Dan Owens is a career quality starter β a pass rusher whose body of work places Owens in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Owens's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Dan Owens
Top 22% all-time pass rushersReliable Starter
Height6'3"
Weight277 lb
BornMar 16, 1967
Age59
CollegeUSCSee College Stats
Rookie yr1990
Draft1990 Β· Rd 2, Pick 35 Β· DET
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 116 Β· #913 Β· High-ValueWorth 116 points of value above a freely-available replacement interior lineman β top 21% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 9 of 10 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +12.9 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
9 cleared
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
+12.9
Avg surplus
peak +28
9 seasons Γ ~12.9 surplus β VORP 116
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 | |||||
| 1990 | β | DET | 16 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1991 | β | DET | 16 | β | 50 | 0 | β | β | β | 5.5 | 5.5 | β | 1 | 2 | β | β | β |
| 1992 | β | DET | 16 | β | 25 | 21 | β | β | β | 2.0 | 2.0 | β | 2 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1993 | β | DET | 15 | β | 31 | 23 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1994 | β | DET | 16 | β | 40 | 25 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | 0 | 2 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | DET | 16 | β | 9 | 8 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | ATL | 16 | β | 35 | 29 | β | β | β | 5.5 | 5.5 | β | 2 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | ATL | 15 | β | 48 | 38 | β | β | β | 8.0 | 8.0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | DET | 11 | β | 27 | 15 | β | β | β | 2.5 | 2.5 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | DET | 5 | β | 8 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 142 | β | 273 | 166 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 33.5 | 37.5 | 2 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 23 | DET | 16 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 8 |
| 1991 | 24 | DET | 16 | β | 50 | 0 | β | β | β | 5.5 | 5.5 | β | 1 | 2 | β | β | β | 12.3 |
| 1992 | 25 | DET | 16 | β | 25 | 21 | β | β | β | 2.0 | 2.0 | β | 2 | 0 | β | β | β | 7.2 |
| 1993 | 26 | DET | 15 | β | 31 | 23 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | β | β | β | 7.5 |
| 1994 | 27 | DET | 16 | β | 40 | 25 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | 0 | 2 | β | β | β | 9.3 |
| 1995 | 28 | DET | 16 | β | 9 | 8 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 2.5 |
| 1996 | 29 | ATL | 16 | β | 35 | 29 | β | β | β | 5.5 | 5.5 | β | 2 | 0 | β | β | β | 10.1 |
| 1997 | 30 | ATL | 15 | β | 48 | 38 | β | β | β | 8.0 | 8.0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | β | β | β | 13.8 |
| 1998 | 31 | DET | 11 | β | 27 | 15 | β | β | β | 2.5 | 2.5 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β | 6.5 |
| 1999 | 32 | DET | 5 | β | 8 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 2.8 |
| Career | 142 | 273 | 166 | 1 | 3 | 1 | β | β | 2 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 80 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 63 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 63 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 10 scored seasons.
59
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
68
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 62.6 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 63Β· confidence 96%
What builds the career mark of 59
On-field 40.3
Availability 18.7
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
1990bestavg 57elite 701999
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position15
Depth
of 100
Reached 17% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
17% of the all-time Sacks leader17
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+).
Postseason Career
1 playoff gameDefense
Tkl4Solo4
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (USC), 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
Barry SandersRB7yHerman MooreWR7yRobert PorcherDE6yTracy ScrogginsDE6yKelvin PritchettDT5yBrett PerrimanWR5yRay CrockettCB4yJohnnie MortonWR4yJim ArnoldP4yWillie ClayFS4yRodney PeeteQB4yJeff CampbellWR4yAndre WareQB4yRodney HolmanTE3yJerry BallDT3yRyan McNeilDB3yLuther EllissDT3yWillie GreenWR3yErik KramerQB3yDavid SloanTE3yScott MitchellQB3yGreg JeffriesCB3yRon RiversRB3yJessie TuggleMLB2y
1990 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #35
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterDan inherited the Detroit Lions DL room from Jerry Ball (1987β1992), and handed it to Kelvin Pritchett (1991β2004).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1999final season
Last recorded season with DET
- 1998team change
Joined DET (from ATL)
- 1996team change
Joined ATL (from DET)
- 1990draft
Drafted by DET β Round 2, Pick 35
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'3" / 277 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 10-season peers. See all β
63
peak 68
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1990
B1991
C+1992
C+1993
C+1994
C+1995
B1996
B+1997
C+1998
F1999
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 10 seasons.
89%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 3 | 0.2 | 2-1 | 0.1 |
| 1991 | 5.5 | 0.3 | 4-1.5 | 0.2 |
| 1992 | 2 | 0.1 | 2 | 0.1 |
| 1993 | 3 | 0.2 | 3 | 0.2 |
| 1994 | 3 | 0.2 | 3 | 0.2 |
| 1995 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | 5.5 | 0.3 | 5-0.5 | 0.3 |
| 1997 | 8 | 0.5 | 8 | 0.5 |
| 1998 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 3+0.5 | 0.2 |
| 1999 | 1 | 0.2 | 3+2 | 0.2 |
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
116 career value over replacement β #913 all-time of 4,642. 11.6/season above a replacement-level DL.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #35 (Rd 2) Β· DET Β· 1990 Β· +8.1 vs expected KV-H
63actual
54.9 expected Β· Ξ+8.1
Fan Rating
Rate Dan Owens β All-Time
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