Brentson Buckner is a career quality starter β a pass rusher whose body of work places Buckner in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Buckner's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Brentson Buckner
Height6'2"
Weight310 lb
BornSep 30, 1971
Age54
CollegeClemsonSee College Stats
Rookie yr1994
Draft1994 Β· Rd 2, Pick 50 Β· PIT
A edge rusher with a top 30% among starters β the kind of consistent contributor every roster needs. Solid availability (excellent availability over their career) added to their value.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 111 Β· #976 Β· High-ValueWorth 111 points of value above a freely-available replacement interior lineman β top 22% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 9 of 12 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +12.3 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
9 cleared
3 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
9
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+12.3
Avg surplus
peak +21
9 seasons Γ ~12.3 surplus β VORP 111
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at onceβno tab hopping.
1 grid split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Defense | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | |||||
| 1994 | β | PIT | 13 | β | 18 | 13 | β | β | β | 2.0 | 2.0 | β | 2 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | PIT | 16 | β | 46 | 28 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | PIT | 15 | β | 36 | 24 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | 4 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | CIN | 14 | β | 37 | 30 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 2 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | SF | 13 | β | 16 | 10 | β | β | β | 0.5 | 0.5 | β | 3 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | SF | 15 | β | 40 | 25 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | SF | 15 | β | 53 | 39 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 6.0 | 20.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | CAR | 14 | β | 34 | 24 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 4.5 | 15.5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | β | CAR | 12 | β | 30 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5.0 | 18.0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | β | CAR | 11 | β | 21 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | β | CAR | 13 | β | 31 | 18 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | β | CAR | 15 | β | 29 | 21 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 166 | β | 391 | 272 | 71 | 29 | 18 | 30.5 | 77.5 | 2 | 38 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 23 | PIT | 13 | β | 18 | 13 | β | β | β | 2.0 | 2.0 | β | 2 | 0 | β | β | β | 5.4 |
| 1995 | 24 | PIT | 16 | β | 46 | 28 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 8.4 |
| 1996 | 25 | PIT | 15 | β | 36 | 24 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | 4 | 0 | β | β | β | 7.5 |
| 1997 | 26 | CIN | 14 | β | 37 | 30 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 2 | β | β | β | 6.7 |
| 1998 | 27 | SF | 13 | β | 16 | 10 | β | β | β | 0.5 | 0.5 | β | 3 | 0 | β | β | β | 4.9 |
| 1999 | 28 | SF | 15 | β | 40 | 25 | 15 | 8 | 1 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 6.7 |
| 2000 | 29 | SF | 15 | β | 53 | 39 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 6.0 | 20.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 11.5 |
| 2001 | 30 | CAR | 14 | β | 34 | 24 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 4.5 | 15.5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10.3 |
| 2002 | 31 | CAR | 12 | β | 30 | 22 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5.0 | 18.0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.7 |
| 2003 | 32 | CAR | 11 | β | 21 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 5.8 |
| 2004 | 33 | CAR | 13 | β | 31 | 18 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 2005 | 34 | CAR | 15 | β | 29 | 21 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.3 |
| Career | 166 | 391 | 272 | 71 | 29 | 18 | β | β | 2 | 38 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 93.2 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 62 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 62 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 12 scored seasons.
56
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
66
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 60 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 62Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 56
On-field 38.6
Availability 17.4
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
1994bestavg 562005
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position14
Depth
of 100
Reached 15% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
15% of the all-time Sacks leader15
0 categories β₯25% of the all-time leader0
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: 89%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average defensive linemen aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Postseason Career
6 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl13Solo10Ast3Sk1.5Dis1.5PD3
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Clemson), 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
John KasayK5yMike MinterFS5yMike RuckerDE5yBrad HooverFB5yKris JenkinsNT5yKris MangumTE5yNick GoingsRB5yDan MorganMLB5yJulius PeppersDE4yMuhsin MuhammadWR4yWill WitherspoonOLB4yTodd SauerbrunP4yAl WallaceDE4yDante WesleyDB4yRod SmartRB4yKemp RasmussenDE4yJerry RiceWR3yRod WoodsonFS3yTerrell OwensWR3yBryant YoungDT3yRicky ProehlWR3yKen NortonMLB3yCarnell LakeDB3yJonathan HayesTE3y
1994 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #50
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterBrentson inherited the Carolina Panthers DL room from Mike Rucker (1999β2007), and handed it to Kris Jenkins (2001β2007).
Sean Gilbert 1998β2002Mike Rucker 1999β2007Brentson Buckner 2001β2005Kris Jenkins 2001β2007Al Wallace 2002β2006Julius Peppers
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2005final season
Last recorded season with CAR
- 2001team change
Joined CAR (from SF)
- 1998team change
Joined SF (from CIN)
- 1997team change
Joined CIN (from PIT)
- 1994draft
Drafted by PIT β Round 2, Pick 50
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'2" / 310 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 12-season peers. See all β
62
peak 66
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1994
C+1995
C+1996
C1997
C1998
C+1999
B2000
B2001
B2002
C2003
B2004
C+2005
Availability
Era Translator
Sacks 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 Sacks | Sacks/G | β 2025 Sacks | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 2 | 0.2 | 3+1 | 0.2 |
| 1995 | 3 | 0.2 | 3 | 0.2 |
| 1996 | 3 | 0.2 | 3 | 0.2 |
| 1997 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | 0.5 | 0 | 1+0.5 | 0 |
| 1999 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 2000 | 6 | 0.4 | 6 | 0.4 |
| 2001 | 4.5 | 0.3 | 5+0.5 | 0.3 |
| 2002 | 5 | 0.4 | 7+2 | 0.4 |
| 2003 | 0.5 | 0 | 1+0.5 | 0 |
| 2004 | 4 | 0.3 | 5+1 | 0.3 |
| 2005 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks, 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
111 career value over replacement β #976 all-time of 4,642. 9.3/season above a replacement-level DL.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #50 (Rd 2) Β· PIT Β· 1994 Β· +13.1 vs expected KV-H
62actual
48.9 expected Β· Ξ+13.1
Fan Rating
Rate Brentson Buckner β All-Time
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