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

LBTEN#53ACT

Jihad Ward

Top 38% all-time linebackersHigh-End Starter📈 Late Developer · 2022

Height6'5"

Weight285 lb

BornMay 11, 1994

Age32

CollegeIllinois; Globe Institute See College Stats

ConferenceBig Ten

Rookie yr2016

Draft2016 · Rd 2, Pick 44 · LV

Archetype Intelligence

High-End StarterExplore archetypes →

A quality linebacker with a above-average career — a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 16 · #3310 · Role Player

Worth 16 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker — top 72% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 5 of 9 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +3.2 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

5 cleared

4 replaced

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+3.2

Avg surplus

peak +5

5 seasons × ~3.2 surplus ≈ VORP 16

Combined Season Grid

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

3 grids split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Defense													Snap Counts						Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%	Tgt	Cmp	Cmp%	RateAll	ADOT	Prss	Hrry	QBKD	Bltz	MissTkl	Miss%
2016	—	LV	15	—	28	14	14	0	10	0.0	10.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2016	—	OAK	16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.0%	636	60.6%	26	11.3%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2017	—	LV	2	—	2	1	1	1	1	1.0	3.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2017	—	OAK	5	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.0%	125	38.8%	1	5.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2018	—	IND	4	—	4	4	0	3	6	3.0	12.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	144	32.2%	—	0.0%	0	0	—	—	—	5	1	1	0	1	0.2
2019	—	BAL	9	—	6	2	4	1	5	1.0	7.0	0	1	0	2	0	0	—	0.0%	400	45.9%	17	7.1%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2019	—	2TM	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	1.0	118.7	7.0	6	1	4	8	1	0.1
2020	—	BAL	9	—	16	7	9	4	8	3.0	15.0	0	2	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	272	39.3%	9	9.7%	0	0	—	—	—	11	3	5	5	1	0.1
2021	—	JAX	15	—	32	10	22	3	7	2.0	12.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	457	40.9%	31	8.5%	4	4	1.0	88.5	1.5	12	5	5	5	6	0.2
2022	—	NYG	15	—	35	20	15	7	13	3.0	23.0	0	4	2	—	0	0	—	0.0%	657	62.7%	95	21.5%	7	4	0.6	64.6	1.6	15	1	11	29	2	0.0
2023	—	NYG	14	—	23	15	8	5	9	5.0	19.0	0	0	1	1	0	0	—	0.0%	661	57.9%	26	19.2%	2	2	1.0	118.7	1.5	15	5	4	78	4	0.1
2024	—	MIN	14	—	10	5	5	1	14	1.0	16.0	0	1	0	1	0	0	—	0.0%	467	41.2%	78	17.2%	2	1	0.5	62.5	3.0	18	3	14	46	1	0.1
2025	—	TEN	17	—	30	14	16	4	22	5.0	31.0	0	4	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	708	67.8%	—	0.0%	7	6	0.9	125.9	0.3	27	5	16	14	2	0.1
Career		—	149	—	186	92	94	29	95	24.0	148.0	0	12	3	5	0	0	—	0.0%	4,527	48.7%	283	12.4%	23	18	—	—	—	109	24	60	185	18	—

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	PD	FF	FR	VAL
2016	22	LV	15	10*	28	14	14	0	10	0.0	10.0	0	0	1	5.7
2017	23	LV	2	0*	2	1	1	1	1	1.0	3.0	0	0	—	—
2018	24	IND	4	0*	4	4	0	3	6	3.0	12.0	0	0	—	3
2019	25	BAL	9	0*	6	2	4	1	5	1.0	7.0	1	0	2	3.5
2020	26	BAL	9	0*	16	7	9	4	8	3.0	15.0	2	0	—	5.2
2021	27	JAX	15	0*	32	10	22	3	7	2.0	12.0	0	0	—	6.3
2022	28	NYG	15	11*	35	20	15	7	13	3.0	23.0	4	2	—	8.6
2023	29	NYG	14	10*	23	15	8	5	9	5.0	19.0	0	1	1	7.1
2024	30	MIN	14	0*	10	5	5	1	14	1.0	16.0	1	0	1	5.3
2025	31	TEN	17	12*	30	14	16	4	22	5.0	31.0	4	0	—	10.1
Career			114	43*	186	92	94	29	95	—	—	12	3	5	54.8

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Snap Counts

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%
2016	22	OAK	16	10*	—	0.0%	636	60.6%	26	11.3%
2017	23	OAK	5	0*	—	0.0%	125	38.8%	1	5.0%
2018	24	IND	6	0*	—	0.0%	144	32.2%	—	0.0%
2019	25	BAL	14	0*	—	0.0%	400	45.9%	17	7.1%
2020	26	BAL	10	0*	—	0.0%	272	39.3%	9	9.7%
2021	27	JAX	17	0*	—	0.0%	457	40.9%	31	8.5%
2022	28	NYG	17	11*	—	0.0%	657	62.7%	95	21.5%
2023	29	NYG	17	10*	—	0.0%	661	57.9%	26	19.2%
2024	30	MIN	17	0*	—	0.0%	467	41.2%	78	17.2%
2025	31	TEN	17	12*	—	0.0%	708	67.8%	—	0.0%
Career			136	43*	—	—	4,527	—	283	—

