Derek M. Smith ranks in the all-time elite tier for linebackers — a career that places M. in the top 10% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns M. a career score of 70, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

ILBMIA#59ACT

Derek M. Smith

Top 6% all-time linebackersIron Man📈 Late Developer · 2005

Height6'2"

Weight240 lb

BornJan 18, 1975

Age51

CollegeArizona State; Snow See College Stats

Rookie yr1997

Draft1997 · Rd 3, Pick 80 · WAS

Archetype Intelligence

Iron ManExplore archetypes →

A high-end linebacker defined as much by excellent availability over their career as by their on-field impact (top 10% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 222 · #302 · Elite

Worth 222 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker — top 7% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 11 of 12 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +20.2 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

11 cleared

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+20.2

Avg surplus

peak +26

11 seasons × ~20.2 surplus ≈ VORP 222

Combined Season Grid

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

1 grid split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Defense
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty
1997	—	WAS	16	—	87	59	—	—	—	2.0	2.0	0	—	0	2	—	—
1998	—	WAS	15	—	103	78	—	—	—	0.5	0.5	0	—	1	1	—	—
1999	—	WAS	16	—	87	59	28	10	2	1.0	13.0	1	5	0	1	0	0
2000	—	WAS	16	—	74	58	16	6	0	0.0	6.0	0	3	1	1	0	0
2001	—	SF	14	—	85	55	30	4	4	3.0	11.0	1	3	0	2	0	0
2002	—	SF	16	—	87	58	29	8	1	1.0	10.0	0	6	1	1	0	0
2003	—	SF	16	—	91	64	27	0	0	3.5	3.5	0	3	0	1	0	0
2004	—	SF	14	—	89	60	29	0	0	1.5	1.5	0	3	0	2	1	0
2005	—	SF	16	—	104	78	26	0	0	0.0	0.0	1	7	0	1	1	0
2006	—	SF	13	—	61	42	19	0	0	0.5	0.5	0	0	1	—	0	0
2007	—	SF	15	—	72	45	27	0	2	0.0	2.0	1	4	0	1	0	0
2008	—	LAC	4	—	11	5	6	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0
Career		—	171	—	951	661	237	28	9	13.0	50.0	4	34	4	13	2	0

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty	VAL
1997	22	WAS	16	—	87	59	—	—	—	2.0	2.0	0	—	0	2	—	—	5.9
1998	23	WAS	15	—	103	78	—	—	—	0.5	0.5	0	—	1	1	—	—	7.1
1999	24	WAS	16	—	87	59	28	10	2	1.0	13.0	1	5	0	1	0	0	9.6
2000	25	WAS	16	—	74	58	16	6	0	0.0	6.0	0	3	1	1	0	0	7.4
2001	26	SF	14	—	85	55	30	4	4	3.0	11.0	1	3	0	2	0	0	8.6
2002	27	SF	16	—	87	58	29	8	1	1.0	10.0	0	6	1	1	0	0	8.9
2003	28	SF	16	—	91	64	27	0	0	3.5	3.5	0	3	0	1	0	0	8.5
2004	29	SF	14	—	89	60	29	0	0	1.5	1.5	0	3	0	2	1	0	7.8
2005	30	SF	16	—	104	78	26	0	0	0.0	0.0	1	7	0	1	1	0	9.8
2006	31	SF	13	—	61	42	19	0	0	0.5	0.5	0	0	1	—	0	0	5.3
2007	32	SF	15	—	72	45	27	0	2	0.0	2.0	1	4	0	1	0	0	7.7
2008	33	LAC	4	—	11	5	6	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	1.2
Career			171		951	661	237	28	9	—	—	4	34	4	13	2	0	87.8

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 70 · Great

A great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 70 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 12 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 68.4 × longevity 1 = KV-H 70· confidence 96%

What builds the career mark of 66

On-field 47.4

Availability 18.6

On-field production Staying available

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

1997bestavg 63elite 702008

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 7% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

7% of the all-time Sacks leader7

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: 90%.

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average linebackers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Postseason Career

5 playoff games

Defense

Tkl34Solo20Ast14TFL1Dis1.0PD1

College Stats

Arizona State; SnowCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Arizona State; Snow), 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.

1997 Draft Class· this player went #80

#70O.J. SantiagoTE #71Duce StaleyRB #72Adam TreuC #73Jason TaylorOLB #74Michael HamiltonLB #75Denard WalkerCB #77Greg ClarkTE #78Stalin ColinetDE #84Ty HowardDB #86Bertrand BerryOLB #88Dedric WardWR #89Chris CarterDB #90Brett ConwayK #91Mike VrabelOLB #92Derrick RodgersOLB #94Kenny WheatonDB

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Derek inherited the San Francisco 49ers LB room from Jamie Winborn (2001–2004), and handed it to Brandon Moore (2002–2007).

Bill Romanowski 1988–1993Kevin Mitchell 1994–1997Lee Woodall 1994–1999Tony Peterson 1994–1999Ken Norton 1994–2000Jeff Posey

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

2008team change
Joined LAC (from SF)
2008final season
Last recorded season with LAC
2001team change
Joined SF (from WAS)
1997draft
Drafted by WAS — Round 3, Pick 80

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'2" / 240 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 12-season peers. See all →

peak 72

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

B1997

B+1998

B1999

B2000

B2001

B2002

B2003

B+2004

B+2005

C+2006

B2007

F2008

Availability

Era Translator

Tackles 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 Tackles	Tackles/G	→ 2025 Tackles	→ 2025 /G
1997	87	5.4	90+3	5.3
1998	103	6.9	115+12	6.8
1999	87	5.4	92+5	5.4
2000	74	4.6	73-1	4.3
2001	85	6.1	97+12	5.7
2002	87	5.4	85-2	5
2003	91	5.7	91	5.3
2004	89	6.4	106+17	6.3
2005	104	6.5	109+5	6.4
2006	61	4.7	69+8	4.1
2007	72	4.8	71-1	4.2
2008	11	2.8	28+17	1.6

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

Career Value · VORP

222 career value over replacement — #302 all-time of 4,642. 18.5/season above a replacement-level LB.

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #80 (Rd 3) · WAS · 1997 · +31.3 vs expected KV-H

70actual

38.7 expected · Δ+31.3

💔+24.4 stolen VORP·1.32 szns lost

Fan Rating

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Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Defense

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

Postseason Career

Defense

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1997 Draft Class· this player went #80

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography