Stump Mitchell ranks in the all-time elite tier for running backs β a career that places Mitchell in the top 10% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Mitchell a career score of 72, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.
Stump Mitchell
Top 8% all-time RBsIron Man
Height5'9"
Weight188 lb
BornMar 15, 1959
Age67
CollegeThe CitadelSee College Stats
Rookie yr1981
Draft1981 Β· Rd 9, Pick 226 Β· STL
A high-end running back defined as much by excellent availability over their career as by their on-field impact (top 10% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 142 Β· #693 Β· High-ValueWorth 142 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back β top 16% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 8 of 8 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +17.8 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
8 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
50
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
8
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+17.8
Avg surplus
peak +29
8 seasons Γ ~17.8 surplus β VORP 142
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 | |||||
| 1981 | β | STL | 16 | β | 31 | 175 | 0 | 5.6 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β | 6 | 35 | 1 | β | 5.8 | β | β | β |
| 1982 | β | STL | 9 | β | 39 | 189 | 1 | 4.8 | 2.6 | β | β | β | β | 11 | 149 | 0 | β | 13.5 | β | β | β |
| 1983 | β | STL | 15 | β | 68 | 373 | 3 | 5.5 | 4.4 | β | β | β | β | 7 | 54 | 0 | β | 7.7 | β | β | β |
| 1984 | β | STL | 16 | β | 81 | 434 | 9 | 5.4 | 11.1 | β | β | β | β | 26 | 318 | 2 | β | 12.2 | β | β | β |
| 1985 | β | STL | 16 | β | 183 | 1,006 | 7 | 5.5 | 3.8 | β | β | β | β | 47 | 502 | 3 | β | 10.7 | β | β | β |
| 1986 | β | STL | 15 | β | 174 | 800 | 5 | 4.6 | 2.9 | β | β | β | β | 41 | 276 | 0 | β | 6.7 | β | β | β |
| 1987 | β | STL | 12 | β | 203 | 781 | 3 | 3.8 | 1.5 | β | β | β | β | 45 | 397 | 2 | β | 8.8 | β | β | β |
| 1988 | β | PHO | 14 | β | 164 | 726 | 4 | 4.4 | 2.4 | β | β | β | β | 25 | 214 | 1 | β | 8.6 | β | β | β |
| 1989 | β | PHO | 3 | β | 43 | 165 | 0 | 3.8 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β | 1 | 10 | 0 | β | 10.0 | β | β | β |
| Career | β | 116 | β | 986 | 4,649 | 32 | 4.7 | 3.2 | β | β | β | 0 | 209 | 1,955 | 9 | β | 9.4 | β | β | β | |
Rushing
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 22 | STL | 16 | β | 31 | 175 | 0 | 5.6 | 0.0 | β | β | β | 6.9 |
| 1982 | 23 | STL | 9 | β | 39 | 189 | 1 | 4.8 | 2.6 | β | β | β | 5.5 |
| 1983 | 24 | STL | 15 | β | 68 | 373 | 3 | 5.5 | 4.4 | β | β | β | 9.6 |
| 1984 | 25 | STL | 16 | β | 81 | 434 | 9 | 5.4 | 11.1 | β | β | β | 18.1 |
| 1985 | 26 | STL | 16 | β | 183 | 1,006 | 7 | 5.5 | 3.8 | β | β | β | 17.7 |
| 1986 | 27 | STL | 15 | β | 174 | 800 | 5 | 4.6 | 2.9 | β | β | β | 13.9 |
| 1987 | 28 | STL | 12 | β | 203 | 781 | 3 | 3.8 | 1.5 | β | β | β | 13.3 |
| 1988 | 29 | PHO | 14 | β | 164 | 726 | 4 | 4.4 | 2.4 | β | β | β | 12.8 |
| 1989 | 30 | PHO | 3 | β | 43 | 165 | 0 | 3.8 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β |
| Career | 116 | 986 | 4,649 | 32 | 4.7 | β | β | β | β | 97.8 |
Receiving
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 22 | STL | 16 | β | β | 6 | 35 | 1 | β | 5.8 | β | β | β |
| 1982 | 23 | STL | 9 | β | β | 11 | 149 | 0 | β | 13.5 | β | β | β |
| 1983 | 24 | STL | 15 | β | β | 7 | 54 | 0 | β | 7.7 | β | β | β |
| 1984 | 25 | STL | 16 | β | β | 26 | 318 | 2 | β | 12.2 | β | β | β |
| 1985 | 26 | STL | 16 | β | β | 47 | 502 | 3 | β | 10.7 | β | β | β |
| 1986 | 27 | STL | 15 | β | β | 41 | 276 | 0 | β | 6.7 | β | β | β |
| 1987 | 28 | STL | 12 | β | β | 45 | 397 | 2 | β | 8.8 | β | β | β |
| 1988 | 29 | PHO | 14 | β | β | 25 | 214 | 1 | β | 8.6 | β | β | β |
| 1989 | 30 | PHO | 3 | β | β | 1 | 10 | 0 | β | 10.0 | β | β | β |
| Career | 116 | 0 | 209 | 1,955 | 9 | β | 9.4 | β | β | β |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 72 Β· GreatA great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 72 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 8 scored seasons.
68
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
77
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 71.6 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 72Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 68
On-field 49
Availability 19
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rush yds/g)
1981bestavg 68elite 701988
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position26
Depth
of 100
Reached 25% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
25% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader25
1 category β₯25% of the all-time leader33
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: 92%.
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
6,604
4,649 rush Β· 1,955 recv
Total TDs
41
32 rush Β· 9 recv
Total Touches
1,195
986 carries Β· 209 rec
Yds / Touch
5.5
rushing + receiving
Postseason Career
Rushing
Att7Yds21Y/A3.0
Receiving
Rec4Yds57Y/R14.3
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (The Citadel), 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
1981 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #226
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterStump opened the Arizona Cardinals RB lineage the corpus knows, and handed it to Earl Ferrell (1983β1989).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1989final season
Last recorded season with PHO
- 1988team change
Joined PHO (from STL)
- 1981draft
Drafted by STL β Round 9, Pick 226
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts5'9" / 188 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 8-season peers. See all β
72
peak 77
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1981
C+1982
C+1983
B1984
B+1985
B+1986
B+1987
B+1988
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 9 seasons.
85%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 175 | 10.9 | 292+117 | 17.2 |
| 1982 | 189 | 21 | 470+281 | 27.6 |
| 1983 | 373 | 24.9 | 551+178 | 32.4 |
| 1984 | 434 | 27.1 | 654+220 | 38.5 |
| 1985 | 1,006 | 62.9 | 1,342+336 | 79 |
| 1986 | 800 | 53.3 | 1,202+402 | 70.7 |
| 1987 | 781 | 65.1 | 1,554+773 | 91.4 |
| 1988 | 726 | 51.9 | 1,311+585 | 77.1 |
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
142 career value over replacement β #693 all-time of 4,642. 17.8/season above a replacement-level RB.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #226 (Rd 9) Β· STL Β· 1981 Β· +49.2 vs expected KV-H
72actual
22.8 expected Β· Ξ+49.2
Fan Rating
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