Ray Butler is a career quality starter β a receiver whose body of work places Butler in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Butler's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Regular-season all-time ranks
A wide receiver with a top 30% among starters β the kind of consistent contributor every roster needs. Solid availability (excellent availability over their career) added to their value.
Worth 88 points of value above a freely-available replacement receiver β top 29% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 9 of 9 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +9.8 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
9 seasons Γ ~9.8 surplus β VORP 88
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at onceβno tab hopping.
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Receiving | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | |||||
| 1980 | β | BAL | 16 | β | β | 34 | 574 | 2 | β | 16.9 | β | β | β |
| 1981 | β | BAL | 16 | β | β | 46 | 832 | 9 | β | 18.1 | β | β | β |
| 1982 | β | BAL | 9 | β | β | 17 | 268 | 2 | β | 15.8 | β | β | β |
| 1983 | β | BAL | 11 | β | β | 10 | 207 | 3 | β | 20.7 | β | β | β |
| 1984 | β | IND | 16 | β | β | 43 | 664 | 6 | β | 15.4 | β | β | β |
| 1985 | β | IND | 13 | β | β | 19 | 345 | 2 | β | 18.2 | β | β | β |
| 1985 | β | SEA | 13 | β | β | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0.0 | β | β | β |
| 1986 | β | SEA | 16 | β | β | 19 | 351 | 4 | β | 18.5 | β | β | β |
| 1987 | β | SEA | 12 | β | β | 33 | 465 | 5 | β | 14.1 | β | β | β |
| 1988 | β | SEA | 11 | β | β | 18 | 242 | 4 | β | 13.4 | β | β | β |
| Career | β | 133 | β | β | 478 | 7,896 | 74 | β | 16.5 | β | β | β | |
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Career | 4 | 9 | 0 | 2.3 | β | β | β | β | 94.2 |
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 24 | BAL | 16 | β | β | 34 | 574 | 2 | β | 16.9 | β | β | β |
| 1981 | 25 | BAL | 16 | β | β | 46 | 832 | 9 | β | 18.1 | β | β | β |
| 1982 | 26 | BAL | 9 | β | β | 17 | 268 | 2 | β | 15.8 | β | β | β |
| 1983 | 27 | BAL | 11 | β | β | 10 | 207 | 3 | β | 20.7 | β | β | β |
| 1984 | 28 | IND | 16 | β | β | 43 | 664 | 6 | β | 15.4 | β | β | β |
| 1985 | 29 | IND | 13 | β | β | 19 | 345 | 2 | β | 18.2 | β | β | β |
| 1985 | 29 | SEA | 13 | β | β | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0.0 | β | β | β |
| 1986 | 30 | SEA | 16 | β | β | 19 | 351 | 4 | β | 18.5 | β | β | β |
| 1987 | 31 | SEA | 12 | β | β | 33 | 465 | 5 | β | 14.1 | β | β | β |
| 1988 | 32 | SEA | 11 | β | β | 18 | 242 | 4 | β | 13.4 | β | β | β |
| Career | 133 | β | 478 | 7,896 | 74 | β | 16.5 | β | β | β |
A strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 61 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 9 scored seasons.
Blend 60.4 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 61Β· confidence 100%
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rec yds/g)
Reached 38% of the all-time Receiving Touchdowns leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
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: 95%.
Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average wide receivers 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 (USC; Wharton County Junior College), 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.
Career teammates and draft class, derived from year-by-year rosters β every name is linked.
Ray opened the Baltimore Ravens WR lineage the corpus knows, and handed it to Derrick Alexander (1996β1997).
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Last recorded season with SEA
Joined SEA (from IND)
Joined IND (from BAL)
Drafted by BAL β Round 4, Pick 88
StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works β
Era-normalized career quality β z-scored against 9-season peers. See all β
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 9 seasons.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 574 | 35.9 | 490-84 | 28.8 |
| 1981 | 832 | 52 | 840+8 | 49.4 |
| 1982 | 268 | 29.8 | 564+296 | 33.2 |
| 1983 | 207 | 18.8 | 423+216 | 24.9 |
| 1984 | 664 | 41.5 | 737+73 | 43.4 |
| 1985 | 345 | 26.5 | 493+148 | 29 |
| 1986 | 351 | 21.9 | 401+50 | 23.6 |
| 1987 | 465 | 38.8 | 651+186 | 38.3 |
| 1988 | 242 | 22 | 392+150 | 23.1 |
Data: nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:players, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), 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
88 career value over replacement β #1321 all-time of 4,642. 9.8/season above a replacement-level WR.
Pick #88 (Rd 4) Β· BAL Β· 1980 Β· +22.3 vs expected KV-H
Fan Rating
Rate Ray Butler β All-Time
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Similar Players
Composite score across availability, IR frequency, and injury severity. See all β
Ray inherited the Seattle Seahawks WR room from Byron Franklin (1985β1987), and handed it to Louis Clark (1988β1992).
The room is reconstructed from arrival order among durable members (β₯4 seasons with the club) at the playerβs position group β a lineage by arrival, not a week-by-week depth chart. Distinct from the league-wide positional GOAT torch.
Don Maynard
WR
94% match
1980 Draft ClassmatesFull class β
Wore 3 distinct franchise crests across 9 seasons (1980β1988) β a true nomad. The crest trail: