Tony Cline
Top 50% all-time TEsSolid Contributor
Height6'5"
Weight260 lb
BornNov 24, 1971
Age54
CollegeStanfordSee College Stats
Rookie yr1995
Draft1995 Β· Rd 4, Pick 131 Β· BUF
A tight end with a middle-tier career β a rotational or backup contributor who filled their role reliably.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 19 Β· #3173 Β· Role PlayerWorth 19 points of value above a freely-available replacement tight end β top 69% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 2 of 3 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +9.5 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
2 cleared
1 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
46
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
2
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+9.5
Avg surplus
peak +11
2 seasons Γ ~9.5 surplus β VORP 19
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 | Advanced (EPA) | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | Pass EPA | Rush EPA | Rec EPA | Pass AirYd | Rec AirYd | |||||
| 1995 | β | BUF | 16 | β | β | 8 | 64 | 0 | β | 8.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | BUF | 16 | β | β | 19 | 117 | 1 | β | 6.2 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | BUF | 10 | β | β | 1 | 29 | 0 | β | 29.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | SF | 3 | β | 5 | 4 | 45 | 0 | 80.0% | 11.3 | 9.0 | β | 2 | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | 0.7 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 45 | β | 5 | 32 | 255 | 1 | 640.0% | 8.0 | 51.0 | β | 2 | β | β | 0.7 | 0 | 0 | |
Career EPA0.7Β·Β·0.7/season
Receiving
Advanced (EPA)
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Pass EPA | Rush EPA | Rec EPA | Pass AirYd | Rec AirYd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 28 | β | β | β | β | β | 0.7 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | β | β | 0 | 0 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 45 Β· SolidA solid career by KV-H: a remarkably steady profile that scores 45 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 3 scored seasons, with a short career trimming the score.
53
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
52
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ0.86
Longevity
career length
Blend 52.6 Γ longevity 0.86 = KV-H 45Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 53
On-field 34.7
Availability 18.3
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rec yds/g)
1995bestavg 521997
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position7
Depth
of 100
Reached 2% of the all-time Receptions leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
2% of the all-time Receptions leader2
0 categories β₯25% of the all-time leader0
0.72 EPA/season over 1 season50
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: 93%.
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 (Stanford), 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
Bruce SmithDE3ySteve ChristieK3yAndre ReedWR3yTed WashingtonNT3yThurman ThomasRB3yHenry JonesDB3yPhil HansenDE3yChris MohrP3yJeff BurrisCB3yBryce PaupLB3yKurt SchulzFS3ySam RogersOLB3yMark MaddoxLB3yDarick HolmesRB3yMarlo PerryLB3yTodd CollinsQB3yAlex Van PeltQB3yEric MouldsWR2yJim KellyQB2yQuinn EarlyWR2yShawn PriceDE2ySteve TaskerWR2ySean MoranDE2yRussell CopelandWR2y
1995 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #131
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterTony inherited the Buffalo Bills TE room from Keith McKeller (1987β1993), and handed it to Jay Riemersma (1997β2002).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1999team change
Joined SF (from BUF)
- 1999final season
Last recorded season with SF
- 1995draft
Drafted by BUF β Round 4, Pick 131
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'5" / 260 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 3-season peers. See all β
45
peak 52
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1995
C+1996
C1997
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 4 seasons.
70%
19951999
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 64 | 4 | 274+210 | 16.1 |
| 1996 | 117 | 7.3 | 341+224 | 20.1 |
| 1997 | 29 | 2.9 | 216+187 | 12.7 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:advanced-epa (CC-BY 4.0), 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
19 career value over replacement β #3173 all-time of 4,642. 6.3/season above a replacement-level TE.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #131 (Rd 4) Β· BUF Β· 1995 Β· +11.5 vs expected KV-H
45actual
33.5 expected Β· Ξ+11.5
Fan Rating
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