Lionel James is a career quality starter — a running back whose body of work places James in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and James's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Season totals or exact team stints. Career totals count each season once.
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | |||||
| 1984 | 22 | SD | 16 | — | 25 | 115 | 0 | 4.6 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 23 | 206 | 0 | — | 9.0 | — | — | — |
| 1985 | 23 | SD | 16 | — | 105 | 516 | 2 | 4.9 | 1.9 | — | — | — | — | 86 | 1,027 | 6 | — | 11.9 | — | — | — |
| 1986 | 24 | SD | 7 | — | 51 | 224 | 0 | 4.4 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 23 | 173 | 0 | — | 7.5 | — | — | — |
| 1987 | 25 | SD | 12 | — | 27 | 102 | 2 | 3.8 | 7.4 | — | — | — | — | 41 | 593 | 3 | — | 14.5 | — | — | — |
| 1988 | 26 | SD | 16 | — | 23 | 105 | 0 | 4.6 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 36 | 279 | 1 | — | 7.8 | — | — | — |
| Career | — | 67 | — | 231 | 1,062 | 4 | 4.6 | 1.7 | — | — | — | — | 209 | 2,278 | 10 | — | 10.9 | — | — | — | |
Career Value · VORP
24 career value over replacement — #2975 all-time of 4,695. 4.8/season above a replacement-level RB.
Pick #118 (Rd 5) · SDG · 1984 · +23 vs expected KV-H
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5 seasons · peak 14.7 in 1985
VAL (Value Above League) measures each NFL season against that season's league; the dashed line is zero — a season that added nothing above the league's fringe. ● peak · ○ league-best season.
2.5 career wins over 5 seasons · 1 win = 13.08 VAL
Best season · 1985 · +1.1 wins
Latest season · 1988 · +0.3 wins
VAL 3.0 measures each part of a NFL player's game in his sport's own currency against what that season's fringe players produced, converted to team wins with rates fitted from every team-season in the encyclopedia.
#378 of 1,228 all-time RBs by KV-H
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Cmp | Att | Cmp% | Yds | TD | Int | TD% | Int% | Y/A | AdjY/A | TD:INT | Rate | Sk | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | — | 0 | 2 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 50.0 | 0.0 | -22.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 32.8 |
Career line only: the source has this as a career total, without seasons.
A strong starter career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 56 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 5 scored seasons.
Blend 56.2 × longevity 1 = KV-H 56· confidence 98%
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rush yds/g)
Darren Sproles
RB
89% match
1984 Draft ClassmatesFull class →