Tim Hightower is a career quality starter — a running back whose body of work places Hightower in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Hightower's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.

RBNO#34ACT

Tim Hightower

Top 23% all-time RBsHigh-End Starter🏆 Clutch · +26% playoffsTwo-Way Profile

Height6'0"

Weight220 lb

BornMay 23, 1986

Age40

CollegeRichmond See College Stats

Rookie yr2008

Draft2008 · Rd 5, Pick 149 · ARI

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Postseason all-time ranks

98thPlayoff Rushing Touchdowns·3

Archetype Intelligence

High-End StarterExplore archetypes →

A quality running back with a top 30% among starters — a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 46 · #2173 · Above Average

Worth 46 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back — top 48% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 4 of 6 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +11.5 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

4 cleared

2 replaced

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+11.5

Avg surplus

peak +16

4 seasons × ~11.5 surplus ≈ VORP 46

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													Snap Counts
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	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%
2008	—	ARI	16	—	143	399	10	2.8	7.0	34	23.8	0	33	33	230	0	100.0%	7.0	7.0	—	11	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2008	—	MIN	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	3	3	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
2009	—	ARI	16	—	143	598	8	4.2	5.6	33	23.1	4	80	63	428	0	78.8%	6.8	5.3	—	22	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2009	—	DET	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	3	3	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
2010	—	ARI	16	—	153	736	5	4.8	3.3	30	19.6	4	42	21	136	0	50.0%	6.5	3.2	—	7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2010	—	DEN	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	2	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
2011	—	WAS	5	—	83	299	1	3.6	1.2	12	14.5	0	15	10	78	1	66.7%	7.8	5.2	—	6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2011	—	LA	3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	3	3	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—
2015	—	NO	6	—	96	375	4	3.9	4.2	25	26.0	0	13	12	129	0	92.3%	10.8	9.9	—	7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	192	43.2%	—	0.0%	29	24.3%
2016	—	NO	15	—	133	548	4	4.1	3.0	32	24.1	0	26	22	200	1	84.6%	9.1	7.7	—	11	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	286	25.9%	—	0.0%	63	22.6%
Career		—	84	—	751	2,955	32	3.9	4.3	166	22.1	8	209	161	1,201	2	77.0%	7.5	5.7	—	64	11	11	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	478	34.5%	—	0.0%	92	23.4%

Career EPA-84.3·-83 rushing · -2 receiving·-14.1/season

Rushing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb	VAL
2008	22	ARI	16	—	143	399	10	2.8	7.0	34	23.8	0	12.7
2009	23	ARI	16	—	143	598	8	4.2	5.6	33	23.1	4	15.4
2010	24	ARI	16	—	153	736	5	4.8	3.3	30	19.6	4	11.3
2011	25	WAS	5	—	83	299	1	3.6	1.2	12	14.5	0	4.9
2015	29	NO	6	0*	96	375	4	3.9	4.2	25	26.0	0	6.5
2016	30	NO	15	0*	133	548	4	4.1	3.0	32	24.1	0	10.5
Career			74		751	2,955	32	3.9	—	166	—	8	61.3

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
2008	22	ARI	16	—	33	33	230	0	100.0%	7.0	7.0	—	11
2009	23	ARI	16	—	80	63	428	0	78.8%	6.8	5.3	—	22
2010	24	ARI	16	—	42	21	136	0	50.0%	6.5	3.2	—	7
2011	25	WAS	5	—	15	10	78	1	66.7%	7.8	5.2	—	6
2015	29	NO	6	0*	13	12	129	0	92.3%	10.8	9.9	—	7
2016	30	NO	15	0*	26	22	200	1	84.6%	9.1	7.7	—	11
Career			74		209	161	1,201	2	77.0%	7.5	5.7	—	64

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Sk	Dis	FR
2008	22	MIN	2	—	3	3	0.0	0.0	—
2009	23	DET	3	—	3	3	0.0	0.0	—
2010	24	DEN	2	—	2	2	0.0	0.0	—
2011	25	LA	3	—	3	3	0.0	0.0	—
Career			10		11	11	—	—	—

Snap Counts

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%
2015	29	NO	8	0*	192	43.2%	—	0.0%	29	24.3%
2016	30	NO	16	0*	286	25.9%	—	0.0%	63	22.6%
Career			24		478	—	—	—	92	—

