LaDainian Tomlinson is a Hall of Fame running back whose career earned a historically elite career value score of 87 in the Knox value model. Tomlinson led his position in a major category 6 times — the definition of era-defining dominance.

RBNYJ#21ACT

LaDainian Tomlinson

★ HALL OF FAME5× Pro Bowl3× All-ProTop 1% all-time RBsIron Legend🏅 Only Club · 3×👑 #1 Running Back · 2006–2007 📉 Fades · -17% playoffs 🌅 Early Bloomer · 2002Two-Way ProfileTeam Carrier · #10

Height5'10"

Weight215 lb

BornJun 23, 1979

Age47

CollegeTCU See College Stats

Rookie yr2001

Draft2001 · Rd 1, Pick 5 · LAC

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Regular-season all-time ranks

2ndRushing Touchdowns·145 8thRushing Yards·13,686 yds 96thReceptions·624

Postseason all-time ranks

27thPlayoff Rushing Touchdowns·6 50thPlayoff Rushing Yards·468 yds

Pro Bowls

All-Pro

Yes

Hall of Fame

Season honors and record seasons

Led NFL2007·Rush TD15 Led NFL2007·Rush Yds1,474 yds Led NFL2006·Rush TD28 Led NFL2006·Rush Yds1,815 yds Led NFL2004·Rush TD17 Led NFL2002·Rush Yds1,683 yds 1stsingle season·Rush TD2006 22ndsingle season·Rush Yds2006

Archetype Intelligence

Iron LegendExplore archetypes →

An all-time caliber running back (top 1% 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 279 · #165 · Elite

Worth 279 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back — top 5% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 11 of 11 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +25.4 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

+25.4

Avg surplus

peak +35

11 seasons × ~25.4 surplus ≈ VORP 279

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
2001	—	LAC	16	—	339	1,236	10	3.6	2.9	67	19.8	4	74	59	367	0	79.7%	6.2	5.0	—	12	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2001	—	DEN	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0
2002	—	LAC	16	—	372	1,683	14	4.5	3.8	90	24.2	0	101	79	489	1	78.2%	6.2	4.8	—	20	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2003	—	LAC	16	—	313	1,645	13	5.3	4.2	81	25.9	0	100	100	725	4	100.0%	7.3	7.3	—	26	1	1	100.0%	21	1	0	100.0	0.0	21.0	41.0	—	158.3	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2003	—	DET	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0
2004	—	LAC	15	—	339	1,335	17	3.9	5.0	69	20.4	2	53	53	441	1	100.0%	8.3	8.3	—	16	1	2	50.0%	38	0	0	0.0	0.0	19.0	19.0	—	95.8	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2004	—	LV	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0
2005	—	LAC	16	—	340	1,464	18	4.3	5.3	72	21.2	0	51	51	370	2	100.0%	7.3	7.3	—	15	3	4	75.0%	47	3	0	75.0	0.0	11.8	26.8	—	153.1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2005	—	IND	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0
2006	—	LAC	16	—	349	1,815	28	5.2	8.0	81	23.2	1	56	56	508	3	100.0%	9.1	9.1	—	22	2	3	66.7%	20	2	0	66.7	0.0	6.7	20.0	—	125.0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2007	—	LAC	16	—	315	1,474	15	4.7	4.8	75	23.8	0	60	60	475	3	100.0%	7.9	7.9	—	21	1	1	100.0%	17	1	0	100.0	0.0	17.0	37.0	—	158.3	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2007	—	KC	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	2	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0
2008	—	LAC	16	—	292	1,110	11	3.8	3.8	52	17.8	0	52	52	421	1	100.0%	8.1	8.1	—	19	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2008	—	LV	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0
2009	—	LAC	14	—	223	730	12	3.3	5.4	40	17.9	1	30	20	154	0	66.7%	7.7	5.1	—	7	0	1	0.0%	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	39.6	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2010	—	NYJ	15	—	219	914	6	4.2	2.7	42	19.2	0	79	52	368	0	65.8%	7.1	4.7	—	19	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2011	—	NYJ	14	—	75	280	1	3.7	1.3	15	20.0	0	61	42	449	2	68.9%	10.7	7.4	—	12	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2011	—	DAL	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0
Career		—	178	—	3,176	13,686	145	4.3	4.6	684	21.5	8	717	624	4,767	17	87.0%	7.6	6.6	—	189	8	12	66.7%	143	7	0	58.3	0.0	11.9	23.6	—	146.9	2	8	8	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0

Career EPA97.5·8 passing · -24 rushing · 113 receiving·8.9/season

Passing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	TD%	Y/A	AdjY/A	TD:INT	Rate	Sk	VAL
2003	24	LAC	16	—	1	1	100.0%	21	1	100.0	21.0	41.0	—	158.3	0	26.4
2004	25	LAC	15	—	1	2	50.0%	38	0	0.0	19.0	19.0	—	95.8	2	24
2005	26	LAC	16	—	3	4	75.0%	47	3	75.0	11.8	26.8	—	153.1	0	23.3
2006	27	LAC	16	—	2	3	66.7%	20	2	66.7	6.7	20.0	—	125.0	0	30
2007	28	LAC	16	—	1	1	100.0%	17	1	100.0	17.0	37.0	—	158.3	0	26.9
2009	30	LAC	14	—	0	1	0.0%	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	39.6	0	14.4
Career			93		8	12	66.7%	143	7	58.3	11.9	—	—	146.9	2	233.7

Rushing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb
2001	22	LAC	16	—	339	1,236	10	3.6	2.9	67	19.8	4
2002	23	LAC	16	—	372	1,683	14	4.5	3.8	90	24.2	0
2003	24	LAC	16	—	313	1,645	13	5.3	4.2	81	25.9	0
2004	25	LAC	15	—	339	1,335	17	3.9	5.0	69	20.4	2
2005	26	LAC	16	—	340	1,464	18	4.3	5.3	72	21.2	0
2006	27	LAC	16	—	349	1,815	28	5.2	8.0	81	23.2	1
2007	28	LAC	16	—	315	1,474	15	4.7	4.8	75	23.8	0
2008	29	LAC	16	—	292	1,110	11	3.8	3.8	52	17.8	0
2009	30	LAC	14	—	223	730	12	3.3	5.4	40	17.9	1
2010	31	NYJ	15	—	219	914	6	4.2	2.7	42	19.2	0
2011	32	NYJ	14	—	75	280	1	3.7	1.3	15	20.0	0
Career			170		3,176	13,686	145	4.3	—	684	—	8

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
2001	22	LAC	16	—	74	59	367	0	79.7%	6.2	5.0	—	12
2002	23	LAC	16	—	101	79	489	1	78.2%	6.2	4.8	—	20
2003	24	LAC	16	—	100	100	725	4	100.0%	7.3	7.3	—	26
2004	25	LAC	15	—	53	53	441	1	100.0%	8.3	8.3	—	16
2005	26	LAC	16	—	51	51	370	2	100.0%	7.3	7.3	—	15
2006	27	LAC	16	—	56	56	508	3	100.0%	9.1	9.1	—	22
2007	28	LAC	16	—	60	60	475	3	100.0%	7.9	7.9	—	21
2008	29	LAC	16	—	52	52	421	1	100.0%	8.1	8.1	—	19
2009	30	LAC	14	—	30	20	154	0	66.7%	7.7	5.1	—	7
2010	31	NYJ	15	—	79	52	368	0	65.8%	7.1	4.7	—	19
2011	32	NYJ	14	—	61	42	449	2	68.9%	10.7	7.4	—	12
Career			170		717	624	4,767	17	87.0%	7.6	6.6	—	189

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Sk	Dis	FR
2001	22	DEN	1	—	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
2003	24	DET	1	—	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
2004	25	LV	1	—	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
2005	26	IND	1	—	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
2007	28	KC	2	—	2	2	0.0	0.0	—
2008	29	LV	1	—	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
2011	32	DAL	1	—	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
Career			8		8	8	—	—	—

Advanced (EPA)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Pass EPA	Rush EPA	Rec EPA	Pass AirYd	Rec AirYd
2001	22	—	—	—	—	-48.3	-16.5	0	0
2002	23	—	—	—	—	-1.2	-0.4	0	0
2003	24	—	—	—	3.7	22.7	20.9	0	0
2004	25	—	—	—	-4.1	-5.7	18.4	0	0
2005	26	—	—	—	6.6	14.8	11.3	0	0
2006	27	—	—	—	2.7	42.4	41.0	31	29
2007	28	—	—	—	2.2	9.7	21.6	16	-52
2008	29	—	—	—	—	-18.7	24.8	0	-20
2009	30	—	—	—	-1.0	-24.7	-2.1	3	12
2010	31	—	—	—	—	-6.3	-8.9	0	93
2011	32	—	—	—	-1.7	-8.6	2.8	0	109
Career					—	—	—	50	171

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 87 · All-Time Great

A all-time great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 87 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 11 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 80.8 × longevity 1 = KV-H 87· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 76

On-field 56.6

Availability 19.4

On-field production Staying available

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

2001bestavg 75elite 702011

Team Carrier Evidence

Ranked #10 of 600 by seasons where high individual production happened on low-win teams. Score aggregates only tracked StatVault categories.

Full board

Total Score

271

5 qualifying seasons

2003 LAC·4 team wins#3

Rushing Yards · 1,645 · score 69

2003 LAC·4 team wins#4

Receptions · 100 · score 66

2003 LAC·4 team wins#6

Rushing Touchdowns · 13 · score 60

All-Time Standing

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

Elite

of 100

Reached 88% of the all-time Rushing Touchdowns leader — a elite all-time profile at the position.

88% of the all-time Rushing Touchdowns leader88

3 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader100

8.86 EPA/season over 11 seasons53

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+).

Combine · 2001

Percentiles compare each raw measurement against position peers, the full combine pool, and the same draft class where enough samples exist.

RB · 2001 class

4.46s

40-Yard

Strong · 77th pct

Pos 77thAll 84thClass Pos 74thClass All 88th

40.5"

Vertical

Elite · 96th pct

Pos 96thAll 96thClass Pos 96thClass All 90th

124"

Broad Jump

Strong · 82th pct

Pos 82thAll 82thClass Pos 88thClass All 85th

18 reps

Bench

Below avg · 32th pct

Pos 32thAll 33thClass Pos 42thClass All 34th

6.84s

3-Cone

Strong · 87th pct

Pos 87thAll 87thClass Pos 94thClass All 95th

4.21s

Shuttle

Above avg · 61th pct

Pos 61thAll 71thClass Pos 61thClass All 61th

Playoff vs Regular Season

📉 Regular Season Player

Yards / Carry: 4.3 regular season → 3.6 playoffs (6 playoff seasons)

-17%

vs reg season

From Scrimmage · Career

Scrimmage Yds

18,453

13,686 rush · 4,767 recv

Total TDs

162

145 rush · 17 recv

Total Touches

3,800

3,176 carries · 624 rec

Yds / Touch

4.9

rushing + receiving

Postseason Career

10 playoff games

Rushing

Att131Yds468TD6Y/A3.6TD%4.61D271D%20.6

Receiving

Tgt28Rec25Yds176TD1Ctch%89.3%Y/R7.0Y/Tgt6.31D7

Defense

Tkl1Solo1

Advanced (EPA)

Rush EPA-12.5Rec EPA4.6Rec AirYd-9

College Stats

TCUImported college table

College Rushing

Season	School	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb
1997	TCU	126	538	6	4.3	4.8	—	—	—
1998	TCU	144	717	8	5.0	5.6	—	—	—
1999	TCU	268	1,850	18	6.9	6.7	—	—	—
2000	TCU	369	2,158	22	5.8	6.0	—	—	—
Career		907	5,263	54	5.8	6.0	—	—	—

College Receiving

Season	School	Tgt	Rec	Yds	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
1997	TCU	—	11	109	—	9.9	—	—	—
1998	TCU	—	6	34	—	5.7	—	—	—
1999	TCU	—	12	55	—	4.6	—	—	—
2000	TCU	—	10	40	—	4.0	—	—	—
Career		0	39	238	—	6.1	—	—	—

Reference Graph

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

2001 Draft Class· this player went #5

#1Mike VickQB #2Leonard DavisG #3Gerard WarrenDT #4Justin SmithDE #6Richard SeymourDT #7Andre CarterDE #8David TerrellWR #9Koren RobinsonWR #10Jamal ReynoldsDE #11Dan MorganMLB #12Damione LewisDT #13Marcus StroudDE #14Kenyatta WalkerOT #15Rod GardnerWR #16Santana MossWR #17Steve HutchinsonG

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

LaDainian inherited the Los Angeles Chargers RB room from Fred McCrary (1999–2002), and handed it to Lorenzo Neal (2003–2007).

James Brooks 1981–1983Earnest Jackson 1983–1984Buford McGee 1984–1986Lionel James 1984–1988Tim Spencer 1985–1989Rod Bernstine

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

2011final season
Last recorded season with NYJ
2010team change
Joined NYJ (from LAC)
2001draft
Drafted by LAC — Round 1, Pick 5

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

5'10" / 215 lb

Frame

221 lb at 4.46s

Size-speed

40.5" vert / 124" broad

Explosion

18 reps

Bench power

Injury History

3 career games missed (Out)

From nflverse weekly injury reports · coverage begins 2009.

Season	Team	Games Out	Designations
2011	NYJ	1	W11Out· KneeW12Questionable· Knee
2009	SD	2	W2Out· AnkleW3Out· Ankle

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 88

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

B+2001

A2002

A2003

B+2004

B+2005

A2006

B+2007

B+2008

B2009

B+2010

C+2011

Availability

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

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
2001	1,236	77.3	1,319+83	77.6
2002	1,683	105.2	1,648-35	96.9
2003	1,645	102.8	1,591-54	93.6
2004	1,335	89	1,358+23	79.9
2005	1,464	91.5	1,380-84	81.2
2006	1,815	113.4	1,628-187	95.8
2007	1,474	92.1	1,381-93	81.2
2008	1,110	69.4	1,050-60	61.8
2009	730	52.1	828+98	48.7
2010	914	60.9	1,012+98	59.5
2011	280	20	404+124	23.7

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:combine, nflverse:draft_picks, wikipedia:college-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), nflverse:advanced-epa (CC-BY 4.0), nflverse:injuries · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

279 career value over replacement — #165 all-time of 4,642. 25.4/season above a replacement-level RB.

Career Profile

Led league 6×18 top-10 Compiler37% in top 3 yrs 2-phase playertwo-way

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #5 (Rd 1) · LAC · 2001 · +25.2 vs expected KV-H

87actual

61.8 expected · Δ+25.2

Fan Rating

Rate LaDainian Tomlinson — All-Time

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LaDainian Tomlinson

All-Time Rank & Honors

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Defense

Advanced (EPA)

KV-H Anatomy

Team Carrier Evidence

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

Combine · 2001

From Scrimmage · Career

Postseason Career

Rushing

Receiving

Defense

Advanced (EPA)

College Stats

College Rushing

College Receiving

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

2001 Draft Class· this player went #5

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Injury History

Knox

Era Translator