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

QBPHI#0ACT

Ken O'Brien

2× Pro BowlTop 12% all-time QBsIron Man

Height6'4"

Weight210 lb

BornNov 27, 1960

Age65

CollegeUC Davis; Sacramento State See College Stats

Rookie yr1983

Draft1983 · Rd 1, Pick 24 · NYJ

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Regular-season all-time ranks

65thPassing Yards·25,094 yds 81stPassing Touchdowns·128

Pro Bowls

Archetype Intelligence

Iron ManExplore archetypes →

A high-end quarterback defined as much by excellent availability over their career as by their on-field impact (top 20% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 222 · #304 · Elite

Worth 222 points of value above a freely-available replacement quarterback — top 8% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 8 of 10 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +27.8 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

8 cleared

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+27.8

Avg surplus

peak +37

8 seasons × ~27.8 surplus ≈ VORP 222

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									Punting
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	Punts	Yds	Avg	Lng
1984	—	NYJ	10	—	116	203	57.1%	1,402	6	7	3.0	3.4	6.9	5.9	0.9	74.0	—	16	29	0	1.8	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1985	—	NYJ	16	—	297	488	60.9%	3,888	25	8	5.1	1.6	8.0	8.3	3.1	96.2	—	25	58	0	2.3	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1986	—	NYJ	15	—	300	482	62.2%	3,690	25	20	5.2	4.1	7.7	6.8	1.3	85.8	—	17	46	0	2.7	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1987	—	NYJ	12	—	234	393	59.5%	2,696	13	8	3.3	2.0	6.9	6.6	1.6	82.8	—	30	61	0	2.0	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1988	—	NYJ	14	—	236	424	55.7%	2,567	15	7	3.5	1.7	6.1	6.0	2.1	78.6	—	21	25	0	1.2	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1989	—	NYJ	15	—	288	477	60.4%	3,346	12	18	2.5	3.8	7.0	5.8	0.7	74.3	—	9	18	0	2.0	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1990	—	NYJ	16	—	226	411	55.0%	2,855	13	10	3.2	2.4	6.9	6.5	1.3	77.3	—	21	72	0	3.4	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	23	23.0	23
1991	—	NYJ	16	—	287	489	58.7%	3,300	10	11	2.0	2.2	6.7	6.1	0.9	76.6	—	23	60	0	2.6	0.0	—	—	—	—	1	27	0	—	27.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1992	—	NYJ	10	—	55	98	56.1%	642	5	6	5.1	6.1	6.6	4.8	0.8	67.6	—	8	8	0	1.0	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1993	—	PHI	5	—	71	137	51.8%	708	4	3	2.9	2.2	5.2	4.8	1.3	67.4	—	4	17	0	4.3	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Career		—	129	—	2,110	3,602	58.6%	25,094	128	98	3.6	2.7	7.0	6.5	1.3	80.4	0	174	394	0	2.3	0.0	0	0.0	0	0	1	27	0	—	27.0	—	—	0	1	23	23.0	23

Passing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	TD%	Int%	Y/A	AdjY/A	TD:INT	Rate	Sk	VAL
1984	24	NYJ	10	—	116	203	57.1%	1,402	6	7	3.0	3.4	6.9	5.9	0.9	74.0	—	6.7
1985	25	NYJ	16	—	297	488	60.9%	3,888	25	8	5.1	1.6	8.0	8.3	3.1	96.2	—	16.9
1986	26	NYJ	15	—	300	482	62.2%	3,690	25	20	5.2	4.1	7.7	6.8	1.3	85.8	—	14.5
1987	27	NYJ	12	—	234	393	59.5%	2,696	13	8	3.3	2.0	6.9	6.6	1.6	82.8	—	10.1
1988	28	NYJ	14	—	236	424	55.7%	2,567	15	7	3.5	1.7	6.1	6.0	2.1	78.6	—	12.3
1989	29	NYJ	15	—	288	477	60.4%	3,346	12	18	2.5	3.8	7.0	5.8	0.7	74.3	—	10.2
1990	30	NYJ	16	—	226	411	55.0%	2,855	13	10	3.2	2.4	6.9	6.5	1.3	77.3	—	11.7
1991	31	NYJ	16	—	287	489	58.7%	3,300	10	11	2.0	2.2	6.7	6.1	0.9	76.6	—	11.3
1992	32	NYJ	10	—	55	98	56.1%	642	5	6	5.1	6.1	6.6	4.8	0.8	67.6	—	5.5
1993	33	PHI	5	—	71	137	51.8%	708	4	3	2.9	2.2	5.2	4.8	1.3	67.4	—	3.2
Career			129		2,110	3,602	58.6%	25,094	128	98	3.6	2.7	7.0	—	—	80.4	0	102.4

Rushing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb
1984	24	NYJ	10	—	16	29	1.8	0.0	—	—	—
1985	25	NYJ	16	—	25	58	2.3	0.0	—	—	—
1986	26	NYJ	15	—	17	46	2.7	0.0	—	—	—
1987	27	NYJ	12	—	30	61	2.0	0.0	—	—	—
1988	28	NYJ	14	—	21	25	1.2	0.0	—	—	—
1989	29	NYJ	15	—	9	18	2.0	0.0	—	—	—
1990	30	NYJ	16	—	21	72	3.4	0.0	—	—	—
1991	31	NYJ	16	—	23	60	2.6	0.0	—	—	—
1992	32	NYJ	10	—	8	8	1.0	0.0	—	—	—
1993	33	PHI	5	—	4	17	4.3	0.0	—	—	—
Career			129		174	394	2.3	—	0	—	0

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
1991	31	NYJ	16	—	—	1	27	0	—	27.0	—	—	—
Career			16		0	1	27	0	—	27.0	—	—	0

Punting

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Punts	Yds	Avg	Lng
1990	30	NYJ	16	—	1	23	23.0	23
Career			16		1	23	—	23

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 64 · Strong Starter

A strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 64 of 100, era-normalized against pass yds/g peers across 10 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 64.6 × longevity 1 = KV-H 64· confidence 96%

What builds the career mark of 61

On-field 43.7

Availability 17.3

On-field production Staying available

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

1984bestavg 57elite 701993

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 28% of the all-time Passing Yards leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

28% of the all-time Passing Yards leader28

1 category ≥25% of the all-time leader33

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: 87%.

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

UC Davis; Sacramento StateCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (UC Davis; Sacramento State), 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.

1983 Draft Class· this player went #24

#5Billy Ray Smith Jr.LB #7Todd BlackledgeQB #8Michael HaddixFB #9Bruce MatthewsC #12Tony HunterTE #14Jim KellyQB #15Tony EasonQB #18Willie GaultWR #27Dan MarinoQB #28Darrell GreenCB #31Mark CooperG #32Henry EllardWR #41Ron BrownWR #44Cedric MackDB #49Roger CraigRB #51Johnny HectorRB

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Ken opened the New York Jets QB lineage the corpus knows, and handed it to Boomer Esiason (1993–1995).

Ken O'Brien 1984–1992Boomer Esiason 1993–1995Neil O'Donnell 1996–1997Ray Lucas 1997–2000Vinny Testaverde 1998–2005Chad Pennington 2000–2007

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

1993team change
Joined PHI (from NYJ)
1993final season
Last recorded season with PHI
1983draft
Drafted by NYJ — Round 1, Pick 24

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'4" / 210 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 10-season peers. See all →

peak 70

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

C+1984

B+1985

B+1986

B1987

C+1988

B1989

B1990

B1991

D1992

F1993

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 10 seasons.

81%

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
1984	1,402	140.2	3,639+2,237	214.1
1985	3,888	243	4,455+567	262.1
1986	3,690	246	4,379+689	257.6
1987	2,696	224.7	4,143+1,447	243.7
1988	2,567	183.4	3,815+1,248	224.4
1989	3,346	223.1	4,124+778	242.6
1990	2,855	178.4	3,798+943	223.4
1991	3,300	206.3	4,011+711	236
1992	642	64.2	2,847+2,205	167.5
1993	708	141.6	3,438+2,730	202.2

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) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

222 career value over replacement — #304 all-time of 4,642. 22.2/season above a replacement-level QB.

Draft OutcomeValue ↑

Pick #24 (Rd 1) · NYJ · 1983 · +7.5 vs expected KV-H

64actual

56.5 expected · Δ+7.5

💔+42.4 stolen VORP·1.9 szns lost

Fan Rating

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Compare Ken O'Brien vs Player Report data error

Ken O'Brien

All-Time Rank & Honors

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Punting

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1983 Draft Class· this player went #24

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator