Paul Palmer is a career quality starter β a running back whose body of work places Palmer in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Palmer's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Paul Palmer
Top 37% all-time RBsReliable Starter
Height5'9"
Weight184 lb
BornOct 14, 1964
Age61
CollegeTempleSee College Stats
Rookie yr1987
Draft1987 Β· Rd 1, Pick 19 Β· KAN
A running back with a above-average career β the kind of consistent contributor every roster needs. Solid availability (excellent availability over their career) added to their value.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 35 Β· #2500 Β· Role PlayerWorth 35 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back β top 55% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 3 of 3 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +11.7 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
3 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
50
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
3
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+11.7
Avg surplus
peak +17
3 seasons Γ ~11.7 surplus β VORP 35
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at onceβno tab hopping.
3 grids split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Rushing | Receiving | Passing | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||||
| 1987 | β | KC | 12 | β | 24 | 155 | 0 | 6.5 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β | 4 | 27 | 0 | β | 6.8 | β | β | β | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 39.6 | 0 |
| 1988 | β | KC | 15 | β | 134 | 452 | 2 | 3.4 | 1.5 | β | β | β | β | 53 | 611 | 4 | β | 11.5 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1989 | β | DAL | 9 | β | 112 | 446 | 2 | 4.0 | 1.8 | β | β | β | β | 17 | 93 | 0 | β | 5.5 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Career | β | 36 | β | 270 | 1,053 | 4 | 3.9 | 1.5 | β | β | β | 0 | 74 | 731 | 4 | β | 9.9 | β | β | β | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 39.6 | 0 | |
Passing
Rushing
Receiving
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 53 Β· SolidA solid career by KV-H: a remarkably steady profile that scores 53 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 3 scored seasons, with a short career trimming the score.
62
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
62
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ0.86
Longevity
career length
Blend 62 Γ longevity 0.86 = KV-H 53Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 62
On-field 46
Availability 16
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rush yds/g)
1987bestavg 621989
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position5
Depth
of 100
Reached 6% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
6% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader6
0 categories β₯25% of the all-time leader0
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 RBs aging curve. Group peak age: 21. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
From Scrimmage Β· Career
Scrimmage Yds
1,784
1,053 rush Β· 731 recv
Total TDs
8
4 rush Β· 4 recv
Total Touches
344
270 carries Β· 74 rec
Yds / Touch
5.2
rushing + receiving
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Temple), 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
Jack Del RioMLB3yJonathan HayesTE2yCarlos CarsonWR2yLarry MoriartyRB2yHerman HeardRB2yChristian OkoyeRB2yHerschel WalkerFB1yKen NortonMLB1yNeil SmithDE1yMike SaxonP1yTroy AikmanQB1yMichael IrvinWR1yDaryl JohnstonRB1yKelvin MartinWR1yJesse SolomonLB1yJames SaxonRB1yEmile HarryWR1yKeith JenningsTE1yAlfredo RobertsTE1ySteve WalshQB1yJunior TautalatasiRB1yTodd BlackledgeQB1yKitrick TaylorWR1yDarryl ClackRB1y
1987 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #19
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterPaul inherited the Kansas City Chiefs RB room from Larry Moriarty (1986β1988), and handed it to Christian Okoye (1987β1992).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1989team change
Joined DAL (from KC)
- 1989final season
Last recorded season with DAL
- 1987draft
Drafted by KAN β Round 1, Pick 19
- 1987team change
Joined KC (from KAN)
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts5'9" / 184 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 3-season peers. See all β
53
peak 62
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1987
B1988
B1989
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 3 seasons.
77%
19871989
1989 Β· cause not documented Β· 56%
Era Translator
Rush 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 Rush Yds | Rush Yds/G | β 2025 Rush Yds | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 155 | 12.9 | 400+245 | 23.5 |
| 1988 | 452 | 30.1 | 809+357 | 47.6 |
| 1989 | 446 | 49.6 | 1,242+796 | 73.1 |
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) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
35 career value over replacement β #2500 all-time of 4,642. 11.7/season above a replacement-level RB.
Draft OutcomeMiss β
Pick #19 (Rd 1) Β· KAN Β· 1987 Β· -3.5 vs expected KV-H
53actual
56.5 expected Β· Ξβ3.5
Fan Rating
Rate Paul Palmer β All-Time
Tap a star to rate
Explore More
Similar Players