James Darling is a career quality starter β a linebacker whose body of work places Darling in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Darling's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
James Darling
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· #2249 Β· Above AverageWorth 43 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker β top 49% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 3 of 7 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +14.3 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
3 cleared
4 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
3
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+14.3
Avg surplus
peak +16
3 seasons Γ ~14.3 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 | |||||
| 1997 | β | PHI | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | PHI | 12 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 2.0 | 2.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | PHI | 11 | β | 53 | 36 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | PHI | 5 | β | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | NYJ | 6 | β | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | β | NYJ | 14 | β | 35 | 26 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | β | ARI | 10 | β | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | β | ARI | 14 | β | 73 | 58 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | β | ARI | 14 | β | 70 | 53 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | β | ARI | 1 | β | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 103 | β | 261 | 195 | 66 | 4 | 2 | 7.5 | 13.5 | 6 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 23 | PHI | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 5.1 |
| 1998 | 24 | PHI | 12 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 2.0 | 2.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 7.7 |
| 1999 | 25 | PHI | 11 | β | 53 | 36 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 5.7 |
| 2000 | 26 | PHI | 5 | β | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 1.7 |
| 2001 | 27 | NYJ | 6 | β | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 1.9 |
| 2002 | 28 | NYJ | 14 | β | 35 | 26 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 7.9 |
| 2003 | 29 | ARI | 10 | β | 17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 4.3 |
| 2004 | 30 | ARI | 14 | β | 73 | 58 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | β | 0 | 0 | 9.1 |
| 2005 | 31 | ARI | 14 | β | 70 | 53 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 8.9 |
| 2006 | 32 | ARI | 1 | β | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | β |
| Career | 103 | 261 | 195 | 66 | 4 | 2 | β | β | 6 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 52.3 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 53 Β· SolidA solid career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 53 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 7 scored seasons.
50
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
57
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 52.8 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 53Β· confidence 91%
What builds the career mark of 50
On-field 35.4
Availability 14.6
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
1999bestavg 442005
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: 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
3 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl3Solo2Ast1Int1PD1
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Washington State), 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 DawkinsS4yAnquan BoldinWR4yTroy VincentS4yAdrian WilsonS4yCalvin PaceOLB4yHollis ThomasDT4yNeil RackersK4yBryant JohnsonWR4yBobby TaylorCB4yDuce StaleyRB4yScott PlayerP4yLarry FitzgeraldWR3yKarlos DansbyILB3yWilliam ThomasOLB3yDarnell DockettDE3yMike CaldwellLB3yJeremiah TrotterMLB3yHugh DouglasDE3yBertrand BerryOLB3yDavid MacklinDB3yJosh McCownQB3yRussell DavisDT3yChad LewisTE3ySteve MartinDT3y
1997 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #57
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterJames inherited the Arizona Cardinals LB room from Raynoch Thompson (2000β2004), and handed it to Calvin Pace (2003β2007).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2006final season
Last recorded season with ARI
- 2003team change
Joined ARI (from NYJ)
- 2001team change
Joined NYJ (from PHI)
- 1997draft
Drafted by PHI β Round 2, Pick 57
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'1" / 245 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 7-season peers. See all β
53
peak 57
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1999
F2000
F2001
C2002
D2003
B2004
B2005
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 10 seasons.
64%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 53 | 4.8 | 81+28 | 4.8 |
| 2000 | 4 | 0.8 | 0-4 | 0 |
| 2001 | 8 | 1.3 | 0-8 | 0 |
| 2002 | 35 | 2.5 | 17-18 | 1 |
| 2003 | 17 | 1.7 | 0-17 | 0 |
| 2004 | 73 | 5.2 | 80+7 | 4.7 |
| 2005 | 70 | 5 | 75+5 | 4.4 |
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), 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
43 career value over replacement β #2249 all-time of 4,642. 6.1/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #57 (Rd 2) Β· PHI Β· 1997 Β· +6.1 vs expected KV-H
53actual
46.9 expected Β· Ξ+6.1
Fan Rating
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