Derek Ware is a career quality starter β a tight end whose body of work places Ware in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Ware's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Derek Ware
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context3
Title Seasons
5
Dynasty Seasons
A quality tight end with a above-average career β a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 23 Β· #2966 Β· Role PlayerWorth 23 points of value above a freely-available replacement tight end β top 65% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 3 of 5 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +7.7 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
3 cleared
2 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
46
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
3
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+7.7
Avg surplus
peak +13
3 seasons Γ ~7.7 surplus β VORP 23
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at onceβno tab hopping.
2 grids split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Receiving | Defense | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | |||||
| 1992 | β | ARI | 15 | β | β | 1 | 13 | 0 | β | 13.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1993 | β | ARI | 16 | β | β | 3 | 45 | 0 | β | 15.0 | β | β | β | 8 | 7 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1994 | β | ARI | 15 | β | β | 17 | 171 | 1 | β | 10.1 | β | β | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | CIN | 7 | β | β | 2 | 36 | 0 | β | 18.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | DAL | 5 | β | β | 1 | 5 | 0 | β | 5.0 | β | β | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| Career | β | 58 | β | 0 | 24 | 270 | 1 | β | 11.3 | β | β | β | 10 | 9 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | β | β | |
Receiving
Defense
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 51 Β· SolidA solid career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 51 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 5 scored seasons.
49
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
54
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 51 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 51Β· confidence 90%
What builds the career mark of 49
On-field 32.5
Availability 16.5
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative rec yds/g)
1992bestavg 451996
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position2
Depth
of 100
Reached 2% of the all-time Receptions leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
2% of the all-time Receptions leader2
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: 92%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average tight ends 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 (Central Oklahoma; Texas A&M; Sacramento City), 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
Larry CentersFB3yRicky ProehlWR3yMichael BankstonDE3yChris OldhamDB3yEric SwannDT3yRandal HillWR3yChris ChandlerQB2ySteve BeuerleinQB2yMike D. JonesDT2yGarrison HearstRB2yButch RolleTE2yWalter ReevesTE2ySteve LoftonDB2yJohnny BaileyRB2yRonald MooreRB2yEric BlountWR2yLee JohnsonP1yJeff FeaglesP1yClyde SimmonsDE1yEmmitt SmithRB1yHerschel WalkerFB1yBrock MarionFS1yWilber MarshallOLB1yDarren WoodsonS1y
1992 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #175
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterDerek inherited the Arizona Cardinals TE room from Walter Reeves (1989β1993), and handed it to Pat Carter (1996β1997).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1996team change
Joined DAL (from CIN)
- 1996final season
Last recorded season with DAL
- 1995team change
Joined CIN (from ARI)
- 1992draft
Drafted by PHO β Round 7, Pick 175
- 1992team change
Joined ARI (from PHO)
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'2" / 251 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 5-season peers. See all β
51
peak 54
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1992
C+1993
C+1994
D1995
F1996
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 5 seasons.
73%
Era Translator
Rec Yds 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 Rec Yds | Rec Yds/G | β 2025 Rec Yds | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 13 | 0.9 | 197+184 | 11.6 |
| 1993 | 45 | 2.8 | 213+168 | 12.6 |
| 1994 | 171 | 11.4 | 413+242 | 24.3 |
| 1995 | 36 | 5.1 | 296+260 | 17.4 |
| 1996 | 5 | 1 | 220+215 | 12.9 |
Data: nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:players, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), nfl.com:official-stats (facts-only reference), espn.com:stats-api (games-played, facts-only reference), nfl.com:official-stats (games-played, facts-only reference) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
23 career value over replacement β #2966 all-time of 4,642. 4.6/season above a replacement-level TE.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #175 (Rd 7) Β· PHO Β· 1992 Β· +23.8 vs expected KV-H
51actual
27.2 expected Β· Ξ+23.8
Fan Rating
Rate Derek Ware β All-Time
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