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Advanced (EPA)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Pass EPA	Rush EPA	Rec EPA	Rec AirYd
2008	22	—	—	—	—	-16.5	10.2	16
2009	23	—	—	—	—	-26.1	-5.2	-8
2010	24	—	—	—	—	-21.9	-18.4	15
2011	25	—	—	—	—	-10.4	-0.4	5
2015	29	—	—	0*	—	-5.8	4.8	2
2016	30	—	—	0*	—	-2.0	7.4	-13
Career					—	—	—	17

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 60 · Strong Starter

A strong starter career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 60 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 60.6 × longevity 1 = KV-H 60· confidence 90%

What builds the career mark of 59

On-field 41.4

Availability 17.6

On-field production Staying available

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

2008bestavg 552016

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 20% of the all-time Rushing Touchdowns leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

20% of the all-time Rushing Touchdowns leader20

0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0

-14.05 EPA/season over 6 seasons45

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: 91%.

Per-Snap Impact

Running Backs · proprietary · 2012+

—

below snap floor

Yards / snap:2.619 ydsSee leaderboard →

Yards/snap2.619Touch rate0.561EPA/snap0.009Snap share34.6%Off snaps478Emerging

Production per snap — the box score normalized by opportunity. SIS is z-scored within running backs, shrinkage-regularized so small samples don't spike, over the NFL snap-count era (2012+).

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

🏆 Playoff Performer

Yards / Carry: 3.9 regular season → 5.0 playoffs (2 playoff seasons)

+26%

vs reg season

From Scrimmage · Career

Scrimmage Yds

4,156

2,955 rush · 1,201 recv

Total TDs

32 rush · 2 recv

Total Touches

912

751 carries · 161 rec

Yds / Touch

4.6

rushing + receiving

Postseason Career

6 playoff games

Rushing

Att48Yds238TD3Y/A5.0TD%6.31D91D%18.8

Receiving

Tgt11Rec10Yds72TD2Ctch%90.9%Y/R7.2Y/Tgt6.51D6

Advanced (EPA)

Rush EPA4.6Rec EPA10.0Rec AirYd-7

College Stats

RichmondCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Richmond), 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.

2008 Draft Class· this player went #149

#141Gary BarnidgeTE #142Zack BowmanDB #143Orlando ScandrickDB #144DeMario PressleyDT #145Jason ShirleyDT #146Jerome FeltonFB #147Alvin BowenOLB #148Carlton PowellDT #150Breno GiacominiOT #151Frank OkamDT #152Letroy GuionDE #153Matthew SlaterWR #154Kroy BiermannOLB #155Thomas WilliamsLB #156Dennis DixonQB #158Kellen DavisTE

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Tim inherited the Arizona Cardinals RB room from Edgerrin James (2006–2008), and handed it to Chris Wells (2009–2012).

Stump Mitchell 1981–1989Earl Ferrell 1983–1989Ron Wolfley 1985–1990Vai Sikahema 1986–1990Johnny Johnson 1990–1992Larry Centers

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

2016final season
Last recorded season with NO
2015team change
Joined NO (from WAS)
2011team change
Joined WAS (from ARI)
2008draft
Drafted by ARI — Round 5, Pick 149

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'0" / 220 lb

Frame

Injury History

From nflverse weekly injury reports · coverage begins 2009.

Season	Team	Games Out	Designations
2011	WAS	0	W6Questionable· Shoulder
2009	ARI	0	W13Questionable· Thumb

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 63

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

C+2008

B2009

B2010

D2011

C2015

B2016

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 6 seasons.

80%

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
2008	399	24.9	405+6	23.8
2009	598	37.4	602+4	35.4
2010	736	46	778+42	45.8
2011	299	59.8	1,035+736	60.9
2015	375	62.5	1,150+775	67.6
2016	548	36.5	638+90	37.5

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:snap_counts, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:advanced-epa (CC-BY 4.0), nflverse:injuries · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

46 career value over replacement — #2173 all-time of 4,642. 7.7/season above a replacement-level RB.

Career Profile

2-phase playertwo-way

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #149 (Rd 5) · ARI · 2008 · +27 vs expected KV-H

60actual

33 expected · Δ+27

Fan Rating

Rate Tim Hightower — All-Time

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Tim Hightower

All-Time Rank & Honors

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Rushing

Receiving

Defense

Snap Counts

Advanced (EPA)

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Per-Snap Impact

Career Aging Trajectory

From Scrimmage · Career

Postseason Career

Rushing

Receiving

Advanced (EPA)

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

2008 Draft Class· this player went #149

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Injury History

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography