John Holecek is a career quality starter β a linebacker whose body of work places Holecek in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Holecek's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
John Holecek
Top 36% all-time linebackersHigh-End Starter
Height6'2"
Weight242 lb
BornMay 7, 1972
Age54
CollegeIllinoisSee College Stats
Rookie yr1995
Draft1995 Β· Rd 5, Pick 144 Β· BUF
A quality linebacker with a above-average career β a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 31 Β· #2632 Β· Role PlayerWorth 31 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker β top 58% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 3 of 3 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +10.3 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
3 cleared
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
+10.3
Avg surplus
peak +17
3 seasons Γ ~10.3 surplus β VORP 31
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 | |||||
| 1999 | β | BUF | 14 | β | 49 | 30 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | BUF | 15 | β | 73 | 39 | 34 | 8 | 0 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | LAC | 1 | β | 9 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | β | ATL | 11 | β | 43 | 33 | 10 | 2 | 1 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 41 | β | 174 | 110 | 64 | 14 | 1 | 2.0 | 17.0 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 50 Β· SolidA solid career by KV-H: a remarkably steady profile that scores 50 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 3 scored seasons, with a short career trimming the score.
58
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
57
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ0.86
Longevity
career length
Blend 57.6 Γ longevity 0.86 = KV-H 50Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 58
On-field 41
Availability 17
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
1999bestavg 572002
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position1
Depth
of 100
Reached 1% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
1% of the all-time Sacks leader1
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
Tkl10Solo7Ast3
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Illinois), 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
Sam RogersOLB4ySteve ChristieK3yHenry JonesDB3yChris MohrP3yMarcellus WileyDE3yDoug FlutieQB3yRob JohnsonQB3yTed WashingtonNT2yPat WilliamsDT2yAntoine WinfieldCB2yEric MouldsWR2yPhil HansenDE2yAntowain SmithRB2yPeerless PriceWR2yShawn PriceDE2ySam CowartMLB2yKeith NewmanLB2yJay RiemersmaTE2yKen IrvinDB2yKeion CarpenterS2yDaryl PorterDB2yJonathan LintonFB2yDonovan GreerCB2yAlex Van PeltQB2y
1995 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #144
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterJohn inherited the Buffalo Bills LB room from Sam Cowart (1998β2001), and handed it to Keith Newman (1999β2002).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2002team change
Joined ATL (from LAC)
- 2002final season
Last recorded season with ATL
- 2001team change
Joined LAC (from BUF)
- 1995draft
Drafted by BUF β Round 5, Pick 144
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'2" / 242 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 3-season peers. See all β
50
peak 57
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1999
B2000
C+2002
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 4 seasons.
64%
19992002
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 | 49 | 3.5 | 57+8 | 3.4 |
| 2000 | 73 | 4.9 | 78+5 | 4.6 |
| 2002 | 43 | 3.9 | 50+7 | 2.9 |
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) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
31 career value over replacement β #2632 all-time of 4,642. 10.3/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #144 (Rd 5) Β· BUF Β· 1995 Β· +17 vs expected KV-H
50actual
33 expected Β· Ξ+17
Fan Rating
Rate John Holecek β All-Time
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