Also in other sports:nbaRobert Smith (PG · 1978–1985).

Robert Smith ranks in the all-time elite tier for running backs — a career that places Smith in the top 3% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Smith a career score of 84, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

RBMIN#26ACT

Robert Smith

2× Pro BowlTop 2% all-time RBsIron Legend📉 Fades · -17% playoffs ⭐ Shooting Star · 2000

Height6'2"

Weight210 lb

BornMar 4, 1972

Age54

CollegeOhio State See College Stats

Rookie yr1993

Draft1993 · Rd 1, Pick 21 · MIN

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Regular-season all-time ranks

80thRushing Yards·6,797 yds

Postseason all-time ranks

89thPlayoff Rushing Yards·316 yds

Pro Bowls

Archetype Intelligence

Iron LegendExplore archetypes →

An all-time caliber running back (top 5% all-time) who combined elite production with excellent availability over their career. Iron Legends define eras — they show up, every game, for years on end.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 184 · #444 · Elite

Worth 184 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back — top 11% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 6 of 6 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +30.7 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

6 cleared

Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+30.7

Avg surplus

peak +39

6 seasons × ~30.7 surplus ≈ VORP 184

Combined Season Grid

The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping.

4 grids split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Rushing								Receiving									Defense													Advanced (EPA)
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	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	Pass EPA	Rush EPA	Rec EPA	Pass AirYd	Rec AirYd
1993	—	MIN	2	—	82	399	2	4.9	2.4	—	—	—	—	24	111	0	—	4.6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1994	—	MIN	—	—	31	106	1	3.4	3.2	—	—	—	—	15	105	0	—	7.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1995	—	MIN	7	—	139	632	5	4.5	3.6	—	—	—	—	7	35	0	—	5.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1996	—	MIN	7	—	162	692	3	4.3	1.9	—	—	—	—	7	39	0	—	5.6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1997	—	MIN	14	—	232	1,266	6	5.5	2.6	—	—	—	—	37	197	1	—	5.3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1998	—	MIN	14	—	249	1,187	6	4.8	2.4	—	—	—	—	28	291	2	—	10.4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1999	—	MIN	13	—	220	1,010	2	4.6	0.9	40	18.2	1	30	24	166	0	80.0%	6.9	5.5	—	6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1999	—	DET	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
1999	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	-9.4	-0.4	0	0
2000	—	MIN	16	—	293	1,505	7	5.1	2.4	63	21.5	1	44	36	348	3	81.8%	9.7	7.9	—	15	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2000	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	17.9	14.3	0	0
Career		—	74	—	1,408	6,797	32	4.8	2.3	—	—	—	74	178	1,292	6	240.5%	7.3	17.5	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	8.5	13.9	0	0

Career EPA22.4·8 rushing · 14 receiving·11.2/season

Rushing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb	VAL
1993	21	MIN	2	—	82	399	2	4.9	2.4	—	—	—	—
1994	22	MIN	—	—	31	106	1	3.4	3.2	—	—	—	—
1995	23	MIN	7	—	139	632	5	4.5	3.6	—	—	—	7.9
1996	24	MIN	7	—	162	692	3	4.3	1.9	—	—	—	6.7
1997	25	MIN	14	—	232	1,266	6	5.5	2.6	—	—	—	17.1
1998	26	MIN	14	—	249	1,187	6	4.8	2.4	—	—	—	17.4
1999	27	MIN	13	—	220	1,010	2	4.6	0.9	40	18.2	1	10.6
2000	28	MIN	16	—	293	1,505	7	5.1	2.4	63	21.5	1	18.8
Career			73		1,408	6,797	32	4.8	—	—	—	—	78.5

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
1993	21	MIN	2	—	—	24	111	0	—	4.6	—	—	—
1994	22	MIN	—	—	—	15	105	0	—	7.0	—	—	—
1995	23	MIN	7	—	—	7	35	0	—	5.0	—	—	—
1996	24	MIN	7	—	—	7	39	0	—	5.6	—	—	—
1997	25	MIN	14	—	—	37	197	1	—	5.3	—	—	—
1998	26	MIN	14	—	—	28	291	2	—	10.4	—	—	—
1999	27	MIN	13	—	30	24	166	0	80.0%	6.9	5.5	—	6
2000	28	MIN	16	—	44	36	348	3	81.8%	9.7	7.9	—	15
Career			73		74	178	1,292	6	240.5%	7.3	17.5	—	—

