Fred Strickland is a career quality starter β a linebacker whose body of work places Strickland in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Strickland's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Fred Strickland
Top 11% all-time linebackersIron Man
Height6'2"
Weight251 lb
BornAug 15, 1966
Age59
CollegePurdueSee College Stats
Rookie yr1988
Draft1988 Β· Rd 2, Pick 47 Β· LA
A high-end linebacker defined as much by excellent availability over their career as by their on-field impact (top 20% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 149 Β· #639 Β· High-ValueWorth 149 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker β top 15% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 10 of 10 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +14.9 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
10 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
10
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+14.9
Avg surplus
peak +24
10 seasons Γ ~14.9 surplus β VORP 149
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 | |||||
| 1988 | β | LAR | 16 | β | 44 | 35 | β | β | β | 4.0 | 4.0 | β | 3 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1989 | β | LAR | 12 | β | 51 | 48 | β | β | β | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2 | 9 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1991 | β | LAR | 14 | β | 29 | 0 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 2 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1992 | β | LAR | 16 | β | 16 | 16 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1993 | β | MIN | 16 | β | 110 | 84 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1994 | β | GB | 16 | β | 75 | 42 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | GB | 14 | β | 51 | 34 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | DAL | 16 | β | 102 | 78 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | DAL | 15 | β | 94 | 68 | β | β | β | 0.5 | 0.5 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | DAL | 16 | β | 81 | 51 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | WAS | 3 | β | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 154 | β | 656 | 458 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 4 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 22 | LAR | 16 | β | 44 | 35 | β | β | β | 4.0 | 4.0 | β | 3 | 0 | β | β | β | 8 |
| 1989 | 23 | LAR | 12 | β | 51 | 48 | β | β | β | 2.0 | 2.0 | 2 | 9 | 1 | β | β | β | 9.2 |
| 1991 | 25 | LAR | 14 | β | 29 | 0 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 2 | 1 | β | β | β | 6.3 |
| 1992 | 26 | LAR | 16 | β | 16 | 16 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 5 |
| 1993 | 27 | MIN | 16 | β | 110 | 84 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 6.4 |
| 1994 | 28 | GB | 16 | β | 75 | 42 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | β | β | β | 7.1 |
| 1995 | 29 | GB | 14 | β | 51 | 34 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β | 4.4 |
| 1996 | 30 | DAL | 16 | β | 102 | 78 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | β | β | β | 9 |
| 1997 | 31 | DAL | 15 | β | 94 | 68 | β | β | β | 0.5 | 0.5 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β | 6.1 |
| 1998 | 32 | DAL | 16 | β | 81 | 51 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 6.8 |
| 1999 | 33 | WAS | 3 | β | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | β |
| Career | 154 | 656 | 458 | 1 | 0 | 0 | β | β | 4 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 68.3 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 66 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 66 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 10 scored seasons.
62
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
71
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 65.6 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 66Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 62
On-field 43.1
Availability 18.9
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
1988bestavg 62elite 701998
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position4
Depth
of 100
Reached 4% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
4% of the all-time Sacks leader4
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: 91%.
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+).
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Purdue), 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
Henry EllardWR4yTim BrownWR4yAnthony NewmanS4yWillie GaultWR4yJim EverettQB4yGeorge TeagueFS4yRobert DelpinoFB4yAaron CoxWR4yEmmitt SmithRB3yDarren WoodsonS3yDeion SandersCB3yMarcus AllenRB3yRandall GodfreyOLB3yTroy AikmanQB3yMichael IrvinWR3yDaryl JohnstonRB3yChad HenningsDT3yLeon LettDE3yBuford McGeeRB3yDale HatcherP3yKavika PittmanDE3yDamone JohnsonTE3yHurvin McCormackDE3yCleveland GaryRB3y
1988 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #47
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterFred opened the Los Angeles Rams LB lineage the corpus knows, and handed it to Roman Phifer (1991β1998).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1999team change
Joined WAS (from DAL)
- 1999final season
Last recorded season with WAS
- 1996team change
Joined DAL (from GB)
- 1994team change
Joined GB (from MIN)
- 1993team change
Joined MIN (from LAR)
- 1988draft
Drafted by LA β Round 2, Pick 47
- 1988team change
Joined LAR (from LA)
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'2" / 251 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 10-season peers. See all β
66
peak 71
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1988
C+1989
C+1991
C+1992
B+1993
B1994
C+1995
B+1996
B+1997
B1998
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 11 seasons.
88%
Era Translator
Tackles 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 Tackles | Tackles/G | β 2025 Tackles | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 44 | 2.8 | 52+8 | 3 |
| 1989 | 51 | 4.3 | 75+24 | 4.4 |
| 1991 | 29 | 2.1 | 39+10 | 2.3 |
| 1992 | 16 | 1 | 25+9 | 1.5 |
| 1993 | 110 | 6.9 | 103-7 | 6.1 |
| 1994 | 75 | 4.7 | 71-4 | 4.1 |
| 1995 | 51 | 3.6 | 58+7 | 3.4 |
| 1996 | 102 | 6.4 | 103+1 | 6.1 |
| 1997 | 94 | 6.3 | 102+8 | 6 |
| 1998 | 81 | 5.1 | 85+4 | 5 |
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
149 career value over replacement β #639 all-time of 4,642. 14.9/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #47 (Rd 2) Β· LA Β· 1988 Β· +16.2 vs expected KV-H
66actual
49.8 expected Β· Ξ+16.2
Fan Rating
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