Ellis Johnson is a career quality starter β a pass rusher whose body of work places Johnson in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Johnson's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Ellis Johnson
Height6'2"
Weight288 lb
BornOct 30, 1973
Age52
CollegeFloridaSee College Stats
Rookie yr1995
Draft1995 Β· Rd 1, Pick 15 Β· IND
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 151 Β· #627 Β· High-ValueWorth 151 points of value above a freely-available replacement edge rusher β top 14% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 9 of 10 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +16.8 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
9 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
51
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
9
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+16.8
Avg surplus
peak +26
9 seasons Γ ~16.8 surplus β VORP 151
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 | |||||
| 1995 | β | IND | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 4.5 | 4.5 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | IND | 12 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | IND | 15 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 4.5 | 4.5 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | IND | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 8.0 | 8.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | IND | 16 | β | 35 | 24 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 7.5 | 25.5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | IND | 13 | β | 27 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 5.0 | 15.0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | IND | 15 | β | 26 | 12 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 3.5 | 10.5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | β | ATL | 13 | β | 22 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 7.0 | 21.0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | β | ATL | 16 | β | 38 | 30 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | β | DEN | 12 | β | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | β | 1 | 0 |
| Career | β | 144 | β | 162 | 114 | 48 | 28 | 21 | 51.0 | 100.0 | 2 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 22 | IND | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 4.5 | 4.5 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 10.4 |
| 1996 | 23 | IND | 12 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 3.3 |
| 1997 | 24 | IND | 15 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 4.5 | 4.5 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 9.3 |
| 1998 | 25 | IND | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 8.0 | 8.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 15.7 |
| 1999 | 26 | IND | 16 | β | 35 | 24 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 7.5 | 25.5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13.3 |
| 2000 | 27 | IND | 13 | β | 27 | 16 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 5.0 | 15.0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 9.3 |
| 2001 | 28 | IND | 15 | β | 26 | 12 | 14 | 4 | 3 | 3.5 | 10.5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 8.6 |
| 2002 | 29 | ATL | 13 | β | 22 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 6 | 7.0 | 21.0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 11.6 |
| 2003 | 30 | ATL | 16 | β | 38 | 30 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 12.6 |
| 2004 | 31 | DEN | 12 | β | 14 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | β | 1 | 0 | 8.1 |
| Career | 144 | 162 | 114 | 48 | 28 | 21 | β | β | 2 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 102.2 |
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 10 scored seasons.
66
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
76
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 70 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 70Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 66
On-field 47.8
Availability 18.2
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
1995bestavg 66elite 702004
Team Carrier Evidence
Ranked #489 of 600 by seasons where high individual production happened on low-win teams. Score aggregates only tracked StatVault categories.
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position27
Depth
of 100
Reached 26% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
26% of the all-time Sacks leader26
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: 89%.
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
3 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl8Solo2Ast6TFL1QBHits2Sk1.0Dis4.0
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Florida), 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
Ken DilgerTE7yMarcus PollardTE7yMarvin HarrisonWR6yJason BelserFS6yBernard WhittingtonDE6yTony McCoyDT5yPeyton ManningQB4yChris GardockiP4yRay BuchananFS4yMarshall FaulkRB4yJeff BurrisCB4yZack CrockettRB4yLamont WarrenRB4yJerome PathonWR4yRay McElroyDB4yJim HarbaughQB3yMike PetersonOLB3yEdgerrin JamesRB3ySean DawkinsWR3yTyrone PooleDB3yBertrand BerryOLB3yChad BratzkeDE3yElijah AlexanderOLB3yHunter SmithP3y
1995 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #15
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2004team change
Joined DEN (from ATL)
- 2004final season
Last recorded season with DEN
- 2002team change
Joined ATL (from IND)
- 1995draft
Drafted by IND β Round 1, Pick 15
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'2" / 288 lb
Frame
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 4.5 | 0.3 | 4-0.5 | 0.3 |
| 1996 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | 4.5 | 0.3 | 5+0.5 | 0.3 |
| 1998 | 8 | 0.5 | 8 | 0.4 |
| 1999 | 7.5 | 0.5 | 7-0.5 | 0.4 |
| 2000 | 5 | 0.4 | 6+1 | 0.3 |
| 2001 | 3.5 | 0.2 | 4+0.5 | 0.2 |
| 2002 | 7 | 0.5 | 9+2 | 0.5 |
| 2003 | 8 | 0.5 | 8 | 0.5 |
| 2004 | 3 | 0.3 | 4+1 | 0.2 |
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) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
151 career value over replacement β #627 all-time of 4,642. 15.1/season above a replacement-level EDGE.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #15 (Rd 1) Β· IND Β· 1995 Β· +12.5 vs expected KV-H
70actual
57.5 expected Β· Ξ+12.5
Fan Rating
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