Duane Clemons is a career quality starter β a pass rusher whose body of work places Clemons in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Clemons's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Duane Clemons
Height6'5"
Weight275 lb
BornMay 23, 1974
Age52
CollegeCaliforniaSee College Stats
Rookie yr1996
Draft1996 Β· Rd 1, Pick 16 Β· MIN
A top 20% all-time edge rusher who consistently made an impact across multiple seasons.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 122 Β· #852 Β· High-ValueWorth 122 points of value above a freely-available replacement edge rusher β top 19% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 6 of 9 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +20.3 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
6 cleared
3 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
51
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
6
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+20.3
Avg surplus
peak +31
6 seasons Γ ~20.3 surplus β VORP 122
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at onceβno tab hopping.
1 grid split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Defense | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | |||||
| 1996 | β | MIN | 13 | β | 7 | 2 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | β | 0 | 1 | β | β |
| 1997 | β | MIN | 3 | β | 24 | 23 | β | β | β | 7.0 | 7.0 | 0 | β | 2 | 1 | β | β |
| 1998 | β | MIN | 4 | β | 25 | 17 | β | β | β | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β |
| 1999 | β | MIN | 12 | β | 33 | 26 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 9.0 | 24.0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | KC | 12 | β | 45 | 36 | 9 | 18 | 8 | 7.5 | 33.5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | KC | 15 | β | 46 | 34 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 7.0 | 21.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | β | KC | 14 | β | 25 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2003 | β | CIN | 16 | β | 37 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | β | CIN | 13 | β | 42 | 24 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | β | CIN | 6 | β | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 108 | β | 294 | 217 | 63 | 40 | 21 | 49.5 | 110.5 | 0 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 1 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 22 | MIN | 13 | β | 7 | 2 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | β | 0 | 1 | β | β | 3.4 |
| 1997 | 23 | MIN | 3 | β | 24 | 23 | β | β | β | 7.0 | 7.0 | 0 | β | 2 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | 24 | MIN | 4 | β | 25 | 17 | β | β | β | 2.5 | 2.5 | 0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | 5.3 |
| 1999 | 25 | MIN | 12 | β | 33 | 26 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 9.0 | 24.0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 13.9 |
| 2000 | 26 | KC | 12 | β | 45 | 36 | 9 | 18 | 8 | 7.5 | 33.5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 14.8 |
| 2001 | 27 | KC | 15 | β | 46 | 34 | 12 | 8 | 6 | 7.0 | 21.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14.4 |
| 2002 | 28 | KC | 14 | β | 25 | 17 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8.7 |
| 2003 | 29 | CIN | 16 | β | 37 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 2004 | 30 | CIN | 13 | β | 42 | 24 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | β | 0 | 0 | 11.5 |
| 2005 | 31 | CIN | 6 | β | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.9 |
| Career | 108 | 294 | 217 | 63 | 40 | 21 | β | β | 0 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 87.9 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 70 Β· GreatA great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 70 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 9 scored seasons.
65
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
77
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 69.8 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 70Β· confidence 92%
What builds the career mark of 65
On-field 49
Availability 16
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
1996bestavg 61elite 702005
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position26
Depth
of 100
Reached 25% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
25% of the all-time Sacks leader25
1 category β₯25% of the all-time leader33
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: 93%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average edge rushers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Postseason Career
2 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl5Solo4Ast1TFL2QBHits1Sk1.0Dis4.0
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (California), 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
Tony WilliamsDT5yCris CarterWR4yJohn RandleDT4yRobert GriffithFS4yJake ReedWR4yMitch BergerP4yOrlando ThomasFS4yChris WalshWR4yLeroy HoardRB4yDavid PalmerRB4yRobert SmithRB4yTony GonzalezTE3yJustin SmithDE3yMarvcus PattonMLB3yRandall CunninghamQB3yShayne GrahamK3yChad JohnsonWR3yJerry BallDT3yJason FiskNT3yTony RichardsonFB3yJon KitnaQB3yLewis BushOLB3yBrian SimmonsLB3yEd McDanielOLB3y
1996 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #16
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterDuane inherited the Cincinnati Bengals DL room from Justin Smith (2001β2007), and handed it to John Thornton (2003β2008).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2005final season
Last recorded season with CIN
- 2003team change
Joined CIN (from KC)
- 2000team change
Joined KC (from MIN)
- 1996draft
Drafted by MIN β Round 1, Pick 16
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'5" / 275 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 9-season peers. See all β
70
peak 77
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C1996
D1998
A1999
B+2000
B+2001
C+2002
B+2003
B+2004
C2005
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 10 seasons.
68%
Era Translator
Sacks 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 Sacks | Sacks/G | β 2025 Sacks | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1998 | 2.5 | 0.6 | 9+6.5 | 0.6 |
| 1999 | 9 | 0.8 | 11+2 | 0.7 |
| 2000 | 7.5 | 0.6 | 9+1.5 | 0.6 |
| 2001 | 7 | 0.5 | 7 | 0.4 |
| 2002 | 2 | 0.1 | 2 | 0.1 |
| 2003 | 6 | 0.4 | 6 | 0.4 |
| 2004 | 6.5 | 0.5 | 8+1.5 | 0.5 |
| 2005 | 2 | 0.3 | 6+4 | 0.3 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), 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
122 career value over replacement β #852 all-time of 4,642. 13.6/season above a replacement-level EDGE.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #16 (Rd 1) Β· MIN Β· 1996 Β· +12.5 vs expected KV-H
70actual
57.5 expected Β· Ξ+12.5
Fan Rating
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