Advanced (EPA)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Pass EPA	Rush EPA	Rec EPA
1999	27	—	—	—	—	-9.4	-0.4
2000	28	—	—	—	—	17.9	14.3
Career					—	—	—

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 84 · Great

A great career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 84 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 6 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 83.6 × longevity 1 = KV-H 84· confidence 96%

What builds the career mark of 82

On-field 66.1

On-field production Staying available

Season-by-season quality (era-relative rush yds/g)

1995bestavg 81elite 702000

All-Time Standing

how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position

Depth

of 100

Reached 37% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

37% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader37

1 category ≥25% of the all-time leader33

11.22 EPA/season over 2 seasons54

A 0–100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leaderat this position. Built only from visible encyclopedia data — career production vs. the all-time leader, plus efficiency (EPA) and comparable-player confidence — so it's a transparent context score, not a subjective rating. Tiers: Elite ≥ 85 · Strong ≥ 65 · Solid ≥ 45 · Depth < 45. Comparable-player confidence: 92%.

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average RBs aging curve. Group peak age: 21. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Playoff vs Regular Season

📉 Regular Season Player

Yards / Carry: 4.8 regular season → 4.0 playoffs (2 playoff seasons)

-17%

vs reg season

From Scrimmage · Career

Scrimmage Yds

8,089

6,797 rush · 1,292 recv

Total TDs

32 rush · 6 recv

Total Touches

1,586

1,408 carries · 178 rec

Yds / Touch

5.1

rushing + receiving

Postseason Career

4 playoff games

Rushing

Att79Yds316TD1Y/A4.0TD%1.3

Receiving

Tgt18Rec14Yds113TD1Ctch%77.8%Y/R8.1Y/Tgt6.3

Defense

Tkl1Solo1

Advanced (EPA)

Rush EPA-9.5Rec EPA6.3

College Stats

Ohio StateCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Ohio 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 — every name is linked.

1993 Draft Class· this player went #21

#8Willie RoafOT #9Lincoln KennedyOT #10Jerome BettisRB #11Dan WilliamsDE #13Brad HopkinsOT #16Sean DawkinsWR #17Tom CarterDB #19Lester HolmesG #22Darrien GordonDB #25O.J. McDuffieWR #26Dana StubblefieldDT #28Thomas SmithDB #29George TeagueFS #30Carlton GrayCB #31Chris SladeDE #32Ben ColemanG

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Robert inherited the Minnesota Vikings RB room from Chuck Evans (1993–1998), and handed it to David Palmer (1994–2000).

Darrin Nelson 1982–1992Allen Rice 1984–1990Alfred Anderson 1984–1991D.J. Dozier 1987–1990Rick Fenney 1987–1991Herschel Walker

Similar Players

Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).

Movementderived from season history

2000final season
Last recorded season with MIN
1993draft
Drafted by MIN — Round 1, Pick 21

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'2" / 210 lb

Frame

Knox

StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works →

Historical Knox · KV-H

Era-normalized career quality — z-scored against 6-season peers. See all →

peak 86

Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season

B+1995

B+1996

A1997

A1998

B+1999

A2000

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 7 seasons.

89%

Era Translator

Rush Yds translated to the 2025NFL — 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	→ 2025 Rush Yds	→ 2025 /G
1995	632	90.3	1,995+1,363	117.4
1996	692	98.9	2,135+1,443	125.6
1997	1,266	90.4	1,908+642	112.2
1998	1,187	84.8	1,767+580	103.9
1999	1,010	77.7	1,496+486	88
2000	1,505	94.1	1,596+91	93.9

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:advanced-epa (CC-BY 4.0), wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

184 career value over replacement — #444 all-time of 4,642. 30.7/season above a replacement-level RB.

Career Profile

1 top-10 seasonstop-10 marks

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #21 (Rd 1) · MIN · 1993 · +27.5 vs expected KV-H

84actual

56.5 expected · Δ+27.5

Fan Rating

Rate Robert Smith — All-Time

Tap a star to rate

Explore More

Similar Players

Jim Brown

94% match

O. J. Simpson

93% match

Gale Sayers

91% match

Walter Payton

91% match

Billy Sims

89% match

Compare Robert Smith vs Player Report data error

Robert Smith

All-Time Rank & Honors

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Rushing

Receiving

Advanced (EPA)

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

From Scrimmage · Career

Postseason Career

Rushing

Receiving

Defense

Advanced (EPA)

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1993 Draft Class· this player went #21

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography