Mitch Lyons is a career quality starter β a tight end whose body of work places Lyons in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Lyons's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Mitch Lyons
Top 40% all-time TEsHigh-End Starter
A quality tight end with a above-average career β a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 20 Β· #3113 Β· Role PlayerWorth 20 points of value above a freely-available replacement tight end β top 68% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 4 of 7 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +5 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
4 cleared
3 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
46
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
4
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+5
Avg surplus
peak +7
4 seasons Γ ~5 surplus β VORP 20
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at onceβno tab hopping.
2 grids split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Receiving | Advanced (EPA) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | Pass EPA | Rush EPA | Rec EPA | Pass AirYd | Rec AirYd | |||||
| 1993 | β | ATL | 16 | β | β | 8 | 63 | 0 | β | 7.9 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1994 | β | ATL | 7 | β | β | 7 | 54 | 0 | β | 7.7 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | ATL | 14 | β | β | 5 | 83 | 0 | β | 16.6 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | ATL | 14 | β | β | 4 | 16 | 1 | β | 4.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | PIT | 10 | β | β | 4 | 29 | 0 | β | 7.3 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | PIT | 15 | β | β | 3 | 19 | 0 | β | 6.3 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | PIT | 7 | β | 13 | 8 | 81 | 0 | 61.5% | 10.1 | 6.2 | β | 4 | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | 2.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 83 | β | 13 | 39 | 345 | 1 | 300.0% | 8.8 | 26.5 | β | 4 | β | β | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | |
Career EPA2.5Β·2 receivingΒ·2.5/season
Receiving
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 23 | ATL | 16 | β | β | 8 | 63 | 0 | β | 7.9 | β | β | β | 5.2 |
| 1994 | 24 | ATL | 7 | β | β | 7 | 54 | 0 | β | 7.7 | β | β | β | 3.1 |
| 1995 | 25 | ATL | 14 | β | β | 5 | 83 | 0 | β | 16.6 | β | β | β | 5.9 |
| 1996 | 26 | ATL | 14 | β | β | 4 | 16 | 1 | β | 4.0 | β | β | β | 7.6 |
| 1997 | 27 | PIT | 10 | β | β | 4 | 29 | 0 | β | 7.3 | β | β | β | 4 |
| 1998 | 28 | PIT | 15 | β | β | 3 | 19 | 0 | β | 6.3 | β | β | β | 4.9 |
| 1999 | 29 | PIT | 7 | β | 13 | 8 | 81 | 0 | 61.5% | 10.1 | 6.2 | β | 4 | 2.7 |
| Career | 83 | 13 | 39 | 345 | 1 | 300.0% | 8.8 | 26.5 | β | 4 | 33.4 |
Advanced (EPA)
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Pass EPA | Rush EPA | Rec EPA | Pass AirYd | Rec AirYd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 29 | β | β | β | β | β | 2.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | β | β | 0 | 0 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 50 Β· SolidA solid career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 50 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 7 scored seasons.
48
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
52
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 49.6 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 50Β· confidence 97%
What builds the career mark of 48
On-field 32.1
Availability 15.9
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rec yds/g)
1993bestavg 471999
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position8
Depth
of 100
Reached 3% of the all-time Receptions leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
3% of the all-time Receptions leader3
0 categories β₯25% of the all-time leader0
2.49 EPA/season over 1 season51
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: 91%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average tight ends 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 (Michigan 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 β every name is linked.
Top Teammates
Jessie TuggleMLB4yLester ArchambeauDE4yDarnell WalkerDB4yChuck SmithDE4yRon GeorgeLB4yTerance MathisWR3yMike VrabelOLB3yJerome BettisRB3yLevon KirklandMLB3yJason GildonLB3yCraig HeywardRB3yCarlos EmmonsOLB3yMike TomczakQB3yEarl HolmesMLB3yJeff GeorgeQB3yChris OldhamDB3yMark BruenerTE3yJosh MillerP3yNolan HarrisonDE3yKevin HenryDE3yJoel SteedNT3yLee FlowersDB3yBert EmanuelWR3yKordell StewartQB3y
1993 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #151
#133Everett LindsayG#135Lonnie PaleleiOT#137Tyrone HughesDB#138Rich GriffithTE#141Doug EvansDB#144Richie AndersonFB#145Chidi AhanotuDT#147Greg JeffriesCB#157Carlos EtheredgeTE#160Frank WycheckTE#162Willie WilliamsCB#166Chris DalmanG#168Barry MinterLB#170Michael McCraryDE#174Ty HallockLB#176Tyree DavisWR
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterMitch inherited the Atlanta Falcons TE room from Ken Whisenhunt (1985β1988), and handed it to O.J. Santiago (1997β1999).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1999final season
Last recorded season with PIT
- 1997team change
Joined PIT (from ATL)
- 1993draft
Drafted by ATL β Round 6, Pick 151
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'5" / 268 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 7-season peers. See all β
50
peak 52
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1993
C1994
C+1995
C+1996
C1997
C1998
C1999
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 7 seasons.
74%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 63 | 3.9 | 238+175 | 14 |
| 1994 | 54 | 7.7 | 332+278 | 19.5 |
| 1995 | 83 | 5.9 | 311+228 | 18.3 |
| 1996 | 16 | 1.1 | 223+207 | 13.1 |
| 1997 | 29 | 2.9 | 216+187 | 12.7 |
| 1998 | 19 | 1.3 | 166+147 | 9.8 |
| 1999 | 81 | 11.6 | 337+256 | 19.8 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:advanced-epa (CC-BY 4.0), wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), nfl.com:official-stats (facts-only reference), espn.com:stats-api (games-played, facts-only reference) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
20 career value over replacement β #3113 all-time of 4,642. 2.9/season above a replacement-level TE.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #151 (Rd 6) Β· ATL Β· 1993 Β· +17 vs expected KV-H
50actual
33 expected Β· Ξ+17
Fan Rating
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