Chris Doleman is a Hall of Fame pass rusher whose career earned one of the highest career value scores of 97 in the Knox value model. Doleman's enshrinement reflects a career that consistently placed him among the elite of his generation.
Chris Doleman
Height6'5"
Weight287 lb
BornOct 16, 1961
Age64
CollegePittsburghSee College Stats
Rookie yr1985
Draft1985 Β· Rd 1, Pick 4 Β· MIN
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title contextRegular-season all-time ranks
8x
Pro Bowls
2x
All-Pro
Yes
Hall of Fame
Season honors and record seasons
An all-time caliber edge rusher (top 1% all-time) who combined elite production with excellent availability over their career. Iron Legends define eras β they show up, every game, for years on end.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 386 Β· #47 Β· All-TimeWorth 386 points of value above a freely-available replacement edge rusher β top 2% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 13 of 15 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +29.7 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
13 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
51
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
13
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+29.7
Avg surplus
peak +46
13 seasons Γ ~29.7 surplus β VORP 386
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 | |||||
| 1985 | β | MIN | 13 | β | 113 | β | β | β | β | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | β | 0 | 3 | β | β |
| 1986 | β | MIN | 9 | β | 49 | β | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0 | β | 2 | 0 | β | β |
| 1987 | β | MIN | 12 | β | 57 | β | β | β | β | 11.0 | 11.0 | 0 | β | 6 | 0 | β | β |
| 1988 | β | MIN | 16 | β | 58 | β | β | β | β | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0 | β | 2 | 0 | β | β |
| 1989 | β | MIN | 16 | β | 94 | β | β | β | β | 21.0 | 21.0 | 0 | β | 5 | 5 | β | β |
| 1990 | β | MIN | 16 | β | 92 | β | β | β | β | 11.0 | 11.0 | 0 | β | 4 | 0 | β | β |
| 1991 | β | MIN | 16 | β | 101 | β | β | β | β | 7.0 | 7.0 | 0 | β | 1 | 2 | β | β |
| 1992 | β | MIN | 16 | β | 64 | β | β | β | β | 14.5 | 14.5 | 0 | β | 6 | 3 | β | β |
| 1993 | β | MIN | 16 | β | 68 | β | β | β | β | 12.5 | 12.5 | 0 | β | 3 | 1 | β | β |
| 1994 | β | ATL | 7 | β | 30 | 26 | β | β | β | 7.0 | 7.0 | 0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β |
| 1995 | β | ATL | 16 | β | 51 | 36 | β | β | β | 9.0 | 9.0 | 0 | β | 1 | 2 | β | β |
| 1996 | β | SF | 16 | β | 54 | 45 | β | β | β | 11.0 | 11.0 | 0 | β | 4 | 3 | β | β |
| 1997 | β | SF | 16 | β | 46 | 39 | β | β | β | 12.0 | 12.0 | 0 | β | 3 | 1 | β | β |
| 1998 | β | SF | 16 | β | 45 | 31 | β | β | β | 15.0 | 15.0 | 0 | β | 4 | 2 | β | β |
| 1999 | β | MIN | 13 | β | 42 | 31 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 8.0 | 25.0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 214 | β | 964 | 208 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 150.5 | 167.5 | 0 | 2 | 44 | 24 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 24 | MIN | 13 | β | 113 | β | β | β | β | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | β | 0 | 3 | β | β | β |
| 1986 | 25 | MIN | 9 | β | 49 | β | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0 | β | 2 | 0 | β | β | 6.3 |
| 1987 | 26 | MIN | 12 | β | 57 | β | β | β | β | 11.0 | 11.0 | 0 | β | 6 | 0 | β | β | 17.8 |
| 1988 | 27 | MIN | 16 | β | 58 | β | β | β | β | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0 | β | 2 | 0 | β | β | 12.8 |
| 1989 | 28 | MIN | 16 | β | 94 | β | β | β | β | 21.0 | 21.0 | 0 | β | 5 | 5 | β | β | 26.5 |
| 1990 | 29 | MIN | 16 | β | 92 | β | β | β | β | 11.0 | 11.0 | 0 | β | 4 | 0 | β | β | 20.5 |
| 1991 | 30 | MIN | 16 | β | 101 | β | β | β | β | 7.0 | 7.0 | 0 | β | 1 | 2 | β | β | 14.5 |
| 1992 | 31 | MIN | 16 | β | 64 | β | β | β | β | 14.5 | 14.5 | 0 | β | 6 | 3 | β | β | 23.7 |
| 1993 | 32 | MIN | 16 | β | 68 | β | β | β | β | 12.5 | 12.5 | 0 | β | 3 | 1 | β | β | 18.4 |
| 1994 | 33 | ATL | 7 | β | 30 | 26 | β | β | β | 7.0 | 7.0 | 0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | 10.1 |
| 1995 | 34 | ATL | 16 | β | 51 | 36 | β | β | β | 9.0 | 9.0 | 0 | β | 1 | 2 | β | β | 15.6 |
| 1996 | 35 | SF | 16 | β | 54 | 45 | β | β | β | 11.0 | 11.0 | 0 | β | 4 | 3 | β | β | 18.8 |
| 1997 | 36 | SF | 16 | β | 46 | 39 | β | β | β | 12.0 | 12.0 | 0 | β | 3 | 1 | β | β | 20.1 |
| 1998 | 37 | SF | 16 | β | 45 | 31 | β | β | β | 15.0 | 15.0 | 0 | β | 4 | 2 | β | β | 24.2 |
| 1999 | 38 | MIN | 13 | β | 42 | 31 | 11 | 11 | 6 | 8.0 | 25.0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13.8 |
| Career | 214 | 964 | 208 | 11 | 11 | 6 | β | β | 0 | 2 | 44 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 243.1 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 97 Β· All-Time GreatA all-time great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 97 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 15 scored seasons.
78
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
97
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 85.6 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 97Β· confidence 99%
What builds the career mark of 78
On-field 59.4
Availability 18.6
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
1985bestavg 77elite 701999
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position72
Strong
of 100
Reached 76% of the all-time Sacks leader β a strong all-time profile at the position.
76% of the all-time Sacks leader76
1 category β₯25% of the all-time leader33
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: 94%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average edge rushers 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 (Pittsburgh), 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
Steve JordanTE9yAnthony CarterWR9yHenry ThomasNT7yDarrin NelsonRB7yWade WilsonQB7yAlfred AndersonRB7yHassan JonesWR7yAllen RiceRB6yCris CarterWR5yJohn RandleDT5yRich GannonQB5yRick FenneyRB5yHarry NewsomeP4yJesse SolomonLB4yDarnell WalkerDB4yMike MularkeyTE4yRoy BarkerDT4yD.J. DozierRB4yJerry RiceWR3yTerrell OwensWR3yBryant YoungDT3yHerschel WalkerFB3yKen NortonMLB3ySteve YoungQB3y
1985 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #4
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterChris opened the Minnesota Vikings DL lineage the corpus knows, and handed it to Joe Phillips (1986β1999).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1999team change
Joined MIN (from SF)
- 1999final season
Last recorded season with MIN
- 1996team change
Joined SF (from ATL)
- 1994team change
Joined ATL (from MIN)
- 1985draft
Drafted by MIN β Round 1, Pick 4
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'5" / 287 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 15-season peers. See all β
97
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 0.5 | 0 | 1+0.5 | 0.1 |
| 1986 | 3 | 0.3 | 3 | 0.2 |
| 1987 | 11 | 0.9 | 7-4 | 0.4 |
| 1988 | 8 | 0.5 | 4-4 | 0.3 |
| 1989 | 21 | 1.3 | 13-8 | 0.8 |
| 1990 | 11 | 0.7 | 8-3 | 0.5 |
| 1991 | 7 | 0.4 | 5-2 | 0.3 |
| 1992 | 14.5 | 0.9 | 12-2.5 | 0.7 |
| 1993 | 12.5 | 0.8 | 12-0.5 | 0.7 |
| 1994 | 7 | 1 | 14+7 | 0.9 |
| 1995 | 9 | 0.6 | 9 | 0.5 |
| 1996 | 11 | 0.7 | 10-1 | 0.6 |
| 1997 | 12 | 0.8 | 12 | 0.7 |
| 1998 | 15 | 0.9 | 14-1 | 0.8 |
| 1999 | 8 | 0.6 | 9+1 | 0.5 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
386 career value over replacement β #47 all-time of 4,642. 25.7/season above a replacement-level EDGE.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #4 (Rd 1) Β· MIN Β· 1985 Β· +35.2 vs expected KV-H
97actual
61.8 expected Β· Ξ+35.2
Fan Rating
Rate Chris Doleman β All-Time
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