Derrick Ward is a career quality starter — a running 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.

RBHOU#32ACT

Derrick Ward

Top 25% all-time RBsHigh-End Starter⛰️ Mountain Arc · 2008

Height5'11"

Weight240 lb

BornAug 30, 1980

Age45

CollegeUniversity of Ottawa (Kans.); Fresno State See College Stats

Rookie yr2004

Draft2004 · Rd 7, Pick 235 · NYJ

Archetype Intelligence

High-End StarterExplore archetypes →

A quality running back with a top 30% among starters — a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 45 · #2184 · Above Average

Worth 45 points of value above a freely-available replacement running back — top 48% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 4 of 6 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +11.3 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

4 cleared

2 replaced

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+11.3

Avg surplus

peak +20

4 seasons × ~11.3 surplus ≈ VORP 45

Combined Season Grid

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

4 grids split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Rushing								Receiving									Defense													Advanced (EPA)
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb	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	Pass EPA	Rush EPA	Rec EPA	Pass AirYd	Rec AirYd
2004	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0
2005	—	NYG	10	—	35	123	0	3.5	0.0	7	20.0	0	2	2	13	0	100.0%	6.5	6.5	—	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2005	—	WAS	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
2005	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	-5.2	1.8	0	0
2007	—	NYG	8	—	125	602	3	4.8	2.4	28	22.4	1	26	26	179	1	100.0%	6.9	6.9	—	7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2007	—	WAS	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	2	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
2007	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	5.8	5.3	0	-3
2008	—	NYG	16	—	182	1,025	2	5.6	1.1	53	29.1	0	41	41	384	0	100.0%	9.4	9.4	—	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2008	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	18.2	17.8	0	-28
2009	—	TB	14	—	115	414	1	3.6	0.9	13	11.3	0	24	20	150	2	83.3%	7.5	6.3	—	7	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2009	—	PHI	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
2009	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	-23.9	5.2	0	29
2010	—	HOU	14	—	51	317	4	6.2	7.8	17	33.3	0	11	7	61	0	63.6%	8.7	5.5	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2010	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	11.6	-0.5	0	23
2011	—	HOU	5	—	45	154	2	3.4	4.4	11	24.4	0	1	0	0	0	0.0%	—	0.0	—	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2011	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	-6.5	-1.2	0	2
Career		—	71	—	553	2,635	12	4.8	2.2	129	23.3	1	105	96	787	3	91.4%	8.2	7.5	—	30	4	4	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	-0.1	28.4	0	23

Career EPA28.3·-0 rushing · 28 receiving·4.0/season

Rushing

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Att	Yds	TD	Y/A	TD%	1D	1D%	Fmb	VAL
2005	25	NYG	10	—	35	123	0	3.5	0.0	7	20.0	0	3.8
2007	27	NYG	8	—	125	602	3	4.8	2.4	28	22.4	1	8.4
2008	28	NYG	16	—	182	1,025	2	5.6	1.1	53	29.1	0	12.4
2009	29	TB	14	—	115	414	1	3.6	0.9	13	11.3	0	9.7
2010	30	HOU	14	—	51	317	4	6.2	7.8	17	33.3	0	8.2
2011	31	HOU	5	—	45	154	2	3.4	4.4	11	24.4	0	3.4
Career			67		553	2,635	12	4.8	—	129	—	1	45.9

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D
2005	25	NYG	10	—	2	2	13	0	100.0%	6.5	6.5	—	0
2007	27	NYG	8	—	26	26	179	1	100.0%	6.9	6.9	—	7
2008	28	NYG	16	—	41	41	384	0	100.0%	9.4	9.4	—	14
2009	29	TB	14	—	24	20	150	2	83.3%	7.5	6.3	—	7
2010	30	HOU	14	—	11	7	61	0	63.6%	8.7	5.5	—	2
2011	31	HOU	5	—	1	0	0	0	0.0%	—	0.0	—	0
Career			67		105	96	787	3	91.4%	8.2	7.5	—	30

Advanced (EPA)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Pass EPA	Rush EPA	Rec EPA	Rec AirYd
2004	24	—	—	—	—	—	—	0
2005	25	—	—	—	—	-5.2	1.8	0
2007	27	—	—	—	—	5.8	5.3	-3
2008	28	—	—	—	—	18.2	17.8	-28
2009	29	—	—	—	—	-23.9	5.2	29
2010	30	—	—	—	—	11.6	-0.5	23
2011	31	—	—	—	—	-6.5	-1.2	2
Career					—	—	—	23

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 58 · Strong Starter

A strong starter career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 58 of 100, era-normalized against rush yds/g peers across 6 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 58.2 × longevity 1 = KV-H 58· confidence 94%

What builds the career mark of 57

On-field 41.5

Availability 15.5

On-field production Staying available

Season-by-season quality (era-relative rush yds/g)

2005bestavg 54elite 702011

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 14% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

14% of the all-time Rushing Yards leader14

0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0

4.04 EPA/season over 7 seasons51

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: 87%.

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

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

From Scrimmage · Career

Scrimmage Yds

3,422

2,635 rush · 787 recv

Total TDs

12 rush · 3 recv

Total Touches

649

553 carries · 96 rec

Yds / Touch

5.3

rushing + receiving

Postseason Career

1 playoff game

Rushing

Att12Yds46Y/A3.81D21D%16.7

Receiving

Tgt5Rec5Yds24Ctch%100.0%Y/R4.8Y/Tgt4.81D1

Advanced (EPA)

Rush EPA-3.2Rec EPA-2.7Rec AirYd1

College Stats

University of Ottawa (Kans.); Fresno StateCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (University of Ottawa (Kans.); Fresno State), 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.

2004 Draft Class· this player went #235

#224Donnie JonesP #225Matt MauckQB #228Casey CramerRB #230Jared ClaussDT #231Kevin SampsonOT #232Michael GainesTE #233Christian MortonDB #234Trevor JohnsonDE #236Rashad WashingtonDB #239Eugene AmanoC #240Colby BockwoldtLB #241Sean McHughTE #242Bruce PerryRB #245Courtney AndersonTE #247Brandon MireeRB #249Bobby McCrayDE

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Derrick inherited the New York Giants RB room from Jim Finn (2003–2006), and handed it to Brandon Jacobs (2005–2013).

Butch Woolfolk 1982–1984Joe Morris 1982–1988George Adams 1985–1989Lee Rouson 1985–1990Lewis Tillman 1989–1993Dave Meggett

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

2011final season
Last recorded season with HOU
2010team change
Joined HOU (from TB)
2009team change
Joined TB (from NYG)
2005team change
Joined NYG (from NYJ)
2004draft
Drafted by NYJ — Round 7, Pick 235

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

5'11" / 240 lb

Frame

Injury History

3 career games missed (Out)

From nflverse weekly injury reports · coverage begins 2009.

Season	Team	Games Out	Designations
2011	HOU	3	W2Out· Ankle / ShoulderW3Out· Shoulder / AnkleW4Out· Ankle / ShoulderW5Questionable· Ankle / Shoulder
2010	HOU	0	W5Questionable· Ribs
2009	TB	0	W4Questionable· KneeW10Questionable· KneeW16Questionable· KneeW17Questionable· Knee / Thigh

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 6-season peers. See all →

peak 60

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

C2005

B2007

B+2008

C+2009

C+2010

D2011

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 6 seasons.

70%

Era Translator

Rush Yds 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 Rush Yds	Rush Yds/G	→ 2025 Rush Yds	→ 2025 /G
2005	123	12.3	275+152	16.2
2007	602	75.3	1,136+534	66.8
2008	1,025	64.1	973-52	57.3
2009	414	29.6	483+69	28.4
2010	317	22.6	414+97	24.3
2011	154	30.8	575+421	33.8

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:advanced-epa (CC-BY 4.0), nflverse:injuries · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

45 career value over replacement — #2184 all-time of 4,642. 7.5/season above a replacement-level RB.

Career Profile

2-phase playertwo-way

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #235 (Rd 7) · NYJ · 2004 · +35.2 vs expected KV-H

58actual

22.8 expected · Δ+35.2

Fan Rating

Rate Derrick Ward — All-Time

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Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Rushing

Receiving

Advanced (EPA)

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

From Scrimmage · Career

Postseason Career

Rushing

Receiving

Advanced (EPA)

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

2004 Draft Class· this player went #235

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Injury History

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography