Chad Eaton is a career quality starter β a pass rusher whose body of work places Eaton in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Eaton's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Chad Eaton
A edge rusher with a above-average career 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 52 Β· #1983 Β· Above AverageWorth 52 points of value above a freely-available replacement interior lineman β top 44% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 6 of 8 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +8.7 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
6 cleared
2 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
6
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+8.7
Avg surplus
peak +21
6 seasons Γ ~8.7 surplus β VORP 52
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 | |||||
| 1996 | β | NE | 4 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | NE | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | NE | 15 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 6.0 | 6.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | NE | 16 | β | 33 | 15 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | NE | 14 | β | 49 | 30 | 19 | 8 | 1 | 1.5 | 10.5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | SEA | 16 | β | 37 | 24 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | β | SEA | 16 | β | 53 | 28 | 25 | 7 | 1 | 1.0 | 9.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004 | β | DAL | 5 | β | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 102 | β | 179 | 100 | 79 | 26 | 6 | 14.5 | 46.5 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 24 | NE | 4 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 2.5 |
| 1997 | 25 | NE | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 4.5 |
| 1998 | 26 | NE | 15 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 6.0 | 6.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 12.6 |
| 1999 | 27 | NE | 16 | β | 33 | 15 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9.5 |
| 2000 | 28 | NE | 14 | β | 49 | 30 | 19 | 8 | 1 | 1.5 | 10.5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | β | 0 | 0 | 8.6 |
| 2001 | 29 | SEA | 16 | β | 37 | 24 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.9 |
| 2002 | 30 | SEA | 16 | β | 53 | 28 | 25 | 7 | 1 | 1.0 | 9.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9.6 |
| 2004 | 32 | DAL | 5 | β | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 2.1 |
| Career | 102 | 179 | 100 | 79 | 26 | 6 | β | β | 0 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 57.3 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 55 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 55 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 8 scored seasons.
53
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
59
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 55.4 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 55Β· confidence 89%
What builds the career mark of 53
On-field 34.9
Availability 18.1
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
1996bestavg 482004
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position6
Depth
of 100
Reached 7% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
7% of the all-time Sacks leader7
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: 92%.
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+).
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Washington 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 β every name is linked.
Top Teammates
Terry GlennWR6yAdam VinatieriK5yLawyer MilloyS5yWillie McGinestOLB5yTy LawCB5yDrew BledsoeQB5yTedy BruschiILB5yTroy BrownWR5yChris SladeDE5yTed JohnsonILB5yHenry ThomasNT4yBen CoatesTE4yShawn JeffersonWR4yBrandon MitchellDE4yChris SullivanDE4yFerric CollonsDE4yMack StrongFB3yTom TupaP3yWillie ClayFS3yGreg SpiresDE3yMark WheelerDT3yTebucky JonesDB3yTodd F. CollinsOLB3ySteve IsraelDB3y
1995 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #241
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterChad inherited the New England Patriots DL room from Chris Sullivan (1996β1999), and handed it to Henry Thomas (1997β2000).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2004team change
Joined DAL (from SEA)
- 2004final season
Last recorded season with DAL
- 2001team change
Joined SEA (from NE)
- 1996team change
Joined NE (from ARI)
- 1995draft
Drafted by ARI β Round 7, Pick 241
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'5" / 303 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
55
peak 59
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
F1996
C+1997
B1998
C+1999
C+2000
C+2001
C+2002
F2004
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 8 seasons.
88%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 1 | 0.3 | 4+3 | 0.2 |
| 1997 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 1998 | 6 | 0.4 | 6 | 0.4 |
| 1999 | 3 | 0.2 | 3 | 0.2 |
| 2000 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 2+0.5 | 0.1 |
| 2001 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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 (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
52 career value over replacement β #1983 all-time of 4,642. 6.5/season above a replacement-level DL.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #241 (Rd 7) Β· ARI Β· 1995 Β· +32.2 vs expected KV-H
55actual
22.8 expected Β· Ξ+32.2
Fan Rating
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