Darrin Nelson is a career quality starter — a running back whose body of work places Nelson in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Nelson's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Darrin Nelson
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping. Switch to Combined to fold the selected families into unified totals—yards from scrimmage, total TDs, touches.
4 grids split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Rushing | Receiving | Passing | Defense | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | 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 | |||||
| 1982 | 23–24 | MIN | 7 | — | 44 | 136 | 0 | 3.1 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 9 | 100 | 0 | — | 11.1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1983 | 24–25 | MIN | 15 | — | 154 | 642 | 1 | 4.2 | 0.6 | — | — | — | — | 51 | 618 | 0 | — | 12.1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1984 | 25–26 | MIN | 15 | — | 80 | 406 | 3 | 5.1 | 3.8 | — | — | — | — | 27 | 162 | 1 | — | 6.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1985 | 26–27 | MIN | 16 | — | 200 | 893 | 5 | 4.5 | 2.5 | — | — | — | — | 43 | 301 | 1 | — | 7.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1986 | 27–28 | MIN | 16 | — | 191 | 793 | 4 | 4.2 | 2.1 | — | — | — | — | 53 | 593 | 3 | — | 11.2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1987 | 28–29 | MIN | 10 | — | 131 | 642 | 2 | 4.9 | 1.5 | — | — | — | — | 26 | 129 | 0 | — | 5.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1988 | 29–30 | MIN | 13 | — | 112 | 380 | 1 | 3.4 | 0.9 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 105 | 0 | — | 6.6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1989 | 30–31 | TOT | — | — | 67 | 321 | 0 | 4.8 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 38 | 380 | 0 | — | 10.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1989 | 30–31 | MIN | — | — | 31 | 124 | 0 | 4.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 7 | 52 | 0 | — | 7.4 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1989 | 30–31 | SD | — | — | 36 | 197 | 0 | 5.5 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 31 | 328 | 0 | — | 10.6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1990 | 31–32 | SD | 14 | — | 3 | 14 | 0 | 4.7 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 29 | 0 | — | 7.3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1991 | 32–33 | MIN | 16 | — | 28 | 210 | 2 | 7.5 | 7.1 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 142 | 0 | — | 7.5 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 100.0% | 25 | 1 | 0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 25.0 | 45.0 | — | 158.3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1992 | 33–34 | MIN | 16 | — | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | — | 138 | — | 1,020 | 4,442 | 18 | 4.4 | 1.8 | — | — | — | — | 286 | 2,559 | 5 | — | 8.9 | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 100.0% | 25 | 1 | 0 | 100.0 | 0.0 | 25.0 | 45.0 | — | 158.3 | 0 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | — | |
Career Value · VORP
126 career value over replacement — #802 all-time of 4,649. 12.6/season above a replacement-level RB.
Draft OutcomeValue ↑
Pick #7 (Rd 1) · MIN · 1982 · +4.6 vs expected KV-H
66actual
61.4 expected · Δ+4.6
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