Denzel Ward is a career quality starter — a defensive back whose body of work places Ward in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Ward's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.

CBCLE#21ACT

Denzel Ward

5× Pro BowlTop 12% all-time defensive backsElite Playmaker⚙️ Sustained Machine · 2022

Height5'11"

Weight190 lb

BornApr 28, 1997

Age29

CollegeOhio State See College Stats

ConferenceBig Ten

Rookie yr2018

Draft2018 · Rd 1, Pick 4 · CLE

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Pro Bowls

Archetype Intelligence

Elite PlaymakerExplore archetypes →

A top 20% all-time defensive back who consistently made an impact across multiple seasons. Above-average snap-level impact reinforces the playmaking ability.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 129 · #784 · High-Value

Worth 129 points of value above a freely-available replacement cornerback — top 18% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 8 of 8 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +16.1 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

8 cleared

Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+16.1

Avg surplus

peak +22

8 seasons × ~16.1 surplus ≈ VORP 129

Combined Season Grid

The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping.

3 grids split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Defense													Snap Counts						Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%	Tgt	Cmp	Cmp%	RateAll	ADOT	Prss	Hrry	QBKD	Bltz	MissTkl	Miss%
2018	—	CLE	13	—	51	39	12	5	0	0.0	5.0	3	11	1	2	0	0	—	0.0%	841	87.2%	54	16.3%	90	46	0.5	72.8	9.9	0	0	0	0	10	0.2
2019	—	CLE	12	—	42	36	6	1	1	0.0	2.0	2	11	0	1	1	0	—	0.0%	748	96.3%	56	17.2%	83	40	0.5	62.2	11.0	2	1	1	6	12	0.2
2020	—	CLE	12	—	45	37	8	1	1	0.0	2.0	2	18	1	—	0	0	—	0.0%	775	95.1%	54	17.9%	81	44	0.5	78.3	11.3	1	0	1	3	5	0.1
2021	—	CLE	15	—	42	33	9	1	2	0.5	3.5	3	10	0	—	1	0	—	0.0%	856	87.5%	49	14.1%	78	47	0.6	76.6	8.8	2	0	1	3	6	0.1
2022	—	CLE	14	—	48	37	11	1	1	0.0	2.0	3	15	0	2	2	0	—	0.0%	748	84.1%	52	16.8%	69	42	0.6	76.4	10.3	1	0	1	2	4	0.1
2023	—	CLE	12	—	30	26	4	1	0	0.0	1.0	2	11	1	—	0	0	—	0.0%	622	79.2%	31	11.3%	66	32	0.5	56.2	10.5	0	0	0	2	8	0.2
2024	—	CLE	16	—	46	38	8	1	1	0.0	2.0	2	19	1	1	0	0	—	0.0%	759	74.6%	50	13.1%	77	42	0.5	92.8	14.8	1	0	1	3	14	0.2
2025	—	CLE	14	—	37	27	10	2	0	0.0	2.0	1	9	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	779	83.1%	52	14.6%	62	38	0.6	88.1	10.3	0	0	0	3	8	0.2
Career		—	108	—	341	273	68	13	6	0.5	19.5	18	104	4	6	4	0	—	0.0%	6,128	85.9%	398	15.2%	606	331	—	—	—	7	1	5	22	67	—

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	VAL
2018	21	CLE	13	11*	51	39	12	5	0	0.0	5.0	3	11	1	2	0	10
2019	22	CLE	12	12*	42	36	6	1	1	0.0	2.0	2	11	0	1	1	9.2
2020	23	CLE	12	11*	45	37	8	1	1	0.0	2.0	2	18	1	—	0	10.2
2021	24	CLE	15	13*	42	33	9	1	2	0.5	3.5	3	10	0	—	1	9.9
2022	25	CLE	14	12*	48	37	11	1	1	0.0	2.0	3	15	0	2	2	10.8
2023	26	CLE	12	10*	30	26	4	1	0	0.0	1.0	2	11	1	—	0	8.3
2024	27	CLE	16	12*	46	38	8	1	1	0.0	2.0	2	19	1	1	0	11.4
2025	28	CLE	14	12*	37	27	10	2	0	0.0	2.0	1	9	0	—	0	7.6
Career			108	93*	341	273	68	13	6	—	—	18	104	4	6	4	77.4

