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

OLBBUFDEV

A.J. Klein

Top 34% all-time pass rushersHigh-End Starter📈 Late Developer · 2020

Height6'1"

Weight240 lb

BornJul 30, 1991

Age34

CollegeIowa State See College Stats

ConferenceBig Twelve

Rookie yr2013

Draft2013 · Rd 5, Pick 148 · CAR

Archetype Intelligence

High-End StarterExplore archetypes →

A quality edge rusher with a above-average career — a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 48 · #2095 · Above Average

Worth 48 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker — top 46% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 6 of 9 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +8 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

6 cleared

3 replaced

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

Avg surplus

peak +20

6 seasons × ~8 surplus ≈ VORP 48

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	Defense													Snap Counts						Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%	Tgt	Cmp	Cmp%	RateAll	ADOT	Prss	Hrry	QBKD	Bltz	MissTkl	Miss%
2013	—	CAR	7	—	16	15	1	5	2	2.0	9.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	129	22.0%	260	61.8%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2014	—	CAR	11	—	34	21	13	2	0	0.0	2.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	282	34.0%	269	65.9%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2015	—	CAR	11	—	46	32	14	7	1	1.0	9.0	1	1	1	—	0	0	—	0.0%	318	34.5%	283	64.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2016	—	CAR	10	—	26	13	13	2	1	1.0	4.0	0	1	2	—	0	0	—	0.0%	350	39.4%	231	51.9%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2017	—	NO	10	—	54	37	17	6	3	2.0	11.0	0	4	1	—	0	0	—	0.0%	664	85.7%	63	21.1%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2018	—	NO	16	—	66	38	28	7	4	2.0	13.0	1	3	0	2	0	0	—	0.0%	669	64.8%	172	40.2%	35	22	0.6	72.0	5.8	5	1	2	53	5	0.1
2019	—	NO	14	—	63	41	22	5	5	2.5	12.5	1	2	1	1	1	0	—	0.0%	753	76.9%	83	20.0%	52	36	0.7	107.5	5.3	7	2	2	53	7	0.1
2020	—	BUF	15	—	63	42	21	5	9	5.0	19.0	0	4	2	1	0	0	—	0.0%	652	60.6%	148	33.5%	48	35	0.7	101.0	3.9	12	2	3	64	17	0.2
2021	—	BUF	8	—	26	20	6	4	1	0.0	5.0	1	5	0	1	0	0	—	0.0%	277	36.3%	161	43.3%	25	16	0.6	63.1	2.3	1	0	1	14	5	0.1
2022	—	BUF	2	—	12	8	4	2	0	0.0	2.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	104	37.8%	100	40.4%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2022	—	3TM	10	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6	5	0.8	79.2	-0.8	0	0	0	3	1	0.1
2023	—	BUF	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.0%	—	0.0%	19	36.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Career		—	116	—	406	267	139	45	26	15.5	86.5	4	20	7	5	1	0	—	0.0%	4,198	49.2%	1,789	43.5%	166	114	—	—	—	25	5	8	187	35	—

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	VAL
2013	22	CAR	7	0*	16	15	1	5	2	2.0	9.0	0	0	0	—	0	3.4
2014	23	CAR	11	0*	34	21	13	2	0	0.0	2.0	0	0	0	—	0	3.8
2015	24	CAR	11	0*	46	32	14	7	1	1.0	9.0	1	1	1	—	0	6.9
2016	25	CAR	10	0*	26	13	13	2	1	1.0	4.0	0	1	2	—	0	5.2
2017	26	NO	10	10*	54	37	17	6	3	2.0	11.0	0	4	1	—	0	6.5
2018	27	NO	16	10*	66	38	28	7	4	2.0	13.0	1	3	0	2	0	9.1
2019	28	NO	14	12*	63	41	22	5	5	2.5	12.5	1	2	1	1	1	9.1
2020	29	BUF	15	10*	63	42	21	5	9	5.0	19.0	0	4	2	1	0	9.8
2021	30	BUF	8	0*	26	20	6	4	1	0.0	5.0	1	5	0	1	0	5.2
2022	31	BUF	2	0*	12	8	4	2	0	0.0	2.0	0	0	0	—	0	—
Career			104	42*	406	267	139	45	26	—	—	4	20	7	5	1	59

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Snap Counts

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%
2013	22	CAR	16	0*	—	0.0%	129	22.0%	260	61.8%
2014	23	CAR	14	0*	—	0.0%	282	34.0%	269	65.9%
2015	24	CAR	15	0*	—	0.0%	318	34.5%	283	64.0%
2016	25	CAR	15	0*	—	0.0%	350	39.4%	231	51.9%
2017	26	NO	12	10*	—	0.0%	664	85.7%	63	21.1%
2018	27	NO	16	10*	—	0.0%	669	64.8%	172	40.2%
2019	28	NO	15	12*	—	0.0%	753	76.9%	83	20.0%
2020	29	BUF	16	10*	—	0.0%	652	60.6%	148	33.5%
2021	30	BUF	15	0*	—	0.0%	277	36.3%	161	43.3%
2022	31	BUF	10	0*	—	0.0%	104	37.8%	100	40.4%
2023	32	BUF	2	—	—	0.0%	—	0.0%	19	36.0%
Career			146	42*	—	—	4,198	—	1,789	—

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Cmp	Cmp%	RateAll	ADOT	Prss	Hrry	QBKD	Bltz	MissTkl	Miss%
2018	27	NO	16	10*	35	22	0.6	72.0	5.8	5	1	2	53	5	0.1
2019	28	NO	15	12*	52	36	0.7	107.5	5.3	7	2	2	53	7	0.1
2020	29	BUF	16	10*	48	35	0.7	101.0	3.9	12	2	3	64	17	0.2
2021	30	BUF	15	0*	25	16	0.6	63.1	2.3	1	0	1	14	5	0.1
2022	31	3TM	10	0*	6	5	0.8	79.2	-0.8	0	0	0	3	1	0.1
Career			72	32*	166	114	—	—	—	25	5	8	187	35	—

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 56 · Strong Starter

A strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 56 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 9 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 55.8 × longevity 1 = KV-H 56· confidence 99%

What builds the career mark of 53

On-field 37.9

Availability 15.1

On-field production Staying available

Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)

2013bestavg 512021

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 8% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

8% of the all-time Sacks leader8

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%.

Per-Snap Impact

Edge Rushers · proprietary · 2012+

Solid

SIS

Disruption / 100 snaps:2.799See leaderboard →

Disruption/1002.799Snap share49.2%Def snaps4,198VolatileCV 0.54

Production per snap — the box score normalized by opportunity. SIS is z-scored within edge rushers, shrinkage-regularized so small samples don't spike, over the NFL snap-count era (2012+).

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

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

Combine · 2013

Percentiles compare each raw measurement against position peers, the full combine pool, and the same draft class where enough samples exist.

EDGE · 2013 class

4.66s

40-Yard

Above avg · 73th pct

Pos 73thAll 49thClass Pos 68thClass All 55th

113"

Broad Jump

Below avg · 34th pct

Pos 34thAll 35thClass Pos 30thClass All 35th

20 reps

Bench

Low · 18th pct

Pos 18thAll 44thClass Pos 23thClass All 49th

Postseason Career

7 playoff games

Defense

Tkl39Solo19Ast20TFL3Dis3.0

College Stats

Iowa StateCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Iowa State), 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.

2013 Draft Class· this player went #148

#139Montori HughesDT #140Stepfan TaylorRB #141Oday AboushiG #142Lavar EdwardsLB #143Jonathan MeeksDB #144Kenny StillsWR #146Quanterus SmithDE #147Steven MeansLB #149Brandon McGeeDB #151Joseph RandleRB #152Cooper TaylorDB #153Stansly MapongaDE #155Jeff LockeP #156Tanner HawkinsonOT #157Quinton DialDT #158Luke WillsonTE

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

A.J. inherited the Buffalo Bills LB room from Tremaine Edmunds (2018–2022), and handed it to Greg Rousseau (2021–2025).

Cornelius Bennett 1987–1995Marvcus Patton 1990–1994Mark Maddox 1992–1997Marlo Perry 1994–1999Sam Rogers 1994–2000Bryce Paup

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

2023final season
Last recorded season with BUF
2020team change
Joined BUF (from NO)
2017team change
Joined NO (from CAR)
2013draft
Drafted by CAR — Round 5, Pick 148

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'1" / 240 lb

Frame

250 lb at 4.66s

Size-speed

20 reps

Bench power

Injury History

5 career games missed (Out)

From nflverse weekly injury reports · coverage begins 2009.

Season	Team	Games Out	Designations
2023	BUF	1	W9Out· Back
2019	NO	1	W14Out· Knee
2017	NO	1	W11Questionable· AnkleW15Out· Groin
2016	CAR	1	W1Questionable· BackW11Out· ConcussionW12Questionable· Concussion
2015	CAR	1	W6Out· Concussion
2014	CAR	0	W16Questionable· KneeW17Questionable· KneeW18Questionable· AnkleW19Questionable· Ankle

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 60

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

C2013

C2014

C2015

C2016

C+2017

C+2018

C+2019

B2020

D2021

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 11 seasons.

82%

Era Translator

Sacks 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 Sacks	Sacks/G	→ 2025 Sacks	→ 2025 /G
2013	2	0.3	5+3	0.3
2014	0	0	0	0
2015	1	0.1	2+1	0.1
2016	1	0.1	2+1	0.1
2017	2	0.2	3+1	0.2
2018	2	0.1	2	0.1
2019	2.5	0.2	3+0.5	0.2
2020	5	0.3	6+1	0.3
2021	0	0	0	0

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:snap_counts, nflverse:combine, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:injuries · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

48 career value over replacement — #2095 all-time of 4,642. 5.3/season above a replacement-level LB.

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #148 (Rd 5) · CAR · 2013 · +23 vs expected KV-H

56actual

33 expected · Δ+23

Fan Rating

Rate A.J. Klein — All-Time

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Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Defense

Snap Counts

Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Per-Snap Impact

Career Aging Trajectory

Combine · 2013

Postseason Career

Defense

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

2013 Draft Class· this player went #148

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Injury History

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography