Ted Popson is a career quality starter β a tight end whose body of work places Popson in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Popson's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Ted Popson
A tight end 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 65 Β· #1732 Β· Above AverageWorth 65 points of value above a freely-available replacement tight end β top 38% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 5 of 5 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +13 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
5 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
46
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
5
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+13
Avg surplus
peak +20
5 seasons Γ ~13 surplus β VORP 65
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 | Receiving | Defense | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |||||
| 1994 | β | SF | 16 | β | β | 13 | 141 | 0 | β | 10.8 | β | β | β | 2 | 2 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | SF | 12 | β | β | 16 | 128 | 0 | β | 8.0 | β | β | β | 3 | 2 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | SF | 15 | β | β | 26 | 301 | 6 | β | 11.6 | β | β | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | KC | 13 | β | β | 35 | 320 | 2 | β | 9.1 | β | β | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | KC | 12 | β | β | 13 | 90 | 0 | β | 6.9 | β | β | β | 2 | 2 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| Career | β | 68 | β | 0 | 103 | 980 | 8 | β | 9.5 | β | β | β | 9 | 8 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | β | |
Receiving
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 28 | SF | β | β | 2 | 2 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | 29 | SF | β | β | 3 | 2 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | 30 | SF | β | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | 31 | KC | β | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | 32 | KC | β | β | 2 | 2 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| Career | 9 | 8 | β | β | β | β | β | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | β |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 61 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 61 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 5 scored seasons.
59
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
63
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 60.6 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 61Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 59
On-field 41.8
Availability 17.2
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rec yds/g)
1994bestavg 591998
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position6
Depth
of 100
Reached 7% of the all-time Receptions leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
7% of the all-time Receptions 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: 90%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average tight ends 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 (Portland State; College of Marin), 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
Elvis GrbacQB4yJerry RiceWR3yBryant YoungDT3yKen NortonMLB3ySteve YoungQB3yDana StubblefieldDT3yBrent JonesTE3yMerton HanksDB3yDexter CarterRB3yLee WoodallLB3yTim McDonaldS3yKevin MitchellMLB3yDerek LovilleRB3yTyronne DrakefordCB3yWilliam FloydFB3yTony PetersonLB3yNate SingletonWR3yTony GonzalezTE2yRickey JacksonLB2yJames HastyDB2yDonnie EdwardsOLB2yEric DavisFS2yAndre RisonWR2yJoe HornWR2y
1991 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #306
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterTed inherited the San Francisco 49ers TE room from Wesley Walls (1989β1993), and handed it to Greg Clark (1997β2000).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1998final season
Last recorded season with KC
- 1997team change
Joined KC (from SF)
- 1994team change
Joined SF (from NYG)
- 1991draft
Drafted by NYG β Round 11, Pick 306
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'4" / 245 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 5-season peers. See all β
61
peak 63
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1994
C+1995
B1996
B1997
C+1998
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 5 seasons.
85%
Era Translator
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 141 | 8.8 | 356+215 | 20.9 |
| 1995 | 128 | 10.7 | 403+275 | 23.7 |
| 1996 | 301 | 20.1 | 585+284 | 34.4 |
| 1997 | 320 | 24.6 | 636+316 | 37.4 |
| 1998 | 90 | 7.5 | 289+199 | 17 |
Data: nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:players, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), nfl.com:official-stats (facts-only reference), espn.com:stats-api (games-played, facts-only reference) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
65 career value over replacement β #1732 all-time of 4,642. 13/season above a replacement-level TE.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #306 (Rd 11) Β· NYG Β· 1991 Β· +53 vs expected KV-H
61actual
8 expected Β· Ξ+53
Fan Rating
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