Who is better, Dierdorf or Kelly?
Dan Dierdorf leads with a GOAT score of 84.8 against 84.8 for Jim Kelly — a gap of 0.0 points on GOAT Rank's weighted model.
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Dierdorf vs Kelly
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Quick answer
GOAT Rank currently scores Dan Dierdorf and Jim Kelly level at 84.8. Dan Dierdorf leads on Longevity, Peak. Jim Kelly leads on Dominance, Honours, Statistics.
How the GOAT Score is calculated →GOAT verdictgoatrank.world
DierdorfWinner
84.8Dierdorf wins: Peak, Longevity
Kelly
84.8Kelly wins: Dominance, Honours, Statistics
Candidates
Locked to American FootballShareable URL · /compare/dan-dierdorf-vs-jim-kelly
Time range
Showing full careers. Pick a window to recalculate the selected period.
Category radar
Verdict
Weighted GOAT score
🇺🇸 Dan Dierdorf
84.8
Dierdorf leads in 2 of 5 weighted categories.
1. Dan Dierdorf
2. Jim Kelly
Category breakdown
Season form · Form index per season
Career timeline · Form index per season
Cumulative output season by season — the shape of each career against the other.
GOAT pace tracker
Career stage · GOAT pace
Through season 5 · Form index per season1. 🇺🇸 Jim Kelly5 seasons played · career day 1,825105 touchdowns
Setting the pace at this stage
2. 🇺🇸 Dan Dierdorf5 seasons played · career day 1,82516 touchdowns
-84.8% vs Kelly at the same stage
| Ghost race · career day | 30 | 100 | 365 | 1000 | 1825 | 3650 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇺🇸 Dierdorf | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 16 | 32 |
| 🇺🇸 Kelly | 0 | 0 | 22 | 41 | 105 | 201 |
Careers are aligned from debut; the first 5 season periods are measured against the same career window.
| Metric | DierdorfRetired | KellyRetired |
|---|---|---|
| Pro Bowls | 6 | 5 |
| First-team All-Pro selections | 3 | — |
| Games played | 160 | — |
| Seasons played | 13 | — |
| All-Decade team selections | 1 | — |
| Super Bowl appearances | — | 4 |
| Career passing yards | — | 35,467 |
| Career touchdown passes | — | 237 |
| Career wins as starter | — | 101 |
| Dominance w25% | 80 | 82 |
| Peak w20% | 92 | 90 |
| Longevity w20% | 84 | 80 |
| Honours w20% | 82 | 84 |
| Statistics w15% | 88 | 90 |
Fan vote — data vs the people
GOAT Rank · the data
Dierdorf84.8
Kelly84.8
FAQ
Where does Kelly beat Dierdorf?
Kelly scores higher on dominance, honours, statistics. Dierdorf leads on peak, longevity.
How is the Dierdorf vs Kelly score calculated?
Both are scored on peak, dominance, honours, statistics, longevity within their sport. Dierdorf: 84.8, Kelly: 84.8.
What do you think?
0 commentsMake your case for Dierdorf vs Kelly. The scoring is published in full — if you can point at the pillar or the weight you disagree with, we read it. Read the methodology paper.