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

On the boards· Appears on 1 board

#26Breakout seasons· 1984of 50

QBCLE#0ACT

Paul McDonald

Top 30% all-time QBsReliable Starter⚡ Breakout · 1984

Height6'2"

Weight185 lb

BornFeb 23, 1958

Age

Career Value · VORP

69 career value over replacement — #1685 all-time of 4,695. 17.3/season above a replacement-level QB.

Draft OutcomeValue ↑

Pick #109 (Rd 4) · CLE · 1980 · +15.3 vs expected KV-H

51actual

35.7 expected · Δ+15.3

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Combined Season Grid

Season totals or exact team stints. Career totals count each season once.

4 categories · One row per season · Scroll for all statistics

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Passing													Rushing								Receiving									Defense
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	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty
1980	22	CLE	15	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	3	-2	0	-0.7	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1981	23	CLE	12	—	35	57	61.4%	463	4	2	7.0	3.5	8.1	7.9	2.0	95.9	6	2	0	0	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1982	24	CLE	9	—	73	149	49.0%	993	5	8	3.4	5.4	6.7	4.9	0.6	59.5	13	7	-13	0	-1.9	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1983	25	CLE	16	—	32	68	47.1%	341	1	4	1.5	5.9	5.0	2.7	0.3	42.6	6	3	17	0	5.7	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1984	26	CLE	16	—	271	493	55.0%	3,472	14	23	2.8	4.7	7.0	5.5	0.6	67.3	53	22	4	1	0.2	4.5	—	—	—	—	1	-4	0	—	-4.0	—	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
Career		—	68	—	411	767	53.6%	5,269	24	37	3.1	4.8	6.9	5.3	0.6	65.7	78	37	6	1	0.2	2.7	—	—	—	—	1	-4	0	—	-4.0	—	—	—	2	2	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	0	—	—

Career arc · VAL by season

5 seasons · peak 2.6 in 1981

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.

What he added · wins above replacement

0.3 career wins over 5 seasons · 1 win = 13.08 VAL

Best season · 1981 · +0.2 wins

Estimated from the season line (early era)+0.2

Latest season · 1984 ·

Passing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	TD%	Int%	Y/A	AdjY/A	TD:INT	Rate	Sk	VAL
1981	23	CLE	12	—	35	57	61.4%	463	4	2	7.0	3.5	8.1	7.9	2.0	95.9	6	2.6
1982	24	CLE	9	—	73	149	49.0%	993	5	8	3.4	5.4	6.7	4.9	0.6	59.5	13	0.6
1983	25	CLE	16	—	32	68	47.1%	341	1	4	1.5	5.9	5.0	2.7	0.3	42.6	6	0
1984	26	CLE	16	—	271	493	55.0%	3,472	14	23	2.8	4.7	7.0	5.5	0.6	67.3	53	0.9
Career			53		411	767	53.6%	5,269	24	37	3.1	4.8	6.9	5.3	0.6	65.7	78	4.1

Rushing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb
1980	22	CLE	15	—	3	-2	0	-0.7	0.0	—	—	—
1981	23	CLE	12	—	2	0	0	0.0	0.0	—	—	—
1982	24	CLE	9	—	7	-13	0	-1.9	0.0	—	—	—
1983	25	CLE	16	—	3	17	0	5.7	0.0	—	—	—
1984	26	CLE	16	—	22	4	1	0.2	4.5	—	—	—
Career			68		37	6	1	0.2	2.7	—	—	—

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
1984	26	CLE	16	—	—	1	-4	0	—	-4.0	—	—	—
Career			16		—	1	-4	0	—	-4.0	—	—	—

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 51 · Solid

A solid career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 51 of 100, era-normalized against pass yds/g peers across 4 scored seasons, with a short career trimming the score.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×0.93

Longevity

career length

Blend 54.6 × longevity 0.93 = KV-H 51· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 53

On-field 34.3

Availability 18.7