Daryl Gardener is a career quality starter β a pass rusher whose body of work places Gardener in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Gardener's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Daryl Gardener
Top 31% all-time pass rushersHigh-End Starter
Height6'6"
Weight295 lb
BornFeb 25, 1973
Age53
CollegeBaylorSee College Stats
Rookie yr1996
Draft1996 Β· Rd 1, Pick 20 Β· MIA
A quality edge rusher with a above-average career β a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 78 Β· #1454 Β· Above AverageWorth 78 points of value above a freely-available replacement interior lineman β top 32% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 7 of 8 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +11.1 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
7 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
7
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+11.1
Avg surplus
peak +19
7 seasons Γ ~11.1 surplus β VORP 78
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 | MIA | 16 | β | 33 | 24 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | MIA | 16 | β | 51 | 31 | β | β | β | 1.5 | 1.5 | β | 0 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | MIA | 16 | β | 39 | 28 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | MIA | 16 | β | 46 | 24 | 22 | 6 | 7 | 5.0 | 18.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | MIA | 10 | β | 46 | 32 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 2.5 | 15.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | MIA | 8 | β | 25 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 4.0 | 13.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | β | WAS | 15 | β | 48 | 41 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 4.0 | 19.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | β | DEN | 4 | β | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 101 | β | 295 | 198 | 57 | 32 | 18 | 19.0 | 69.0 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 23 | MIA | 16 | β | 33 | 24 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 5.8 |
| 1997 | 24 | MIA | 16 | β | 51 | 31 | β | β | β | 1.5 | 1.5 | β | 0 | 1 | β | β | β | 7.8 |
| 1998 | 25 | MIA | 16 | β | 39 | 28 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | β | β | β | 7 |
| 1999 | 26 | MIA | 16 | β | 46 | 24 | 22 | 6 | 7 | 5.0 | 18.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11.3 |
| 2000 | 27 | MIA | 10 | β | 46 | 32 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 2.5 | 15.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2001 | 28 | MIA | 8 | β | 25 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 4.0 | 13.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 7.8 |
| 2002 | 29 | WAS | 15 | β | 48 | 41 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 4.0 | 19.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10.9 |
| 2003 | 30 | DEN | 4 | β | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 1.8 |
| Career | 101 | 295 | 198 | 57 | 32 | 18 | β | β | 1 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 60.4 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 58 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 58 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 8 scored seasons.
56
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
61
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 58 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 58Β· confidence 94%
What builds the career mark of 56
On-field 38.4
Availability 17.6
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
1996bestavg 532003
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position9
Depth
of 100
Reached 10% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
10% of the all-time Sacks leader10
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: 91%.
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
4 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl12Solo5Ast7
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Baylor), 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
Zach ThomasILB6yTim BowensDT6yJason TaylorOLB5yOlindo MareK5yTrace ArmstrongDE5ySam MadisonCB5yO.J. McDuffieWR5yDerrick RodgersOLB5yShawn WoodenDB5yDan MarinoQB4yTerrell BuckleyDB4yBrock MarionFS4yPatrick SurtainCB4yDwight HollierMLB4yTroy DraytonTE4yJerry WilsonFS4yKenny MixonDE4yStanley PritchettRB4yCalvin JacksonS4yLorenzo BromellDE4yOronde GadsdenWR4yO.J. BriganceLB4yRobert JonesOLB3yBernie ParmaleeRB3y
1996 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #20
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterDaryl inherited the Miami Dolphins DL room from Shane Burton (1996β1998), and handed it to Kenny Mixon (1998β2001).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2003team change
Joined DEN (from WAS)
- 2003final season
Last recorded season with DEN
- 2002team change
Joined WAS (from MIA)
- 1996draft
Drafted by MIA β Round 1, Pick 20
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'6" / 295 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
58
peak 61
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1996
C+1997
C+1998
B1999
C+2000
B2001
B2002
F2003
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 8 seasons.
79%
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 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 1997 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 1-0.5 | 0.1 |
| 1998 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 1999 | 5 | 0.3 | 5 | 0.3 |
| 2000 | 2.5 | 0.3 | 4+1.5 | 0.2 |
| 2001 | 4 | 0.5 | 8+4 | 0.5 |
| 2002 | 4 | 0.3 | 4 | 0.3 |
| 2003 | 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 (games-played, facts-only reference) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
78 career value over replacement β #1454 all-time of 4,642. 9.8/season above a replacement-level DL.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #20 (Rd 1) Β· MIA Β· 1996 Β· +1.5 vs expected KV-H
58actual
56.5 expected Β· Ξ+1.5
Fan Rating
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