Hunter Hillenmeyer is a career quality starter β a linebacker whose body of work places Hillenmeyer in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Hillenmeyer's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Hunter Hillenmeyer
Height6'4"
Weight238 lb
BornOct 28, 1980
Age45
CollegeVanderbiltSee College Stats
Rookie yr2003
Draft2003 Β· Rd 5, Pick 166 Β· GB
A quality linebacker with a top 30% among starters β a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 43 Β· #2247 Β· Above AverageWorth 43 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker β top 49% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 4 of 6 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +10.8 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
4 cleared
2 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
4
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+10.8
Avg surplus
peak +17
4 seasons Γ ~10.8 surplus β VORP 43
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 | |||||
| 2003 | β | β | 13 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 2004 | β | CHI | 14 | β | 62 | 43 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | β | CHI | 13 | β | 45 | 27 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | β | CHI | 15 | β | 31 | 20 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | β | CHI | 16 | β | 61 | 48 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | β | CHI | 7 | β | 13 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | β | CHI | 14 | β | 77 | 52 | 25 | 5 | 5 | 1.5 | 11.5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 92 | β | 289 | 199 | 90 | 6 | 11 | 5.5 | 22.5 | 2 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 23 | β | 13 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 3.4 |
| 2004 | 24 | CHI | 14 | β | 62 | 43 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.1 |
| 2005 | 25 | CHI | 13 | β | 45 | 27 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 6.7 |
| 2006 | 26 | CHI | 15 | β | 31 | 20 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5.2 |
| 2007 | 27 | CHI | 16 | β | 61 | 48 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.4 |
| 2008 | 28 | CHI | 7 | β | 13 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 2.8 |
| 2009 | 29 | CHI | 14 | β | 77 | 52 | 25 | 5 | 5 | 1.5 | 11.5 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Career | 92 | 289 | 199 | 90 | 6 | 11 | β | β | 2 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 41.6 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 56 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 56 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 6 scored seasons.
53
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
60
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 55.8 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 56Β· confidence 98%
What builds the career mark of 53
On-field 35.9
Availability 17.1
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
2004bestavg 512009
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position3
Depth
of 100
Reached 3% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
3% of the all-time Sacks leader3
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+).
Postseason Career
4 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl16Solo11Ast5PD1
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Vanderbilt), 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
Brian UrlacherMLB6yLance BriggsOLB6yCharles TillmanCB6yAlex BrownDE6yBrad MaynardP6yDesmond ClarkTE6yAdewale OgunleyeDE6yIsrael IdonijeDE6yTommie HarrisDT6yNathan VasherCB6yJason McKieRB6yRobbie GouldK5yRashied DavisWR5yRex GrossmanQB5yDanieal ManningS4yDevin HesterWR4yBernard BerrianWR4yMark AndersonDE4yJohn GilmoreTE4yBrandon McGowanFS4yJamar WilliamsLB4yMuhsin MuhammadWR3yGreg OlsenTE3yThomas JonesRB3y
2003 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #166
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterHunter inherited the Chicago Bears LB room from Lance Briggs (2003β2014), and handed it to Nick Roach (2008β2012).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2009final season
Last recorded season with CHI
- 2004team change
Joined CHI (from GB)
- 2003draft
Drafted by GB β Round 5, Pick 166
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'4" / 238 lb
Frame
Injury History
1 career game missed (Out)From nflverse weekly injury reports Β· coverage begins 2009.
| Season | Team | Games Out | Designations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | CHI | 1 | W2OutΒ· Head |
| 2009 | CHI | 0 | W4DoubtfulΒ· RibW6DoubtfulΒ· Rib |
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 6-season peers. See all β
56
peak 60
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+2004
C+2005
C2006
C+2007
D2008
B2009
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 7 seasons.
82%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 62 | 4.4 | 62 | 3.6 |
| 2005 | 45 | 3.5 | 40-5 | 2.4 |
| 2006 | 31 | 2.1 | 9-22 | 0.5 |
| 2007 | 61 | 3.8 | 50-11 | 2.9 |
| 2008 | 13 | 1.9 | 9-4 | 0.5 |
| 2009 | 77 | 5.5 | 85+8 | 5 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:injuries, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), espn.com:stats-api (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
43 career value over replacement β #2247 all-time of 4,642. 7.2/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #166 (Rd 5) Β· GB Β· 2003 Β· +28.8 vs expected KV-H
56actual
27.2 expected Β· Ξ+28.8
Fan Rating
Rate Hunter Hillenmeyer β All-Time
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