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

MLBGB#56ACT

Hardy Nickerson

5× Pro Bowl2× All-ProTop 17% all-time linebackersIron Man

Height6'2"

Weight230 lb

BornSep 1, 1965

Age60

CollegeCalifornia See College Stats

Rookie yr1987

Draft1987 · Rd 5, Pick 122 · PIT

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Pro Bowls

All-Pro

Archetype Intelligence

Iron ManExplore archetypes →

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 · VORP

VORP 62 · #1777 · Above Average

Worth 62 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker — top 39% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 3 of 4 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +20.7 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

3 cleared

1 replaced

Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+20.7

Avg surplus

peak +28

3 seasons × ~20.7 surplus ≈ VORP 62

Combined Season Grid

The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping.

1 grid split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Defense
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty
1987	—	PIT	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1988	—	PIT	10	—	—	—	—	—	—	3.5	3.5	—	—	—	—	—	—
1989	—	PIT	8	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.0	1.0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1990	—	PIT	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	2.0	2.0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1991	—	PIT	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.0	1.0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1992	—	PIT	15	—	—	—	—	—	—	2.0	2.0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1993	—	TB	16	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.0	1.0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1994	—	TB	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.0	1.0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1995	—	TB	16	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.5	1.5	—	—	—	—	—	—
1996	—	TB	16	—	—	—	—	—	—	3.0	3.0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1997	—	TB	16	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.0	1.0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1998	—	TB	10	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.0	1.0	—	—	—	—	—	—
1999	—	TB	16	—	83	40	43	6	0	0.5	6.5	2	5	3	—	0	0
2000	—	JAX	6	—	26	22	4	2	1	1.0	4.0	1	7	0	—	0	0
2001	—	JAX	15	—	110	82	28	4	0	0.0	4.0	3	9	1	—	0	0
2002	—	GB	16	—	71	34	37	4	2	1.5	7.5	0	3	0	—	0	0
Career		—	202	—	290	178	112	16	3	21.0	40.0	6	24	4	0	0	0

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty	VAL
1987	22	PIT	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1988	23	PIT	10	—	—	—	—	—	—	3.5	3.5	—	—	—	—	—	—	8.2
1989	24	PIT	8	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.0	1.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	3.8
1990	25	PIT	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	2.0	2.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	6.9
1991	26	PIT	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.0	1.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	6.4
1992	27	PIT	15	—	—	—	—	—	—	2.0	2.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	9.7
1993	28	TB	16	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.0	1.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	7.2
1994	29	TB	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.0	1.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	7.8
1995	30	TB	16	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.5	1.5	—	—	—	—	—	—	8.2
1996	31	TB	16	—	—	—	—	—	—	3.0	3.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	11.6
1997	32	TB	16	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.0	1.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	6.9
1998	33	TB	10	—	—	—	—	—	—	1.0	1.0	—	—	—	—	—	—	5.1
1999	34	TB	16	—	83	40	43	6	0	0.5	6.5	2	5	3	—	0	0	10.6
2000	35	JAX	6	—	26	22	4	2	1	1.0	4.0	1	7	0	—	0	0	4.7
2001	36	JAX	15	—	110	82	28	4	0	0.0	4.0	3	9	1	—	0	0	10.4
2002	37	GB	16	—	71	34	37	4	2	1.5	7.5	0	3	0	—	0	0	7.5
Career			202		290	178	112	16	3	—	—	6	24	4	0	0	0	115

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 61 · Strong Starter

A strong starter career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 61 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 4 scored seasons, with a short career trimming the score.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×0.93

Longevity

career length

Blend 65.6 × longevity 0.93 = KV-H 61· confidence 94%

What builds the career mark of 64

On-field 46

Availability 18

On-field production Staying available

Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)

1999bestavg 60elite 702002

All-Time Standing

how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position

Depth

of 100

Reached 11% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

11% of the all-time Sacks leader11

0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0

A 0–100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leaderat this position. Built only from visible encyclopedia data — career production vs. the all-time leader, plus efficiency (EPA) and comparable-player confidence — so it's a transparent context score, not a subjective rating. Tiers: Elite ≥ 85 · Strong ≥ 65 · Solid ≥ 45 · Depth < 45. Comparable-player confidence: 90%.

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average linebackers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Postseason Career

3 playoff games

Defense

Tkl20Solo13Ast7TFL1Dis1.0Int1PD2FF1

College Stats

CaliforniaCollege listed; stat table pending import

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 — every name is linked.

1987 Draft Class· this player went #122

#99Troy StradfordRB #103Jim RiggsTE #106Bruce HillWR #110Steve BeuerleinQB #112Odessa TurnerWR #117Timmy SmithRB #119Tommie AgeeRB #121David AlexanderC #124Everett GayWR #128Kitrick TaylorWR #130Marc LoganRB #131Ruben RodriguezP #133Spencer TillmanRB #139Greg HorneP #143Steve BartaloRB #163Gene TaylorWR

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Hardy opened the Tampa Bay Buccaneers LB lineage the corpus knows, and handed it to Lonnie Marts (1994–1996).

Hardy Nickerson 1993–1999Lonnie Marts 1994–1996Derrick Brooks 1995–2008Alshermond Singleton 1997–2002Shelton Quarles 1997–2006Jamie Duncan 2000–2001

Similar Players

Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).

Movementderived from season history

2002team change
Joined GB (from JAX)
2002final season
Last recorded season with GB
2000team change
Joined JAX (from TB)
1993team change
Joined TB (from PIT)
1987draft
Drafted by PIT — Round 5, Pick 122

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'2" / 230 lb

Frame

Knox

StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works →

Historical Knox · KV-H

Era-normalized career quality — z-scored against 4-season peers. See all →

peak 68

Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season

B1999

D2000

B+2001

B2002

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 15 seasons.

84%

Era Translator

Tackles translated to the 2025NFL — each season's standing among its own-era peers, projected onto 2025's scoring environment. Modern-era (1999+) coverage.

Season	Actual Tackles	Tackles/G	→ 2025 Tackles	→ 2025 /G
1999	83	5.2	87+4	5.1
2000	26	4.3	67+41	4
2001	110	7.3	123+13	7.3
2002	71	4.4	62-9	3.7

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

62 career value over replacement — #1777 all-time of 4,642. 15.5/season above a replacement-level LB.

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #122 (Rd 5) · PIT · 1987 · +27.5 vs expected KV-H

61actual

33.5 expected · Δ+27.5

💔+37.2 stolen VORP·2.4 szns lost

Fan Rating

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Hardy Nickerson

All-Time Rank & Honors

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Defense

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

Postseason Career

Defense

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1987 Draft Class· this player went #122

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography