Brian Simmons ranks in the all-time elite tier for linebackers β a career that places Simmons in the top 10% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Simmons a career score of 66, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.
Brian Simmons
A top 10% all-time linebacker who consistently made an impact across multiple seasons.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 126 Β· #807 Β· High-ValueWorth 126 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker β top 18% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 7 of 8 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +18 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
7 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
7
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+18
Avg surplus
peak +23
7 seasons Γ ~18 surplus β VORP 126
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 | |||||
| 1998 | β | CIN | 14 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | CIN | 16 | β | 88 | 69 | 19 | 17 | 3 | 3.0 | 23.0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | CIN | 1 | β | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | CIN | 16 | β | 78 | 46 | 32 | 12 | 6 | 6.5 | 24.5 | 1 | 5 | 2 | β | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | β | CIN | 16 | β | 78 | 57 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 3.0 | 16.0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | β | 1 | 0 |
| 2003 | β | CIN | 16 | β | 95 | 65 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | β | CIN | 15 | β | 87 | 56 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005 | β | CIN | 16 | β | 74 | 42 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 2 | 7 | 3 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | β | CIN | 10 | β | 56 | 29 | 27 | 0 | 3 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | β | NO | 5 | β | 15 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 125 | β | 579 | 376 | 203 | 40 | 16 | 24.5 | 80.5 | 10 | 38 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 23 | CIN | 14 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 10.3 |
| 1999 | 24 | CIN | 16 | β | 88 | 69 | 19 | 17 | 3 | 3.0 | 23.0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10.3 |
| 2000 | 25 | CIN | 1 | β | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | β |
| 2001 | 26 | CIN | 16 | β | 78 | 46 | 32 | 12 | 6 | 6.5 | 24.5 | 1 | 5 | 2 | β | 1 | 0 | 13.1 |
| 2002 | 27 | CIN | 16 | β | 78 | 57 | 21 | 10 | 3 | 3.0 | 16.0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | β | 1 | 0 | 11.4 |
| 2003 | 28 | CIN | 16 | β | 95 | 65 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 |
| 2004 | 29 | CIN | 15 | β | 87 | 56 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11.4 |
| 2005 | 30 | CIN | 16 | β | 74 | 42 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 2 | 7 | 3 | β | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2006 | 31 | CIN | 10 | β | 56 | 29 | 27 | 0 | 3 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.9 |
| 2007 | 32 | NO | 5 | β | 15 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 2.2 |
| Career | 125 | 579 | 376 | 203 | 40 | 16 | β | β | 10 | 38 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 88.8 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 66 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 66 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 8 scored seasons.
63
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
69
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 65.4 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 66Β· confidence 95%
What builds the career mark of 63
On-field 44.7
Availability 18.3
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
1999bestavg 60elite 702007
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position11
Depth
of 100
Reached 12% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
12% of the all-time Sacks leader12
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 linebackers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Postseason Career
1 playoff gameDefense
Tkl4Solo3Ast1
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (North Carolina), 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
Kevin KaesviharnDB7yJustin SmithDE6yChad JohnsonWR6yCorey DillonRB6yGlen SteeleDT6yTakeo SpikesILB5yJon KitnaQB5yT.J. HoushmandzadehWR5yOliver GibsonDT5yArtrell HawkinsFS5yRudi JohnsonRB5yReinard WilsonLB5yPeter WarrickWR5yBrandon BennettRB5yTony StewartTE5yAdrian RossOLB5yNicolas LucheyRB5yShayne GrahamK4yTony McGeeTE4yMark RomanS4yJohn ThorntonDT4yReggie KellyTE4yTory JamesCB4yTony WilliamsDT4y
1998 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #17
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterBrian inherited the Cincinnati Bengals LB room from Takeo Spikes (1998β2002), and handed it to Adrian Ross (1999β2003).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2007team change
Joined NO (from CIN)
- 2007final season
Last recorded season with NO
- 1998draft
Drafted by CIN β Round 1, Pick 17
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'3" / 244 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 8-season peers. See all β
66
peak 69
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
B1999
B2001
B2002
B+2003
B2004
B2005
B2006
F2007
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 10 seasons.
78%
Era Translator
Tackles 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 Tackles | Tackles/G | β 2025 Tackles | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 88 | 5.5 | 93+5 | 5.5 |
| 2001 | 78 | 4.9 | 72-6 | 4.2 |
| 2002 | 78 | 4.9 | 72-6 | 4.3 |
| 2003 | 95 | 5.9 | 97+2 | 5.7 |
| 2004 | 87 | 5.8 | 94+7 | 5.5 |
| 2005 | 74 | 4.6 | 66-8 | 3.9 |
| 2006 | 56 | 5.6 | 90+34 | 5.3 |
| 2007 | 15 | 3 | 32+17 | 1.9 |
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
126 career value over replacement β #807 all-time of 4,642. 15.8/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #17 (Rd 1) Β· CIN Β· 1998 Β· +9.5 vs expected KV-H
66actual
56.5 expected Β· Ξ+9.5
Fan Rating
Rate Brian Simmons β All-Time
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