Darren Mickell is a career quality starter β a pass rusher whose body of work places Mickell in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Mickell's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Darren Mickell
Top 19% all-time pass rushersIron Man
Height6'5"
Weight285 lb
BornAug 3, 1970
Age55
CollegeFloridaSee College Stats
Rookie yr1992
Draft1992 Β· Rd 2, Pick 2 Β· KC
A high-end edge rusher defined as much by excellent availability over their career as by their on-field impact (top 20% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 71 Β· #1599 Β· Above AverageWorth 71 points of value above a freely-available replacement edge rusher β top 35% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 6 of 6 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +11.8 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
6 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
51
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
6
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+11.8
Avg surplus
peak +20
6 seasons Γ ~11.8 surplus β VORP 71
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 | |||||
| 1993 | β | KC | 16 | β | 17 | 17 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 0 | 2 | β | β | β |
| 1994 | β | KC | 16 | β | 37 | 34 | β | β | β | 7.0 | 7.0 | β | 1 | 4 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | KC | 12 | β | 17 | 14 | β | β | β | 5.5 | 5.5 | β | 1 | 2 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | NO | 12 | β | 33 | 26 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | NO | 14 | β | 32 | 20 | β | β | β | 3.5 | 3.5 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 2000 | β | LAC | 13 | β | 27 | 26 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 6.0 | 19.0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 83 | β | 163 | 137 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 26.0 | 39.0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 23 | KC | 16 | β | 17 | 17 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 0 | 2 | β | β | β | 6.5 |
| 1994 | 24 | KC | 16 | β | 37 | 34 | β | β | β | 7.0 | 7.0 | β | 1 | 4 | β | β | β | 14.7 |
| 1995 | 25 | KC | 12 | β | 17 | 14 | β | β | β | 5.5 | 5.5 | β | 1 | 2 | β | β | β | 11.1 |
| 1996 | 26 | NO | 12 | β | 33 | 26 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 7.4 |
| 1997 | 27 | NO | 14 | β | 32 | 20 | β | β | β | 3.5 | 3.5 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β | 7.5 |
| 2000 | 30 | LAC | 13 | β | 27 | 26 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 6.0 | 19.0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | β | 0 | 0 | 11.1 |
| Career | 83 | 163 | 137 | 1 | 9 | 4 | β | β | 0 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58.3 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 65 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 65 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 6 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 65Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 63
On-field 45.4
Availability 17.6
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
1993bestavg 63elite 702000
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position12
Depth
of 100
Reached 13% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
13% of the all-time Sacks leader13
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: 90%.
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 (Florida), 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
Neil SmithDE4yJoe PhillipsNT3yMarcus AllenRB3yDale CarterCB3yDerrick ThomasOLB3yRichard HarveyLB3yTracy SimienILB3yKimble AndersRB3yPellom McDanielsDE3yKeith CashTE3yJoe ValerioOT3yEric AllenCB2yAnthony NewmanS2yWayne MartinDT2yGreg JacksonDB2yGreg ManuskyLB2yLouie AguiarP2yBrady SmithDE2yMark FieldsOLB2yJoe JohnsonDE2yVaughn BookerDE2yCharles MincyFS2yDonnell BennettFB2yJ.J. BirdenWR2y
1992 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #2
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterDarren inherited the Kansas City Chiefs DL room from Joe Phillips (1992β1997), and handed it to Pellom McDaniels (1993β1998).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2000team change
Joined LAC (from NO)
- 2000final season
Last recorded season with LAC
- 1996team change
Joined NO (from KC)
- 1992draft
Drafted by KC β Round 2, Pick 2
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'5" / 285 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 6-season peers. See all β
65
peak 69
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1993
B+1994
B1995
C+1996
C+1997
B2000
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 6 seasons.
86%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 1994 | 7 | 0.4 | 7 | 0.4 |
| 1995 | 5.5 | 0.5 | 7+1.5 | 0.4 |
| 1996 | 3 | 0.3 | 4+1 | 0.2 |
| 1997 | 3.5 | 0.3 | 4+0.5 | 0.2 |
| 2000 | 6 | 0.5 | 7+1 | 0.4 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, 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
71 career value over replacement β #1599 all-time of 4,642. 11.8/season above a replacement-level EDGE.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #2 (Rd 2) Β· KC Β· 1992 Β· +3.2 vs expected KV-H
65actual
61.8 expected Β· Ξ+3.2
Fan Rating
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