Ray Zellars is a career quality starter β a running back whose body of work places Zellars in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Zellars's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Ray Zellars
Top 26% all-time RBsReliable Starter
Height5'11"
Weight233 lb
BornMar 25, 1973
Age53
CollegeNotre DameSee College Stats
Rookie yr1995
Draft1995 Β· Rd 2, Pick 44 Β· NOR
A running back 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.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 45 Β· #2201 Β· Above AverageWorth 45 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back β top 48% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 4 of 4 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +11.3 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
4 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
50
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
4
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+11.3
Avg surplus
peak +18
4 seasons Γ ~11.3 surplus β VORP 45
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 | Rushing | Receiving | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | |||||
| 1995 | β | NOR | 12 | β | 50 | 162 | 2 | 3.2 | 4.0 | β | β | β | β | 7 | 33 | 0 | β | 4.7 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | NOR | 9 | β | 120 | 475 | 4 | 4.0 | 3.3 | β | β | β | β | 9 | 45 | 0 | β | 5.0 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | NOR | 16 | β | 156 | 552 | 4 | 3.5 | 2.6 | β | β | β | β | 31 | 263 | 0 | β | 8.5 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | NOR | 11 | β | 56 | 162 | 1 | 2.9 | 1.8 | β | β | β | β | 10 | 50 | 0 | β | 5.0 | β | β | β |
| Career | β | 48 | β | 382 | 1,351 | 11 | 3.5 | 2.9 | β | β | β | β | 57 | 391 | 0 | β | 6.9 | β | β | β | |
Rushing
Receiving
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 58 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a remarkably steady profile that scores 58 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 4 scored seasons, with a short career trimming the score.
62
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
64
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ0.93
Longevity
career length
Blend 62.8 Γ longevity 0.93 = KV-H 58Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 62
On-field 46.2
Availability 15.8
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rush yds/g)
1995bestavg 611998
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position6
Depth
of 100
Reached 7% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
7% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader7
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+).
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Notre Dame), 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
Wayne MartinDT4yMark FieldsOLB4yJoe JohnsonDE4yEric AllenCB3yAnthony NewmanS3yBrady SmithDE3yRichard HarveyLB3yWinfred TubbsOLB3yAlex MoldenDB3yAustin RobbinsDT3yMario BatesRB3yLorenzo NealFB2yLa'Roi GloverDT2ySammy KnightDB2yMark RoyalsP2yJim EverettQB2yMichael HaynesWR2yAndre HastingsWR2yKlaus WilmsmeyerP2yKeith MitchellLB2yTorrance SmallWR2yDarren MickellDE2yTyrone HughesDB2yKeith PooleWR2y
1995 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #44
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterRay inherited the New Orleans Saints RB room from Mario Bates (1994β1997), and handed it to Aaron Craver (1998β1999).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1998final season
Last recorded season with NOR
- 1995draft
Drafted by NOR β Round 2, Pick 44
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts5'11" / 233 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 4-season peers. See all β
58
peak 64
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1995
B1996
B1997
C+1998
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 4 seasons.
75%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 162 | 13.5 | 526+364 | 31 |
| 1996 | 475 | 52.8 | 1,283+808 | 75.5 |
| 1997 | 552 | 34.5 | 898+346 | 52.8 |
| 1998 | 162 | 14.7 | 522+360 | 30.7 |
Data: nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:players, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), espn.com:stats-api (games-played, 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
45 career value over replacement β #2201 all-time of 4,642. 11.3/season above a replacement-level RB.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #44 (Rd 2) Β· NOR Β· 1995 Β· +8.2 vs expected KV-H
58actual
49.8 expected Β· Ξ+8.2
Fan Rating
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