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Snap Counts

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%
2018	21	CLE	13	11*	—	0.0%	841	87.2%	54	16.3%
2019	22	CLE	12	12*	—	0.0%	748	96.3%	56	17.2%
2020	23	CLE	12	11*	—	0.0%	775	95.1%	54	17.9%
2021	24	CLE	15	13*	—	0.0%	856	87.5%	49	14.1%
2022	25	CLE	14	12*	—	0.0%	748	84.1%	52	16.8%
2023	26	CLE	13	10*	—	0.0%	622	79.2%	31	11.3%
2024	27	CLE	16	12*	—	0.0%	759	74.6%	50	13.1%
2025	28	CLE	15	12*	—	0.0%	779	83.1%	52	14.6%
Career			110	93*	—	—	6,128	—	398	—

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Cmp	Cmp%	RateAll	ADOT	Prss	Hrry	QBKD	Bltz	MissTkl	Miss%
2018	21	CLE	13	11*	90	46	0.5	72.8	9.9	0	0	0	0	10	0.2
2019	22	CLE	12	12*	83	40	0.5	62.2	11.0	2	1	1	6	12	0.2
2020	23	CLE	12	11*	81	44	0.5	78.3	11.3	1	0	1	3	5	0.1
2021	24	CLE	15	13*	78	47	0.6	76.6	8.8	2	0	1	3	6	0.1
2022	25	CLE	14	12*	69	42	0.6	76.4	10.3	1	0	1	2	4	0.1
2023	26	CLE	13	10*	66	32	0.5	56.2	10.5	0	0	0	2	8	0.2
2024	27	CLE	16	12*	77	42	0.5	92.8	14.8	1	0	1	3	14	0.2
2025	28	CLE	15	12*	62	38	0.6	88.1	10.3	0	0	0	3	8	0.2
Career			110	93*	606	331	—	—	—	7	1	5	22	67	—

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 68 · Strong Starter

A strong starter career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 68 of 100, era-normalized against int/g peers across 8 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 67 × longevity 1 = KV-H 68· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 65

On-field 48.7

Availability 16.3

On-field production Staying available

Season-by-season quality (era-relative int/g)

2018bestavg 65elite 702025

All-Time Standing

how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position

Depth

of 100

Reached 8% of the all-time Interceptions leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

8% of the all-time Interceptions leader8

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: 92%.

Per-Snap Impact

Defensive Backs · proprietary · 2012+

Excellent

SIS

Disruption / 100 snaps:2.374See leaderboard →

Disruption/1002.374Snap share85.9%Def snaps6,128Elite · ConsistentCV 0.21

Production per snap — the box score normalized by opportunity. SIS is z-scored within defensive backs, shrinkage-regularized so small samples don't spike, over the NFL snap-count era (2012+).

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average defensive backs aging curve. Group peak age: 21. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Combine · 2018

Percentiles compare each raw measurement against position peers, the full combine pool, and the same draft class where enough samples exist.

DB · 2018 class

4.32s

40-Yard

Elite · 97th pct

Pos 97thAll 99thClass Pos 96thClass All 99th

39"

Vertical

Strong · 82th pct

Pos 82thAll 91thClass Pos 80thClass All 91th

136"

Broad Jump

Elite · 99th pct

Pos 99thAll 99thClass Pos 99thClass All 99th

16 reps

Bench

Above avg · 55th pct

Pos 55thAll 22thClass Pos 57thClass All 32th

Postseason Career

2 playoff games

Defense

Tkl5Solo5PD1

College Stats

Ohio StateImported college table

College Defense

Season	School	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty
2015	Ohio State	7	5	—	—	—	—	—	0	—	—	—	—	—
2016	Ohio State	23	12	—	—	—	—	—	0	—	—	—	—	—
2017	Ohio State	37	30	—	—	—	—	—	2	—	—	—	—	—
Career		67	47	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	2	0	0	0	—	—

Reference Graph

Career teammates and draft class, derived from year-by-year rosters — every name is linked.

2018 Draft Class· this player went #4

#1Adonis AlexanderDB #1Baker MayfieldQB #1Sam BealDB #2Saquon BarkleyRB #3Sam DarnoldQB #5Bradley ChubbOLB #6Quenton NelsonG #7Josh AllenQB #8Roquan SmithILB #9Mike McGlincheyOT #10Josh RosenQB #11Minkah FitzpatrickFS #12Vita VeaDT #13Daron PayneNT #14Marcus DavenportDE #15Kolton MillerOT

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Denzel inherited the Cleveland Browns DB room from Terrance Mitchell (2018–2020), and handed it to John Johnson (2021–2022).

Eric Turner 1991–1995Stevon Moore 1992–1995Antonio Langham 1994–1999Earl Little 1999–2004Daylon McCutcheon 1999–2005Anthony Henry

Similar Players

Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).

Movementderived from season history

2025final season
Last recorded season with CLE
2018draft
Drafted by CLE — Round 1, Pick 4

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

5'11" / 190 lb

Frame

183 lb at 4.32s

Size-speed

39" vert / 136" broad

Explosion

16 reps

Bench power

Injury History

13 career games missed (Out)

From nflverse weekly injury reports · coverage begins 2009.

Season	Team	Games Out	Designations
2024	CLE	1	W6Questionable· HamstringW9Questionable· ConcussionW18Out· Shoulder
2023	CLE	2	W12Out· ShoulderW13Out· ShoulderW14Questionable· ShoulderW15Questionable· ShoulderW19Questionable· Shoulder / Knee
2022	CLE	3	W6Out· ConcussionW7Out· ConcussionW8Out· ConcussionW18Questionable· Shoulder
2021	CLE	1	W5Questionable· NeckW6Questionable· NeckW8Out· HamstringW9Questionable· HamstringW18Questionable· Groin
2020	CLE	3	W3Questionable· GroinW4Questionable· GroinW12Out· CalfW13Out· CalfW14Out· CalfW15Questionable· Calf
2019	CLE	0	W3Questionable· HamstringW4Questionable· HamstringW5Questionable· HamstringW6Questionable· Hamstring
2018	CLE	3	W10Questionable· HipW14Out· ConcussionW15Out· ConcussionW17Out· Concussion

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 8-season peers. See all →

peak 70

Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season

B+2018

B2019

B2020

B2021

B+2022

B2023

B2024

C+2025

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 8 seasons.

83%

Era Translator

INT 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 INT	INT/G	→ 2025 INT	→ 2025 /G
2018	3	0.2	3	0.2
2019	2	0.2	2	0.1
2020	2	0.2	2	0.1
2021	3	0.2	3	0.2
2022	3	0.2	3	0.2
2023	2	0.2	3+1	0.2
2024	2	0.1	2	0.1
2025	1	0.1	1	0.1

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:snap_counts, nflverse:combine, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:injuries, wikipedia:college-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

129 career value over replacement — #784 all-time of 4,642. 16.1/season above a replacement-level CB.

Draft OutcomeValue ↑

Pick #4 (Rd 1) · CLE · 2018 · +6.2 vs expected KV-H

68actual

61.8 expected · Δ+6.2

💔+21.9 stolen VORP·1.36 szns lost

Fan Rating

Rate Denzel Ward — All-Time

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Denzel Ward

All-Time Rank & Honors

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Defense

Snap Counts

Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Per-Snap Impact

Career Aging Trajectory

Combine · 2018

Postseason Career

Defense

College Stats

College Defense

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

2018 Draft Class· this player went #4

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Injury History

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography