Joel Smeenge is a career quality starter β a pass rusher whose body of work places Smeenge in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Smeenge's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Joel Smeenge
A edge rusher with a top 30% among starters β the kind of consistent contributor every roster needs. Solid availability (excellent availability over their career) added to their value.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 104 Β· #1059 Β· High-ValueWorth 104 points of value above a freely-available replacement edge rusher β top 24% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 7 of 10 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +14.9 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
7 cleared
3 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
51
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
7
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+14.9
Avg surplus
peak +22
7 seasons Γ ~14.9 surplus β VORP 104
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 | |||||
| 1991 | β | NO | 14 | β | 2 | 0 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1992 | β | NO | 11 | β | 6 | 5 | β | β | β | 0.5 | 0.5 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1993 | β | NO | 16 | β | 18 | 16 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1994 | β | NO | 16 | β | 19 | 16 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | JAX | 15 | β | 38 | 31 | β | β | β | 4.0 | 4.0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | JAX | 10 | β | 23 | 17 | β | β | β | 5.0 | 5.0 | β | 1 | 2 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | JAX | 16 | β | 32 | 29 | β | β | β | 6.5 | 6.5 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | JAX | 16 | β | 37 | 27 | β | β | β | 7.5 | 7.5 | β | 2 | 2 | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | JAX | 13 | β | 37 | 24 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 5.0 | 18.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | β | 0 | 1 |
| 2000 | β | JAX | 11 | β | 18 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 6.0 | 17.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 138 | β | 230 | 181 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 35.5 | 59.5 | 1 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 23 | NO | 14 | β | 2 | 0 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 3.4 |
| 1992 | 24 | NO | 11 | β | 6 | 5 | β | β | β | 0.5 | 0.5 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 3.8 |
| 1993 | 25 | NO | 16 | β | 18 | 16 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 5 |
| 1994 | 26 | NO | 16 | β | 19 | 16 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β | 4.2 |
| 1995 | 27 | JAX | 15 | β | 38 | 31 | β | β | β | 4.0 | 4.0 | 1 | 5 | 4 | β | β | β | 12.8 |
| 1996 | 28 | JAX | 10 | β | 23 | 17 | β | β | β | 5.0 | 5.0 | β | 1 | 2 | β | β | β | 9.3 |
| 1997 | 29 | JAX | 16 | β | 32 | 29 | β | β | β | 6.5 | 6.5 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β | 10.9 |
| 1998 | 30 | JAX | 16 | β | 37 | 27 | β | β | β | 7.5 | 7.5 | β | 2 | 2 | β | β | β | 15.7 |
| 1999 | 31 | JAX | 13 | β | 37 | 24 | 13 | 7 | 6 | 5.0 | 18.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | β | 0 | 1 | 9.9 |
| 2000 | 32 | JAX | 11 | β | 18 | 16 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 6.0 | 17.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 9.4 |
| Career | 138 | 230 | 181 | 15 | 13 | 11 | β | β | 1 | 11 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 84.4 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 64 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 64 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 10 scored seasons.
60
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
69
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 63.6 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 64Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 60
On-field 42.4
Availability 17.6
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
1991bestavg 61elite 702000
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position16
Depth
of 100
Reached 18% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
18% of the all-time Sacks leader18
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: 89%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average edge rushers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Postseason Career
1 playoff gameDefense
Tkl2Ast2FR1
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Western Michigan), 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
Bryan BarkerP6yMark BrunellQB6yJimmy SmithWR6yBrant BoyerOLB6yKeenan McCardellWR5yKevin HardyOLB5yAaron BeasleyCB5yTony BrackensDE5yJames StewartRB5yBryan SchwartzLB5yKelvin PritchettDT4yTommy BarnhardtP4ySam MillsLB4yWayne MartinDT4yRenaldo WynnDE4yQuinn EarlyWR4ySeth PayneDT4yDaimon SheltonFB4yPete MitchellTE4yDamon JonesTE4yReggie BarlowWR4yTom McManusLB4yTravis DavisFS4yRickey JacksonLB3y
1990 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #71
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterJoel inherited the Jacksonville Jaguars DL room from Kelvin Pritchett (1995β1998), and handed it to Clyde Simmons (1996β1997).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2000final season
Last recorded season with JAX
- 1995team change
Joined JAX (from NO)
- 1990draft
Drafted by NO β Round 3, Pick 71
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'6" / 270 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 10-season peers. See all β
64
peak 69
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C1991
C1992
C+1993
C+1994
B1995
B1996
B+1997
B+1998
B1999
B+2000
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 10 seasons.
86%
Era Translator
Sacks 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 Sacks | Sacks/G | β 2025 Sacks | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1992 | 0.5 | 0 | 1+0.5 | 0.1 |
| 1993 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 1994 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1995 | 4 | 0.3 | 4 | 0.2 |
| 1996 | 5 | 0.5 | 8+3 | 0.5 |
| 1997 | 6.5 | 0.4 | 6-0.5 | 0.4 |
| 1998 | 7.5 | 0.5 | 7-0.5 | 0.4 |
| 1999 | 5 | 0.4 | 6+1 | 0.3 |
| 2000 | 6 | 0.5 | 8+2 | 0.5 |
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 (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
104 career value over replacement β #1059 all-time of 4,642. 10.4/season above a replacement-level EDGE.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #71 (Rd 3) Β· NO Β· 1990 Β· +20.4 vs expected KV-H
64actual
43.6 expected Β· Ξ+20.4
Fan Rating
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