Rueben Mayes ranks in the all-time elite tier for running backs — a career that places Mayes in the top 5% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Mayes a career score of 77, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.
Season totals or exact team stints. Career totals count each season once.
| 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 | |||||
| 1986 | 23 | NO | 16 | — | 286 | 1,353 | 8 | 4.7 | 2.8 | — | — | — | — | 17 | 96 | 0 | — | 5.6 | — | — | — |
| 1987 | 24 | NO | 12 | — | 243 | 917 | 5 | 3.8 | 2.1 | — | — | — | — | 15 | 68 | 0 | — | 4.5 | — | — | — |
| 1988 | 25 | NO | 16 | — | 170 | 628 | 3 | 3.7 | 1.8 | — | — | — | — | 11 | 103 | 0 | — | 9.4 | — | — | — |
| 1990 | 27 | NO | 15 | — | 138 | 510 | 7 | 3.7 | 5.1 | — | — | — | — | 12 | 121 | 0 | — | 10.1 | — | — | — |
| 1992 | 29 | SEA | 16 | — | 28 | 74 | 0 | 2.6 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 13 | 0 | — | 6.5 | — | — | — |
| 1993 | 30 | SEA | 1 | — | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0 | — | — | — |
| Career | — | 76 | — | 866 | 3,484 | 23 | 4.0 | 2.7 | — | — | — | — | 57 | 401 | 0 | — | 7.0 | — | — | — | |
Career Value · VORP
118 career value over replacement — #918 all-time of 4,695. 23.6/season above a replacement-level RB.
Pick #57 (Rd 3) · NOR · 1986 · +30.9 vs expected KV-H
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Rate Rueben Mayes — All-Time
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5 seasons · peak 6.1 in 1986
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.
0.7 career wins over 5 seasons · 1 win = 13.08 VAL
Best season · 1986 · +0.5 wins
Latest season · 1992 · −0.2 wins
VAL 3.0 measures each part of a NFL player's game in his sport's own currency against what that season's fringe players produced, converted to team wins with rates fitted from every team-season in the encyclopedia.
#61 of 1,228 all-time RBs by KV-H
A great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 77 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 5 scored seasons.
Blend 76.6 × longevity 1 = KV-H 77· confidence 100%
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rush yds/g)
Jacory Croskey-Merritt
RB
88% match
1986 Draft ClassmatesFull class →