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

WRDEN#0ACT

Vance Johnson

Top 15% all-time WRsIron ManTwo-Way Profile

Height5'11"

Weight185 lb

BornMar 13, 1963

Age63

CollegeArizona See College Stats

Rookie yr1985

Draft1985 · Rd 2, Pick 31 · DEN

Archetype Intelligence

Iron ManExplore archetypes →

A high-end wide receiver defined as much by excellent availability over their career as by their on-field impact (top 20% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 126 · #811 · High-Value

Worth 126 points of value above a freely-available replacement receiver — top 18% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 8 of 10 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +15.8 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

+15.8

Avg surplus

peak +28

8 seasons × ~15.8 surplus ≈ VORP 126

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	Receiving									Rushing								Passing													Defense
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb	Cmp	Att	Cmp%	Yds	TD	Int	TD%	Int%	Y/A	AdjY/A	TD:INT	Rate	Sk	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty
1985	—	DEN	16	—	—	51	721	3	—	14.1	—	—	—	10	36	0	3.6	0.0	—	—	—	0	1	0.0%	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	39.6	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1986	—	DEN	12	—	—	31	363	2	—	11.7	—	—	—	5	15	0	3.0	0.0	—	—	—	0	1	0.0%	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	39.6	0	2	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1987	—	DEN	11	—	—	42	684	7	—	16.3	—	—	—	1	-8	0	-8.0	0.0	—	—	—	0	1	0.0%	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	39.6	0	1	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1988	—	DEN	16	—	—	68	896	5	—	13.2	—	—	—	1	1	0	1.0	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	4	4	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1989	—	DEN	16	—	—	76	1,095	7	—	14.4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	1	0.0%	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	39.6	0	3	3	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1990	—	DEN	16	—	—	54	747	3	—	13.8	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1991	—	DEN	10	—	—	21	208	3	—	9.9	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	0	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	0	0	—	—	—
1992	—	DEN	11	—	—	24	294	2	—	12.3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1993	—	DEN	10	—	—	36	517	5	—	14.4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1995	—	DEN	10	—	—	12	170	0	—	14.2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Career		—	128	—	0	415	5,695	37	—	13.7	—	—	—	17	44	0	2.6	0.0	—	—	—	0	4	0.0%	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	—	39.6	0	11	9	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	0	—	—

Passing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Cmp%	AdjY/A	TD:INT	Rate	VAL
1985	22	DEN	16	—	1	0.0%	0.0	—	39.6	13.4
1986	23	DEN	12	—	1	0.0%	0.0	—	39.6	7.6
1987	24	DEN	11	—	1	0.0%	0.0	—	39.6	10.5
1989	26	DEN	16	—	1	0.0%	0.0	—	39.6	17.2
Career			55		4	0.0%	—	—	39.6	99.7

Rushing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb
1985	22	DEN	16	—	10	36	3.6	0.0	—	—	—
1986	23	DEN	12	—	5	15	3.0	0.0	—	—	—
1987	24	DEN	11	—	1	-8	-8.0	0.0	—	—	—
1988	25	DEN	16	—	1	1	1.0	0.0	—	—	—
Career			55		17	44	2.6	—	—	—	—

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
1985	22	DEN	16	—	—	51	721	3	—	14.1	—	—	—
1986	23	DEN	12	—	—	31	363	2	—	11.7	—	—	—
1987	24	DEN	11	—	—	42	684	7	—	16.3	—	—	—
1989	26	DEN	16	—	—	76	1,095	7	—	14.4	—	—	—
1988	25	DEN	16	—	—	68	896	5	—	13.2	—	—	—
1990	27	DEN	16	—	—	54	747	3	—	13.8	—	—	—
1991	28	DEN	10	—	—	21	208	3	—	9.9	—	—	—
1992	29	DEN	11	—	—	24	294	2	—	12.3	—	—	—
1993	30	DEN	10	—	—	36	517	5	—	14.4	—	—	—
1995	32	DEN	10	—	—	12	170	0	—	14.2	—	—	—
Career			128		0	415	5,695	37	—	13.7	—	—	—

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	FR	TD	Sfty
1986	23	DEN	—	—	2	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1987	24	DEN	—	—	1	1	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1989	26	DEN	—	—	3	3	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1988	25	DEN	—	—	4	4	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
1991	28	DEN	—	—	1	0	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—
Career					11	9	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	—	—

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 65 · Strong Starter

A strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 65 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 10 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 65.6 × longevity 1 = KV-H 65· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 62

On-field 45.2

Availability 16.8

On-field production Staying available

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

1985bestavg 60elite 701995

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 27% of the all-time Receptions leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

27% of the all-time Receptions leader27

1 category ≥25% of the all-time leader33

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: 95%.

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average wide receivers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

College Stats

ArizonaCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Arizona), 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.

1985 Draft Class· this player went #31

#15Ethan HortonTE #16Jerry RiceWR #19George AdamsRB #22William PerryDT #23Jessie HesterWR #26Steve SewellRB #27Lorenzo HamptonRB #28Trevor MatichC #35Greg AllenRB #37Randall CunninghamQB #41Jonathan HayesTE #42Chris BurkettWR #46Stacy RobinsonWR #50Chuck ScottWR #53Owen GillRB #57Frank ReichQB

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Vance inherited the Denver Broncos WR room from Clint Sampson (1983–1986), and handed it to Mark Jackson (1986–1992).

Clint Sampson 1983–1986Vance Johnson 1985–1995Mark Jackson 1986–1992Ricky Nattiel 1987–1992Mike Young 1989–1992Derek Russell

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

1995final season
Last recorded season with DEN
1985draft
Drafted by DEN — Round 2, Pick 31

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

5'11" / 185 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 10-season peers. See all →

peak 71

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

B1985

C+1986

B1987

B+1988

B+1989

B1990

C1991

C+1992

B1993

C1995

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 10 seasons.

81%

Era Translator

Rec 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 Rec Yds	Rec Yds/G	→ 2025 Rec Yds	→ 2025 /G
1985	721	45.1	773+52	45.4
1986	363	30.3	526+163	31
1987	684	62.2	1,006+322	59.2
1988	896	56	910+14	53.6
1989	1,095	68.4	1,108+13	65.2
1990	747	46.7	773+26	45.5
1991	208	20.8	363+155	21.4
1992	294	26.7	446+152	26.2
1993	517	51.7	814+297	47.9
1995	170	17	324+154	19.1

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

126 career value over replacement — #811 all-time of 4,642. 12.6/season above a replacement-level WR.

Draft OutcomeValue ↑

Pick #31 (Rd 2) · DEN · 1985 · +10.1 vs expected KV-H

65actual

54.9 expected · Δ+10.1

Fan Rating

Rate Vance Johnson — All-Time

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Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Defense

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1985 Draft Class· this player went #31

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography