Darrin Smith is a career quality starter β a linebacker whose body of work places Smith in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Smith's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Darrin Smith
Height6'1"
Weight236 lb
BornApr 15, 1970
Age56
CollegeMiamiSee College Stats
Rookie yr1993
Draft1993 Β· Rd 2, Pick 54 Β· DAL
A high-end linebacker 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 59 Β· #1845 Β· Above AverageWorth 59 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker β top 41% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 5 of 5 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +11.8 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
5 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
5
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+11.8
Avg surplus
peak +16
5 seasons Γ ~11.8 surplus β VORP 59
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 | DAL | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1994 | β | DAL | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 4.0 | 4.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | DAL | 9 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | DAL | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | PHI | 7 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | SEA | 13 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 5.0 | 5.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | SEA | 15 | β | 69 | 45 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | NO | 16 | β | 73 | 43 | 30 | 7 | 1 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | β | 1 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | NO | 16 | β | 51 | 34 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 1.5 | 7.5 | 0 | 9 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | β | NO | 15 | β | 76 | 43 | 33 | 10 | 4 | 3.5 | 17.5 | 2 | 8 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | β | NO | 14 | β | 46 | 30 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 153 | β | 315 | 195 | 120 | 25 | 7 | 24.0 | 56.0 | 6 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 23 | DAL | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 7.2 |
| 1994 | 24 | DAL | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 4.0 | 4.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 16.3 |
| 1995 | 25 | DAL | 9 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 9 |
| 1996 | 26 | DAL | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 7.2 |
| 1997 | 27 | PHI | 7 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 4.1 |
| 1998 | 28 | SEA | 13 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 5.0 | 5.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 14.1 |
| 1999 | 29 | SEA | 15 | β | 69 | 45 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 7.8 |
| 2000 | 30 | NO | 16 | β | 73 | 43 | 30 | 7 | 1 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | β | 1 | 0 | 11.5 |
| 2001 | 31 | NO | 16 | β | 51 | 34 | 17 | 5 | 1 | 1.5 | 7.5 | 0 | 9 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 7.6 |
| 2002 | 32 | NO | 15 | β | 76 | 43 | 33 | 10 | 4 | 3.5 | 17.5 | 2 | 8 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 12.2 |
| 2003 | 33 | NO | 14 | β | 46 | 30 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 7.2 |
| Career | 153 | 315 | 195 | 120 | 25 | 7 | β | β | 6 | 33 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 104.2 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 61 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 61 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 5 scored seasons.
59
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
63
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 60.6 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 61Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 59
On-field 40
Availability 19
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
1999bestavg 592003
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: 88%.
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
3 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl11Solo6Ast5TFL3Dis3.0PD2
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Miami), 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
Fred ThomasCB6yJay BellamyDB5yEmmitt SmithRB4yBrock MarionFS4yDarren WoodsonS4yTroy AikmanQB4yJoe HornWR4yCharles HaleyDE4yMichael IrvinWR4yDaryl JohnstonRB4yFred McAfeeRB4yDarren HowardDE4yChad HenningsDT4yLeon LettDE4yJohn JettP4yKevin R. WilliamsWR4yAaron BrooksQB4yWillie WhiteheadNT4yTerrelle SmithFB4yJason GarrettQB4yJohn CarneyK3ySammy KnightDB3yJay NovacekTE3yRussell MarylandNT3y
1993 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #54
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterDarrin inherited the Dallas Cowboys LB room from Robert Jones (1992β1995), and handed it to Fred Strickland (1996β1998).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2003final season
Last recorded season with NO
- 2000team change
Joined NO (from SEA)
- 1998team change
Joined SEA (from PHI)
- 1997team change
Joined PHI (from DAL)
- 1993draft
Drafted by DAL β Round 2, Pick 54
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'1" / 236 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 5-season peers. See all β
61
peak 63
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
B1999
B2000
C+2001
B2002
C+2003
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 11 seasons.
87%
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 | 69 | 4.6 | 77+8 | 4.5 |
| 2000 | 73 | 4.6 | 72-1 | 4.2 |
| 2001 | 51 | 3.2 | 37-14 | 2.2 |
| 2002 | 76 | 5.1 | 77+1 | 4.5 |
| 2003 | 46 | 3.3 | 36-10 | 2.1 |
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
59 career value over replacement β #1845 all-time of 4,642. 11.8/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #54 (Rd 2) Β· DAL Β· 1993 Β· +13 vs expected KV-H
61actual
48 expected Β· Ξ+13
Fan Rating
Rate Darrin Smith β All-Time
Tap a star to rate
Explore More
Similar Players