James Folston is a career quality starter β a linebacker whose body of work places Folston in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Folston's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
James Folston
A quality linebacker with a above-average career β a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 12 Β· #3507 Β· Role PlayerWorth 12 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker β top 77% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 2 of 7 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +6 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
2 cleared
5 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
2
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+6
Avg surplus
peak +9
2 seasons Γ ~6 surplus β VORP 12
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at onceβno tab hopping.
2 grids split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Defense | Receiving | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | Tgt | Rec | Yds | TD | Ctch% | Y/R | Y/Tgt | AirYd/T | 1D | |||||
| 1994 | β | LV | 7 | β | 3 | 3 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | LV | 14 | β | 14 | 11 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | LV | 12 | β | 11 | 10 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | LV | 16 | β | 36 | 27 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 1 | 2 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | LV | 16 | β | 17 | 13 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | β | 1 | -1 | 0 | β | -1.0 | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | ARI | 6 | β | 3 | 1 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 2000 | β | ARI | 13 | β | 20 | 16 | β | β | β | 2.0 | 2.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| Career | β | 84 | β | 104 | 81 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | β | β | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 | β | -1.0 | β | β | β | |
Receiving
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 27 | LV | 16 | β | 17 | 13 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1994 | 23 | LV | 7 | β | 3 | 3 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | 24 | LV | 14 | β | 14 | 11 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | 25 | LV | 12 | β | 11 | 10 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | 26 | LV | 16 | β | 36 | 27 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 1 | 2 | β | β | β |
| 1999 | 28 | ARI | 6 | β | 3 | 1 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 2000 | 29 | ARI | 13 | β | 20 | 16 | β | β | β | 2.0 | 2.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| Career | 84 | 104 | 81 | β | β | β | β | β | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | β | β |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 48 Β· SolidA solid career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 48 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 7 scored seasons.
46
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
51
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 48 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 48Β· confidence 95%
What builds the career mark of 46
On-field 29.7
Availability 16.3
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
1994bestavg 432000
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position2
Depth
of 100
Reached 2% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
2% of the all-time Sacks leader2
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: 93%.
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 (Louisiana-Monroe), 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
Greg BiekertMLB5yJames JettWR5yJames TrappCB5yChester McGlocktonDT4yRob HolmbergLB4yMike A. JonesLB3yRussell MarylandNT3yLance JohnstoneDE3yNolan HarrisonDE3yKenny SheddWR3yGrady JacksonDT2yCorey ChavousS2ySimeon RiceDE2yJeff JaegerK2yAeneas WilliamsFS2yRonald McKinnonMLB2yJake PlummerQB2yFrank SandersWR2yRaghib IsmailWR2yRob FredricksonOLB2yMark MaddoxLB2yScott PlayerP2yKwamie LassiterDB2yDarrell RussellDT2y
1994 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #52
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterJames inherited the Las Vegas Raiders LB room from Rob Holmberg (1994β1997), and handed it to Richard Harvey (1998β1999).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2000final season
Last recorded season with ARI
- 1999team change
Joined ARI (from LV)
- 1994draft
Drafted by RAI β Round 2, Pick 52
- 1994team change
Joined LV (from RAI)
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'3" / 240 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
48
peak 51
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
D1994
C1995
C1996
C+1997
C+1998
F1999
C2000
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 7 seasons.
80%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 3 | 0.4 | 12+9 | 0.7 |
| 1995 | 14 | 1 | 21+7 | 1.2 |
| 1996 | 11 | 0.9 | 26+15 | 1.6 |
| 1997 | 36 | 2.3 | 42+6 | 2.5 |
| 1998 | 17 | 1.1 | 19+2 | 1.1 |
| 1999 | 3 | 0.5 | 3 | 0.2 |
| 2000 | 20 | 1.5 | 13-7 | 0.8 |
Data: nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:players, 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
12 career value over replacement β #3507 all-time of 4,642. 1.7/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeMiss β
Pick #52 (Rd 2) Β· RAI Β· 1994 Β· -0.9 vs expected KV-H
48actual
48.9 expected Β· Ξβ0.9
Fan Rating
Rate James Folston β All-Time
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