber MarshallOLB1ySteve YoungQB1yWilliam PerryDT1yBrent JonesTE1yMike TomczakQB1yMaury BufordP1yJohn TaylorWR1yChris DresselTE1yThomas SandersRB1yRon HellerOT1y
1981 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #67
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterKen opened the Chicago Bears WR lineage the corpus knows, and handed it to Willie Gault (1983β1987).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1987final season
Last recorded season with SF
- 1986team change
Joined SF (from CHI)
- 1981draft
Drafted by CHI β Round 3, Pick 67
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'0" / 175 lb
Frame
Knox
StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works β
Historical Knox Β· KV-H
Era-normalized career quality β z-scored against 5-season peers. See all β
56
peak 59
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
B1981
C+1982
C+1983
C+1985
F1986
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 6 seasons.
72%
Era Translator
Rec Yds translated to the 2025NFL β 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 | β 2025 Rec Yds | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 584 | 36.5 | 639+55 | 37.6 |
| 1982 | 207 | 23 | 464+257 | 27.3 |
| 1983 | 336 | 22.4 | 477+141 | 28.1 |
| 1985 | 190 | 11.9 | 272+82 | 16 |
| 1986 | 12 | 2.4 | 106+94 | 6.2 |
Data: nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:players, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), nfl.com:official-stats (facts-only reference), nfl.com:official-stats (games-played, facts-only reference) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
38 career value over replacement β #2394 all-time of 4,642. 7.6/season above a replacement-level WR.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #67 (Rd 3) Β· CHI Β· 1981 Β· +12.4 vs expected KV-H
56actual
43.6 expected Β· Ξ+12.4
Fan Rating
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