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

On the boards· Appears on 1 board

#77Dynasty playersof 200

OLBNE#54ACT

Dont'a Hightower

2× Pro Bowl👑 Dynasty DNA · 8 seasons · 3 titles Top 23% all-time pass rushersHigh-End Starter🌅 Early Bloomer · 2014

Height6'3"

Weight

Career Value · VORP

103 career value over replacement — #1108 all-time of 4,695. 11.4/season above a replacement-level LB.

Draft OutcomeValue ↑

Pick #25 (Rd 1) · NE · 2012 · +7.2 vs expected KV-H

62actual

54.8 expected · Δ+7.2

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Compare Dont'a Hightower vs Player Report data error

Combined Season Grid

Season totals or exact team stints. Career totals count each season once.

3 categories · One row per season · Scroll for all statistics

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%
2012	22	NE	14	—	59	42	17	10	9	4.0	23.0	0	3	0	2	1	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2013	23	NE	16	—	95	53	42	4	5	1.0	10.0	0	3	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	856	74.8%	90	18.3%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2014	24	NE	12	—	86	48	38	9	13	6.0	28.0	0	2	1	—	0	0	—	0.0%	835	97.9%	59	16.8%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2015	25	NE	12	—	43	33	10	5	6	3.5	14.5	0	2	0	1	0	0	—	0.0%	593	71.8%	47	13.1%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2016	26	NE	13	—	64	30	34	1	8	2.5	11.5	0	2	1	—	0	1	—	0.0%	708	82.5%	53	14.2%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2017	27	NE	5	—	14	12	2	2	3	2.0	7.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	237	69.4%	20	14.4%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2018	28	NE	15	—	47	23	24	3	6	1.0	10.0	1	1	0	1	0	0	—	0.0%	774	79.5%	78	18.4%	35	25	0.7	87.3	4.3	12	8	3	105	4	0.1
2019	29	NE	15	—	60	36	24	8	13	5.5	26.5	0	4	0	1	1	0	—	0.0%	723	77.3%	86	19.8%	29	20	0.7	110.6	3.0	19	6	6	78	3	0.0
2021	31	NE	15	—	56	31	25	1	4	1.5	6.5	0	1	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	634	66.8%	47	12.1%	31	28	0.9	109.4	3.3	10	7	1	36	10	0.1
Career		—	117	—	524	308	216	43	67	27.0	137.0	1	18	2	5	2	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	95	73	—	—	—	41	21	10	219	17	—

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Pro Bowls

Title Seasons

Dynasty Seasons

Archetype Intelligence

High-End StarterExplore archetypes →

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

Career Value · VORP

VORP 103 · #1108 · High-Value

Worth 103 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker — top 25% of all 4,695 ranked at the position. 8 of 9 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +12.9 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

+12.9

Avg surplus

peak +25

8 seasons × ~12.9 surplus ≈