Daryl Gardener is a career quality starter — 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.
Season totals or exact team stints. Career totals count each season once.
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Defense | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | |||||
| 1996 | 23 | MIA | 16 | — | 33 | 24 | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1997 | 24 | MIA | 16 | — | 51 | 31 | — | — | — | 1.5 | 1.5 | — | 0 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 1998 | 25 | MIA | 16 | — | 39 | 28 | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1999 | 26 | MIA | 16 | — | 46 | 24 | 22 | 6 | 7 | 5.0 | 18.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | 27 | MIA | 10 | — | 46 | 32 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 2.5 | 15.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | 28 | MIA | 8 | — | 25 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 4.0 | 13.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | 29 | WAS | 15 | — | 48 | 41 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 4.0 | 19.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | 30 | DEN | 4 | — | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Career | — | 101 | — | 295 | 198 | 57 | 32 | 18 | 19.0 | 69.0 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Career Value · VORP
77 career value over replacement — #1510 all-time of 4,695. 9.6/season above a replacement-level DL.
Pick #20 (Rd 1) · MIA · 1996 · +1.3 vs expected KV-H
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A quality edge rusher with a above-average career — a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Worth 77 points of value above a freely-available replacement interior lineman — top 33% of all 4,695 ranked at the position. 7 of 8 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +11 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
7 seasons × ~11 surplus ≈ VORP 77
Aaron Smith
DE
87% match