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Cmp	Cmp%	RateAll	ADOT	Prss	Hrry	QBKD	Bltz	MissTkl	Miss%
2018	24	IND	6	0*	0	0	—	—	—	5	1	1	0	1	0.2
2019	25	2TM	14	0*	1	1	1.0	118.7	7.0	6	1	4	8	1	0.1
2020	26	BAL	10	0*	0	0	—	—	—	11	3	5	5	1	0.1
2021	27	JAX	17	0*	4	4	1.0	88.5	1.5	12	5	5	5	6	0.2
2022	28	NYG	17	11*	7	4	0.6	64.6	1.6	15	1	11	29	2	0.0
2023	29	NYG	17	10*	2	2	1.0	118.7	1.5	15	5	4	78	4	0.1
2024	30	MIN	17	0*	2	1	0.5	62.5	3.0	18	3	14	46	1	0.1
2025	31	TEN	17	12*	7	6	0.9	125.9	0.3	27	5	16	14	2	0.1
Career			115	33*	23	18	—	—	—	109	24	60	185	18	—

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 49 · Solid

A solid career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 49 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 9 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 49 × longevity 1 = KV-H 49· confidence 94%

What builds the career mark of 47

On-field 30.6

Availability 16.4

On-field production Staying available

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

2016bestavg 442025

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 12% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

12% of the all-time Sacks leader12

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: 93%.

Per-Snap Impact

Linebackers · proprietary · 2012+

Above average

SIS

Disruption / 100 snaps:3.601See leaderboard →

Disruption/1003.601Snap share48.7%Def snaps4,527VolatileCV 0.51

Production per snap — the box score normalized by opportunity. SIS is z-scored within linebackers, shrinkage-regularized so small samples don't spike, over the NFL snap-count era (2012+).

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+).

Combine · 2016

Percentiles compare each raw measurement against position peers, the full combine pool, and the same draft class where enough samples exist.

LB · 2016 class

5.11s

40-Yard

Low · 1th pct

Pos 1thAll 15thClass Pos 2thClass All 19th

25"

Vertical

Low · 1th pct

Pos 1thAll 3thClass Pos 2thClass All 4th

111"

Broad Jump

Low · 11th pct

Pos 11thAll 28thClass Pos 15thClass All 29th

20 reps

Bench

Below avg · 30th pct

Pos 30thAll 44thClass Pos 55thClass All 54th

7.38s

3-Cone

Low · 11th pct

Pos 11thAll 32thClass Pos 10thClass All 37th

4.63s

Shuttle

Low · 2th pct

Pos 2thAll 18thClass Pos 3thClass All 21th

Postseason Career

5 playoff games

Defense

Tkl9Solo7Ast2TFL2QBHits3Dis5.0

College Stats

Illinois; Globe InstituteCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Illinois; Globe Institute), 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.

2016 Draft Class· this player went #44

#35Hunter HenryTE #36Myles JackMLB #37Chris JonesDL #38Xavien HowardCB #39Noah SpenceDE #40Sterling ShepardWR #41Reggie RaglandILB #42Kamalei CorreaOLB #45Derrick HenryRB #46A'Shawn RobinsonDT #47Michael ThomasWR #48Jason SpriggsOT #49Jarran ReedDT #50Nick MartinC #52Deion JonesLB #53Su'a CravensDB

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Jihad inherited the New York Giants LB room from Azeez Ojulari (2021–2024), and handed it to Kayvon Thibodeaux (2022–2025).

Gary Reasons 1984–1991Carl Banks 1984–1992Corey Miller 1991–1997Corey Widmer 1992–1999Marcus Buckley 1993–1999Jessie Armstead

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

2025team change
Joined TEN (from MIN)
2025final season
Last recorded season with TEN
2024team change
Joined MIN (from NYG)
2022team change
Joined NYG (from JAX)
2021team change
Joined JAX (from BAL)
2019team change
Joined BAL (from IND)
2018team change
Joined IND (from OAK)
2017team change
Joined OAK (from LV)
2016draft
Drafted by LV — Round 2, Pick 44

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'5" / 285 lb

Frame

297 lb at 5.11s

Size-speed

25" vert / 111" broad

Explosion

20 reps

Bench power

Injury History

1 career game missed (Out)

From nflverse weekly injury reports · coverage begins 2009.

Season	Team	Games Out	Designations
2022	NYG	0	W15Questionable· Concussion
2019	BAL	0	W15Questionable· Elbow
2018	IND	1	W8Out· Ankle
2017	OAK	0	W14Doubtful· Foot
2016	OAK	0	W3Questionable· Hip

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 9-season peers. See all →

peak 52

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

C2016

F2018

D2019

C2020

C+2021

C+2022

C2023

C2024

C+2025

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 10 seasons.

82%

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
2016	28	1.9	17-11	1
2018	4	1	8+4	0.5
2019	6	0.7	3-3	0.2
2020	16	1.8	27+11	1.6
2021	32	2.1	34+2	2
2022	35	2.3	38+3	2.2
2023	23	1.6	28+5	1.6
2024	10	0.7	14+4	0.8
2025	30	1.8	30	1.8

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:snap_counts, nflverse:combine, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:injuries · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

16 career value over replacement — #3310 all-time of 4,642. 1.8/season above a replacement-level LB.

Draft OutcomeMiss ↓

Pick #44 (Rd 2) · LV · 2016 · -0.8 vs expected KV-H

49actual

49.8 expected · Δ−0.8

Fan Rating

Rate Jihad Ward — All-Time

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Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Defense

Snap Counts

Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Per-Snap Impact

Career Aging Trajectory

Combine · 2016

Postseason Career

Defense

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

2016 Draft Class· this player went #44

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Injury History

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography