James Willis is a career quality starter β a linebacker whose body of work places Willis in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Willis's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
James Willis
Top 18% all-time linebackersElite Playmaker
Height6'2"
Weight237 lb
BornSep 2, 1972
Age53
CollegeAuburnSee College Stats
Rookie yr1993
Draft1993 Β· Rd 5, Pick 119 Β· GB
A top 20% all-time linebacker who consistently made an impact across multiple seasons.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 68 Β· #1668 Β· Above AverageWorth 68 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker β top 37% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 5 of 7 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +13.6 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
5 cleared
2 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
5
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+13.6
Avg surplus
peak +24
5 seasons Γ ~13.6 surplus β VORP 68
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 | |||||
| 1993 | β | GB | 13 | β | 18 | 15 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1994 | β | GB | 12 | β | 35 | 26 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | PHI | 5 | β | 2 | 2 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | PHI | 16 | β | 75 | 51 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | PHI | 15 | β | 81 | 50 | β | β | β | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | PHI | 16 | β | 96 | 72 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | SEA | 12 | β | 11 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 89 | β | 318 | 222 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2.0 | 3.0 | 4 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 21 | GB | 13 | β | 18 | 15 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 3.7 |
| 1994 | 22 | GB | 12 | β | 35 | 26 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 3 | 0 | β | β | β | 6.2 |
| 1995 | 23 | PHI | 5 | β | 2 | 2 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 1.2 |
| 1996 | 24 | PHI | 16 | β | 75 | 51 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 4 | 1 | β | β | β | 8.2 |
| 1997 | 25 | PHI | 15 | β | 81 | 50 | β | β | β | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | β | β | β | 7.8 |
| 1998 | 26 | PHI | 16 | β | 96 | 72 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 7.1 |
| 1999 | 27 | SEA | 12 | β | 11 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 3.8 |
| Career | 89 | 318 | 222 | 5 | 1 | 0 | β | β | 4 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 61 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 61 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 7 scored seasons.
57
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
68
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 61.4 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 61Β· confidence 95%
What builds the career mark of 57
On-field 39.9
Availability 17.1
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
1993bestavg 52elite 701999
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position2
Depth
of 100
Reached 2% of the all-time Interceptions leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
2% of the all-time Interceptions 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: 90%.
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
1 playoff gameDefense
Tkl1Solo1
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Auburn), 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
William ThomasOLB4yCharlie GarnerRB4yRicky WattersRB4yBobby TaylorCB4yJimmie JohnsonTE4yRodney PeeteQB4yTom HuttonP4yKevin TurnerFB4yIrving FryarWR3yBrian DawkinsS3yTroy VincentS3yHollis ThomasDT3yJason DunnTE3yMike MamulaDE3yGreg JeffersonDT3yTy DetmerQB3yBobby HoyingQB3yGary AndersonK2yBrett FavreQB2yReggie WhiteDE2yMike PriorDB2yTerrell BuckleyDB2yLeRoy ButlerS2yDoug EvansDB2y
1993 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #119
#105Ronnie BradfordFS#108Kevin HenryDE#110Corwin BrownS#111Russell CopelandWR#112Albert FontenotDE#114Terrence WarrenWR#115Fred BaxterTE#118Mark BrunellQB#120Adrian MurrellRB#121Ron GeorgeLB#122Sean LaChapelleWR#124Herman ArvieOT#125Olanda TruittWR#129Kenny SheddWR#131John Henry MillsRB#132Chris GrayG
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterJames inherited the Philadelphia Eagles LB room from Bill Romanowski (1994β1995), and handed it to James Darling (1997β2000).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1999team change
Joined SEA (from PHI)
- 1999final season
Last recorded season with SEA
- 1995team change
Joined PHI (from GB)
- 1993draft
Drafted by GB β Round 5, Pick 119
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'2" / 237 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
61
peak 68
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C1993
C+1994
F1995
B1996
B1997
B+1998
C1999
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 7 seasons.
79%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 18 | 1.4 | 26+8 | 1.5 |
| 1994 | 35 | 2.9 | 46+11 | 2.7 |
| 1995 | 2 | 0.4 | 12+10 | 0.7 |
| 1996 | 75 | 4.7 | 79+4 | 4.7 |
| 1997 | 81 | 5.4 | 89+8 | 5.3 |
| 1998 | 96 | 6 | 101+5 | 5.9 |
| 1999 | 11 | 0.9 | 11 | 0.6 |
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
68 career value over replacement β #1668 all-time of 4,642. 9.7/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #119 (Rd 5) Β· GB Β· 1993 Β· +26.6 vs expected KV-H
61actual
34.4 expected Β· Ξ+26.6
Fan Rating
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