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

RBLV#0ACT

Tom Rathman

Top 23% all-time RBsReliable StarterTwo-Way Profile

Height6'1"

Weight230 lb

BornOct 7, 1962

Age63

CollegeNebraska See College Stats

Rookie yr1986

Draft1986 · Rd 3, Pick 56 · SFO

Archetype Intelligence

Reliable StarterExplore archetypes →

A running back with a top 30% among starters — the kind of consistent contributor every roster needs. Solid availability (exceptional availability — almost never missed time) added to their value.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 71 · #1615 · Above Average

Worth 71 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back — top 36% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 8 of 9 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +8.9 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

8 cleared

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+8.9

Avg surplus

peak +15

8 seasons × ~8.9 surplus ≈ VORP 71

Combined Season Grid

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

3 grids split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Rushing								Receiving									Defense
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
1986	—	SF	16	—	33	138	1	4.2	3.0	—	—	—	—	13	121	0	—	9.3	—	—	—	10	8	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1987	—	SF	12	—	62	257	1	4.1	1.6	—	—	—	—	30	329	3	—	11.0	—	—	—	7	6	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1988	—	SF	16	—	102	427	2	4.2	2.0	—	—	—	—	42	382	0	—	9.1	—	—	—	2	2	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1989	—	SF	16	—	79	305	1	3.9	1.3	—	—	—	—	73	616	1	—	8.4	—	—	—	5	5	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1990	—	SF	16	—	101	318	7	3.1	6.9	—	—	—	—	48	327	0	—	6.8	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1991	—	SF	16	—	63	183	6	2.9	9.5	—	—	—	—	34	286	0	—	8.4	—	—	—	6	0	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1992	—	SF	15	—	57	194	5	3.4	8.8	—	—	—	—	44	343	4	—	7.8	—	—	—	3	3	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1993	—	SF	8	—	19	80	3	4.2	15.8	—	—	—	—	10	86	0	—	8.6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1994	—	LV	16	—	28	118	0	4.2	0.0	—	—	—	—	26	194	0	—	7.5	—	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
Career		—	131	—	544	2,020	26	3.7	4.8	—	—	—	0	320	2,684	8	—	8.4	—	—	—	34	25	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	0	—	—

Rushing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb	VAL
1986	24	SF	16	—	33	138	1	4.2	3.0	—	—	—	7.9
1987	25	SF	12	—	62	257	1	4.1	1.6	—	—	—	10.2
1988	26	SF	16	—	102	427	2	4.2	2.0	—	—	—	11
1989	27	SF	16	—	79	305	1	3.9	1.3	—	—	—	14.1
1990	28	SF	16	—	101	318	7	3.1	6.9	—	—	—	15
1991	29	SF	16	—	63	183	6	2.9	9.5	—	—	—	12.5
1992	30	SF	15	—	57	194	5	3.4	8.8	—	—	—	15.4
1993	31	SF	8	—	19	80	3	4.2	15.8	—	—	—	5.9
1994	32	LV	16	—	28	118	0	4.2	0.0	—	—	—	7.9
Career			131		544	2,020	26	3.7	—	—	—	—	99.9

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
1986	24	SF	16	—	—	13	121	0	—	9.3	—	—	—
1987	25	SF	12	—	—	30	329	3	—	11.0	—	—	—
1988	26	SF	16	—	—	42	382	0	—	9.1	—	—	—
1989	27	SF	16	—	—	73	616	1	—	8.4	—	—	—
1990	28	SF	16	—	—	48	327	0	—	6.8	—	—	—
1991	29	SF	16	—	—	34	286	0	—	8.4	—	—	—
1992	30	SF	15	—	—	44	343	4	—	7.8	—	—	—
1993	31	SF	8	—	—	10	86	0	—	8.6	—	—	—
1994	32	LV	16	—	—	26	194	0	—	7.5	—	—	—
Career			131		0	320	2,684	8	—	8.4	—	—	—

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	FR	TD	Sfty
1986	24	SF	—	—	10	8	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1987	25	SF	—	—	7	6	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1988	26	SF	—	—	2	2	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1989	27	SF	—	—	5	5	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1991	29	SF	—	—	6	0	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1992	30	SF	—	—	3	3	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1994	32	LV	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
Career					34	25	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	—	—

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 9 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 60 × longevity 1 = KV-H 60· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 58

On-field 39.2

Availability 18.8

On-field production Staying available

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

1986bestavg 581994

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 21% of the all-time Receptions leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

21% of the all-time Receptions leader21

0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0

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: 89%.

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+).

From Scrimmage · Career

Scrimmage Yds

4,704

2,020 rush · 2,684 recv

Total TDs

26 rush · 8 recv

Total Touches

864

544 carries · 320 rec

Yds / Touch

5.4

rushing + receiving

College Stats

NebraskaCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Nebraska), 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.

1986 Draft Class· this player went #56

#31Dalton HilliardRB #33Darryl ClackRB #34Ernest GivinsWR #37Anthony ToneyRB #41Kenneth DavisRB #43Webster SlaughterWR #45Walter MurrayWR #47Jack TrudeauQB #57Rueben MayesRB #59Gene ChiltonC #61Allen PinkettRB #62Barry WordRB #67Bubby BristerQB #71Hugh MillenQB #76John TaylorWR #82David WilliamsWR

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Tom inherited the San Francisco 49ers RB room from Joe Cribbs (1986–1987), and handed it to Keith Henderson (1989–1992).

Earl Cooper 1980–1985Roger Craig 1983–1990Derrick Harmon 1984–1986Joe Cribbs 1986–1987Tom Rathman 1986–1993Keith Henderson

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

1994team change
Joined LV (from SF)
1994final season
Last recorded season with LV
1986draft
Drafted by SFO — Round 3, Pick 56
1986team change
Joined SF (from SFO)

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'1" / 230 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 9-season peers. See all →

peak 63

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

C+1986

C+1987

B1988

B1989

B1990

C+1991

C+1992

C1993

C+1994

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 9 seasons.

92%

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
1986	138	8.6	275+137	16.2
1987	257	21.4	588+331	34.6
1988	427	26.7	729+302	42.9
1989	305	19.1	554+249	32.6
1990	318	19.9	609+291	35.8
1991	183	11.4	418+235	24.6
1992	194	12.9	463+269	27.2
1993	80	10	421+341	24.8
1994	118	7.4	394+276	23.2

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) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

71 career value over replacement — #1615 all-time of 4,642. 7.9/season above a replacement-level RB.

Draft OutcomeValue ↑

Pick #56 (Rd 3) · SFO · 1986 · +13.1 vs expected KV-H

60actual

46.9 expected · Δ+13.1

Fan Rating

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Tom Rathman

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Rushing

Receiving

Defense

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

From Scrimmage · Career

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1986 Draft Class· this player went #56

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator