Derrick Johnson ranks in the all-time elite tier for linebackers — a career that places Johnson in the top 3% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Johnson a career score of 74, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

LBLV#56CUT

Derrick Johnson

4× Pro Bowl1× All-ProTop 3% all-time linebackersIron Legend

Height6'3"

Weight245 lb

BornNov 22, 1982

Age43

CollegeTexas See College Stats

Rookie yr2005

Draft2005 · Rd 1, Pick 15 · KC

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Pro Bowls

All-Pro

Archetype Intelligence

Iron LegendExplore archetypes →

An all-time caliber linebacker (top 5% all-time) who combined elite production with reliable availability. Iron Legends define eras — they show up, every game, for years on end.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 231 · #278 · Elite

Worth 231 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker — top 7% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 11 of 13 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +21 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

+21

Avg surplus

peak +31

11 seasons × ~21 surplus ≈ VORP 231

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%
2005	—	KC	16	—	88	72	16	0	0	2.0	2.0	0	5	2	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2006	—	KC	12	—	66	48	18	0	4	2.5	6.5	0	2	1	2	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2007	—	KC	16	—	79	68	11	0	7	4.0	11.0	2	6	3	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2008	—	KC	14	—	73	56	17	6	1	1.0	8.0	1	6	3	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2009	—	KC	11	—	27	20	7	2	2	1.5	5.5	3	5	1	—	2	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2010	—	KC	16	—	98	72	26	8	1	1.0	10.0	1	16	3	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2011	—	KC	16	—	126	99	27	10	3	2.0	15.0	2	9	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2012	—	KC	16	—	117	102	15	12	5	2.0	19.0	0	4	3	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2013	—	KC	15	—	107	95	12	12	10	4.5	26.5	2	6	0	2	0	0	—	0.0%	1,010	97.5%	57	13.6%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2014	—	KC	1	—	4	4	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	30	38.0%	1	3.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2015	—	KC	16	—	108	87	21	8	5	4.0	17.0	2	8	2	—	0	0	—	0.0%	1,060	97.5%	1	3.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2016	—	KC	13	—	85	65	20	8	2	1.0	11.0	1	3	0	—	1	0	—	0.0%	841	91.4%	3	4.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2017	—	KC	15	—	66	43	23	5	0	0.0	5.0	0	7	1	1	0	0	—	0.0%	845	81.7%	—	0.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2018	—	LV	5	—	15	12	3	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	6	5	0.8	97.2	6.2	1	1	0	3	3	0.1
2018	—	OAK	6	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.0%	152	39.8%	1	3.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Career		—	188	—	1,059	843	216	71	40	25.5	136.5	14	77	20	8	4	0	—	0.0%	3,938	74.3%	63	5.3%	6	5	—	—	—	1	1	0	3	3	—

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	VAL
2005	23	KC	16	—	88	72	16	0	0	2.0	2.0	0	5	2	1	0	8.9
2006	24	KC	12	—	66	48	18	0	4	2.5	6.5	0	2	1	2	0	6.4
2007	25	KC	16	—	79	68	11	0	7	4.0	11.0	2	6	3	—	0	12.3
2008	26	KC	14	—	73	56	17	6	1	1.0	8.0	1	6	3	—	0	9.1
2009	27	KC	11	—	27	20	7	2	2	1.5	5.5	3	5	1	—	2	7.9
2010	28	KC	16	—	98	72	26	8	1	1.0	10.0	1	16	3	1	1	11.9
2011	29	KC	16	—	126	99	27	10	3	2.0	15.0	2	9	1	1	0	13
2012	30	KC	16	—	117	102	15	12	5	2.0	19.0	0	4	3	—	0	10.8
2013	31	KC	15	15*	107	95	12	12	10	4.5	26.5	2	6	0	2	0	12
2014	32	KC	1	—	4	4	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	—
2015	33	KC	16	16*	108	87	21	8	5	4.0	17.0	2	8	2	—	0	13.1
2016	34	KC	13	12*	85	65	20	8	2	1.0	11.0	1	3	0	—	1	8.9
2017	35	KC	15	12*	66	43	23	5	0	0.0	5.0	0	7	1	1	0	7.5
2018	36	LV	5	0*	15	12	3	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	1.7
Career			182	55*	1,059	843	216	71	40	—	—	14	77	20	8	4	123.5

* 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%
2013	31	KC	15	15*	—	0.0%	1,010	97.5%	57	13.6%
2014	32	KC	1	—	—	0.0%	30	38.0%	1	3.0%
2015	33	KC	16	16*	—	0.0%	1,060	97.5%	1	3.0%
2016	34	KC	13	12*	—	0.0%	841	91.4%	3	4.0%
2017	35	KC	15	12*	—	0.0%	845	81.7%	—	0.0%
2018	36	OAK	6	0*	—	0.0%	152	39.8%	1	3.0%
Career			66	55*	—	—	3,938	—	63	—

* 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	36	LV	6	0*	6	5	0.8	97.2	6.2	1	1	0	3	3	0.1
Career			6		6	5	—	—	—	1	1	0	3	3	—

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

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 74 · Great

A great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 74 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 13 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 70 × longevity 1 = KV-H 74· confidence 97%

What builds the career mark of 66

On-field 47.7

Availability 18.3

On-field production Staying available

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

2005bestavg 63elite 702018

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 13% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

13% of the all-time Sacks leader13

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

Linebackers · proprietary · 2012+

Solid

SIS

Disruption / 100 snaps:2.324See leaderboard →

Disruption/1002.324Snap share74.3%Def snaps3,938VolatileCV 0.61

Production per snap — the box score normalized by opportunity. SIS is z-scored within linebackers, 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 linebackers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Combine · 2005

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

LB · 2005 class

4.52s

40-Yard

Elite · 91th pct

Pos 91thAll 73thClass Pos 98thClass All 72th

37.5"

Vertical

Strong · 85th pct

Pos 85thAll 84thClass Pos 83thClass All 77th

120"

Broad Jump

Above avg · 63th pct

Pos 63thAll 64thClass Pos 79thClass All 73th

7.20s

3-Cone

Below avg · 35th pct

Pos 35thAll 45thClass Pos 50thClass All 54th

3.87s

Shuttle

Elite · 99th pct

Pos 99thAll 99thClass Pos 97thClass All 99th

Postseason Career

6 playoff games

Defense

Tkl36Solo22Ast14TFL1QBHits1Sk1.0Dis3.0

College Stats

TexasCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Texas), 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.

2005 Draft Class· this player went #15

#6Adam JonesDB #7Troy WilliamsonWR #8Antrel RolleS #9Carlos RogersCB #11DeMarcus WareOLB #12Shawne MerrimanDE #13Jammal BrownOT #14Thomas DavisOLB #16Travis JohnsonDE #17David PollackLB #18Erasmus JamesDE #19Alex BarronOT #22Mark ClaytonWR #23Fabian WashingtonDB #24Aaron RodgersQB #25Jason CampbellQB

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Derrick inherited the Kansas City Chiefs LB room from Kawika Mitchell (2003–2006), and handed it to Tamba Hali (2006–2017).

Derrick Thomas 1989–1999Lonnie Marts 1991–1993Tracy Simien 1991–1997Greg Manusky 1994–1999Donnie Edwards 1996–2008Marvcus Patton

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

2018team change
Joined LV (from KC)
2018final season
Last recorded season with LV
2005draft
Drafted by KC — Round 1, Pick 15

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'3" / 245 lb

Frame

242 lb at 4.52s

Size-speed

37.5" vert / 120" broad

Explosion

Injury History

1 career game missed (Out)

From nflverse weekly injury reports · coverage begins 2009.

Season	Team	Games Out	Designations
2016	KC	1	W10Questionable· HamstringW11Questionable· HamstringW12Questionable· AchillesW15Out· Achilles
2012	KC	0	W1Questionable· AnkleW5Questionable· GroinW14Questionable· Hamstring
2009	KC	0	W3Questionable· Groin

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 13-season peers. See all →

peak 76

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

B2005

B2006

B2007

B2008

C2009

B+2010

B+2011

B+2012

B+2013

B+2015

B2016

B2017

F2018

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
2005	88	5.5	86-2	5.1
2006	66	5.5	87+21	5.1
2007	79	4.9	74-5	4.4
2008	73	5.2	80+7	4.7
2009	27	2.5	26-1	1.5
2010	98	6.1	98	5.8
2011	126	7.9	128+2	7.5
2012	117	7.3	116-1	6.8
2013	107	7.1	107	6.3
2015	108	6.8	100-8	5.9
2016	85	6.5	101+16	5.9
2017	66	4.4	62-4	3.7
2018	15	3	42+27	2.5

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:snap_counts, nflverse:combine, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:injuries · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

231 career value over replacement — #278 all-time of 4,642. 17.8/season above a replacement-level LB.

Draft OutcomeValue ↑

Pick #15 (Rd 1) · KC · 2005 · +16.5 vs expected KV-H

74actual

57.5 expected · Δ+16.5

💔+44.9 stolen VORP·2.52 szns lost

Fan Rating

Rate Derrick Johnson — All-Time

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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 · 2005

Postseason Career

Defense

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

2005 Draft Class· this player went #15

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Injury History

Knox

Era Translator