Ed McDaniel is a career quality starter β a pass rusher whose body of work places McDaniel in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and McDaniel's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Ed McDaniel
Height5'11"
Weight234 lb
BornFeb 23, 1969
Age57
CollegeClemsonSee College Stats
Rookie yr1992
Draft1992 Β· Rd 5, Pick 125 Β· MIN
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context1x
Pro Bowls
A edge rusher with a top 30% among starters β the kind of consistent contributor every roster needs. Solid availability (exceptional availability β almost never missed time) added to their value.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 75 Β· #1513 Β· Above AverageWorth 75 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker β top 34% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 7 of 9 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +10.7 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
7 cleared
2 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
7
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+10.7
Avg surplus
peak +24
7 seasons Γ ~10.7 surplus β VORP 75
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 | |||||
| 1992 | β | MIN | 8 | β | 15 | 14 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1993 | β | MIN | 7 | β | 22 | 16 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1994 | β | MIN | 16 | β | 120 | 91 | β | β | β | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | MIN | 16 | β | 115 | 85 | β | β | β | 4.5 | 4.5 | 1 | 4 | 6 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | MIN | 16 | β | 88 | 63 | β | β | β | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | MIN | 16 | β | 125 | 90 | β | β | β | 7.0 | 7.0 | β | 1 | 3 | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | MIN | 16 | β | 95 | 62 | 33 | 10 | 2 | 2.0 | 14.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | MIN | 16 | β | 104 | 83 | 21 | 10 | 2 | 2.0 | 14.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | MIN | 14 | β | 56 | 40 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 1.0 | 12.0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 125 | β | 740 | 544 | 70 | 29 | 6 | 19.5 | 54.5 | 4 | 21 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 23 | MIN | 8 | β | 15 | 14 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 2.7 |
| 1993 | 24 | MIN | 7 | β | 22 | 16 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β | 2.5 |
| 1994 | 25 | MIN | 16 | β | 120 | 91 | β | β | β | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 4 | 1 | β | β | β | 10.2 |
| 1995 | 26 | MIN | 16 | β | 115 | 85 | β | β | β | 4.5 | 4.5 | 1 | 4 | 6 | β | β | β | 12.7 |
| 1997 | 28 | MIN | 16 | β | 88 | 63 | β | β | β | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | β | β | β | 8.8 |
| 1998 | 29 | MIN | 16 | β | 125 | 90 | β | β | β | 7.0 | 7.0 | β | 1 | 3 | β | β | β | 16.3 |
| 1999 | 30 | MIN | 16 | β | 95 | 62 | 33 | 10 | 2 | 2.0 | 14.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8.7 |
| 2000 | 31 | MIN | 16 | β | 104 | 83 | 21 | 10 | 2 | 2.0 | 14.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 9.4 |
| 2001 | 32 | MIN | 14 | β | 56 | 40 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 1.0 | 12.0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 8.1 |
| Career | 125 | 740 | 544 | 70 | 29 | 6 | β | β | 4 | 21 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 79.4 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 59 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 59 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 9 scored seasons.
55
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
63
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 58.2 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 59Β· confidence 99%
What builds the career mark of 55
On-field 36.7
Availability 18.3
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
1992bestavg 53elite 702001
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position9
Depth
of 100
Reached 10% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
10% of the all-time Sacks leader10
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: 88%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average linebackers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Postseason Career
4 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl22Solo14Ast8TFL3Dis3.0FF1
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Clemson), 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
Cris CarterWR9yJohn RandleDT8yJake ReedWR8yRobert GriffithFS7yOrlando ThomasFS6yChris WalshWR6yDavid PalmerRB6yRobert SmithRB6yMitch BergerP5yChuck EvansRB5yAndrew JordanTE5yGary AndersonK4yRandy MossWR4yJack Del RioMLB4yKailee WongLB4yMoe WilliamsRB4yTony WilliamsDT4yDwayne RuddLB4yFernando SmithDE4yRobert TateDB4yMatt HatchetteWR4yChris DolemanDE3yHenry ThomasNT3yRandall CunninghamQB3y
1992 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #125
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterEd inherited the Minnesota Vikings LB room from Jack Del Rio (1992β1995), and handed it to Jeff Brady (1995β1997).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2001final season
Last recorded season with MIN
- 1992draft
Drafted by MIN β Round 5, Pick 125
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts5'11" / 234 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
59
peak 63
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C1992
D1993
C+1994
B1995
C+1997
B+1998
C+1999
C+2000
C+2001
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 9 seasons.
92%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 2+0.5 | 0.1 |
| 1995 | 4.5 | 0.3 | 4-0.5 | 0.3 |
| 1997 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 1-0.5 | 0.1 |
| 1998 | 7 | 0.4 | 7 | 0.4 |
| 1999 | 2 | 0.1 | 2 | 0.1 |
| 2000 | 2 | 0.1 | 2 | 0.1 |
| 2001 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks, 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
75 career value over replacement β #1513 all-time of 4,642. 8.3/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #125 (Rd 5) Β· MIN Β· 1992 Β· +25.5 vs expected KV-H
59actual
33.5 expected Β· Ξ+25.5
Fan Rating
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