Dave Ahrens
Height6'3"
Weight228 lb
BornDec 5, 1958
Age67
CollegeWisconsinSee College Stats
Rookie yr1981
Draft1981 · Rd 6, Pick 143 · STL
A edge rusher who maximized value through excellent availability over their career. Their middle-tier career was extended by consistently being on the field.
Career Value · VORP
VORP 25 · #2869 · Role PlayerWorth 25 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker — top 63% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 5 of 9 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +5 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
5 cleared
4 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
→
5
Seasons over
cleared the bar
×
+5
Avg surplus
peak +7
5 seasons × ~5 surplus ≈ VORP 25
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping.
2 grids split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Defense | Receiving | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | |||||
| 1981 | — | ARI | 16 | — | 59 | 46 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1982 | — | ARI | 9 | — | 46 | 36 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1983 | — | ARI | 16 | — | 32 | 24 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 4.0 | — | — | — |
| 1984 | — | ARI | 16 | — | 13 | 12 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1985 | — | IND | 16 | — | 18 | 14 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1986 | — | IND | 16 | — | 66 | 51 | — | — | — | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 2 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1987 | — | IND | 12 | — | 25 | 17 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1988 | — | DET | 8 | — | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1989 | — | MIA | 11 | — | 40 | 36 | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | — | 120 | — | 301 | 238 | — | — | — | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 4.0 | — | — | — | |
Receiving
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 25 | ARI | 16 | — | 32 | 24 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1981 | 23 | ARI | 16 | — | 59 | 46 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 1982 | 24 | ARI | 9 | — | 46 | 36 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1984 | 26 | ARI | 16 | — | 13 | 12 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1985 | 27 | IND | 16 | — | 18 | 14 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1986 | 28 | IND | 16 | — | 66 | 51 | — | — | — | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | 2 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 1987 | 29 | IND | 12 | — | 25 | 17 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1988 | 30 | DET | 8 | — | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1989 | 31 | MIA | 11 | — | 40 | 36 | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | — |
| Career | 120 | 301 | 238 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 8 | 4 | 0 | — | — |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 51 · SolidA solid career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 51 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 9 scored seasons.
49
Sustained
career value
×.6
53
Peak
best 3 seasons
×.4
×1
Longevity
career length
Blend 50.6 × longevity 1 = KV-H 51· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 49
On-field 30.7
Availability 18.3
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
1981bestavg 491989
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position2
Depth
of 100
Reached 2% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
2% of the all-time Sacks leader2
0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0
A 0–100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leaderat this position. Built only from visible encyclopedia data — career production vs. the all-time leader, plus efficiency (EPA) and comparable-player confidence — so it's a transparent context score, not a subjective rating. Tiers: Elite ≥ 85 · Strong ≥ 65 · Solid ≥ 45 · Depth < 45. Comparable-player confidence: 89%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average · KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average linebackers 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 (Wisconsin), 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 — every name is linked.
Top Teammates
Greg LaFleurTE5yRohn StarkP3yPat BeachTE3yMark BoyerTE3yTim SherwinTE3yGeorge WonsleyRB3yBenny PerrinFS3yBill BrooksWR2yCedric MackDB2yEarl FerrellRB2yRandy McMillanRB2yJack TrudeauQB2yDanny PittmanWR2yWayne CapersWR2yRobbie MartinWR2yOwen GillRB2yWalter MurrayWR2yBlair KielQB2yDan MarinoQB1yReggie RobyP1yMike PriorDB1yJim ArnoldP1yJerry BallDT1yJ.B. BrownDB1y
1981 Draft Class· this player went #143
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1989team change
Joined MIA (from DET)
- 1989final season
Last recorded season with MIA
- 1988team change
Joined DET (from IND)
- 1985team change
Joined IND (from ARI)
- 1981draft
Drafted by STL — Round 6, Pick 143
- 1981team change
Joined ARI (from STL)
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'3" / 228 lb
Frame
Knox
StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works →
Historical Knox · KV-H
Era-normalized career quality — z-scored against 9-season peers. See all →
51
peak 53
Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1981
C+1982
C+1983
C1984
C+1985
C+1986
C1987
D1988
C1989
Availability
Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 9 seasons.
88%
Era Translator
Sacks translated to the 2025NFL — each season's standing among its own-era peers, projected onto 2025's scoring environment. Modern-era (1999+) coverage.
| Season | Actual Sacks | Sacks/G | → 2025 Sacks | → 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1982 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0.1 |
| 1983 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0.1 |
| 1984 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1985 | 0 | 0 | 1+1 | 0 |
| 1986 | 2 | 0.1 | 2 | 0.1 |
| 1987 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1988 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1989 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
Data: nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:players, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), nfl.com:official-stats (facts-only reference), nfl.com:official-stats (games-played, facts-only reference) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026
Career Value · VORP
25 career value over replacement — #2869 all-time of 4,642. 2.8/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeValue ↑
Pick #143 (Rd 6) · STL · 1981 · +18 vs expected KV-H
51actual
33 expected · Δ+18
Fan Rating
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