Justin Houston ranks in the all-time elite tier for pass rushers — a career that places Houston in the top 3% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Houston a career score of 91, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

OLBMIAACT

Justin Houston

4× Pro Bowl1× All-ProTop 2% all-time pass rushersFranchise Cornerstone📊 Undervalued by voters 🌅 Early Bloomer · 2014 Team Carrier · #221

Height6'3"

Weight270 lb

BornJan 21, 1989

Age37

CollegeGeorgia See College Stats

ConferenceSoutheastern

Rookie yr2011

Draft2011 · Rd 3, Pick 70 · KC

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Regular-season all-time ranks

30thSacks·112

Postseason all-time ranks

41stPlayoff Sacks·5.5

Pro Bowls

All-Pro

Season honors and record seasons

Led NFL2014·Sacks22 5thsingle season·Sacks2014

Archetype Intelligence

Franchise CornerstoneExplore archetypes →

A top 5% all-time edge rusher with reliable availability and above-average snap-level impact. The rarest archetype in the game — dominance, efficiency, and health in one player.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 404 · #43 · All-Time

Worth 404 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker — top 2% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 11 of 13 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +36.7 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

11 cleared

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+36.7

Avg surplus

peak +52

11 seasons × ~36.7 surplus ≈ VORP 404

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%
2011	—	KC	15	—	49	41	8	10	9	5.5	24.5	0	4	1	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2012	—	KC	16	—	61	48	13	13	18	10.0	41.0	1	6	1	1	0	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2013	—	KC	11	—	43	40	3	11	15	11.0	37.0	0	4	1	2	0	0	—	0.0%	697	93.7%	37	11.2%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2014	—	KC	16	—	68	59	9	23	25	22.0	70.0	0	5	4	—	0	0	—	0.0%	1,033	97.3%	1	4.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2015	—	KC	10	—	28	23	5	9	13	7.5	29.5	2	6	1	—	1	0	—	0.0%	618	83.1%	1	3.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2016	—	KC	4	—	21	20	1	6	6	4.0	16.0	0	1	1	—	0	0	—	0.0%	292	78.4%	—	0.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2017	—	KC	15	—	54	41	13	16	20	9.5	45.5	0	5	0	1	1	0	—	0.0%	950	91.8%	1	4.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2018	—	KC	12	—	36	27	9	8	12	9.0	29.0	1	1	5	3	0	0	—	0.0%	719	81.3%	1	2.0%	10	7	0.7	43.7	0.1	29	15	4	23	6	0.1
2019	—	IND	16	—	37	26	11	13	18	11.0	42.0	0	0	2	3	0	1	—	0.0%	674	65.6%	1	4.0%	0	0	—	—	—	28	9	8	1	2	0.0
2020	—	IND	14	—	22	16	6	8	12	8.0	28.0	0	0	1	2	0	2	—	0.0%	608	59.3%	—	0.0%	3	1	0.3	42.4	0.7	25	12	3	6	2	0.1
2021	—	BAL	15	—	31	16	15	6	17	4.5	27.5	0	1	1	1	0	0	—	0.0%	579	60.9%	—	0.0%	4	4	1.0	118.7	-1.8	24	7	12	44	8	0.2
2022	—	BAL	12	—	21	14	7	7	17	9.5	33.5	1	1	1	—	0	0	—	0.0%	397	44.1%	—	0.0%	4	4	1.0	59.4	-1.0	25	8	6	10	2	0.1
2023	—	CAR	6	—	8	4	4	2	3	0.5	5.5	0	1	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	180	40.6%	1	5.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Career		—	162	—	479	375	104	132	185	112.0	429.0	5	35	19	14	2	4	—	0.0%	6,747	72.4%	43	4.7%	21	16	—	—	—	131	51	33	84	20	—

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty	VAL
2011	22	KC	15	—	49	41	8	10	9	5.5	24.5	0	4	1	1	0	0	10
2012	23	KC	16	—	61	48	13	13	18	10.0	41.0	1	6	1	1	0	1	13.9
2013	24	KC	11	10*	43	40	3	11	15	11.0	37.0	0	4	1	2	0	0	9.8
2014	25	KC	16	16*	68	59	9	23	25	22.0	70.0	0	5	4	—	0	0	18.6
2015	26	KC	10	9*	28	23	5	9	13	7.5	29.5	2	6	1	—	1	0	11.5
2016	27	KC	4	4*	21	20	1	6	6	4.0	16.0	0	1	1	—	0	0	4.1
2017	28	KC	15	14*	54	41	13	16	20	9.5	45.5	0	5	0	1	1	0	13.4
2018	29	KC	12	10*	36	27	9	8	12	9.0	29.0	1	1	5	3	0	0	11.3
2019	30	IND	16	10*	37	26	11	13	18	11.0	42.0	0	0	2	3	0	1	12.7
2020	31	IND	14	9*	22	16	6	8	12	8.0	28.0	0	0	1	2	0	2	9.4
2021	32	BAL	15	9*	31	16	15	6	17	4.5	27.5	0	1	1	1	0	0	8.9
2022	33	BAL	12	0*	21	14	7	7	17	9.5	33.5	1	1	1	—	0	0	9.6
2023	34	CAR	6	0*	8	4	4	2	3	0.5	5.5	0	1	0	—	0	0	2.4
Career			162	91*	479	375	104	132	185	—	—	5	35	19	14	2	4	135.6

* 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%
2013	24	KC	11	10*	—	0.0%	697	93.7%	37	11.2%
2014	25	KC	16	16*	—	0.0%	1,033	97.3%	1	4.0%
2015	26	KC	11	9*	—	0.0%	618	83.1%	1	3.0%
2016	27	KC	5	4*	—	0.0%	292	78.4%	—	0.0%
2017	28	KC	15	14*	—	0.0%	950	91.8%	1	4.0%
2018	29	KC	12	10*	—	0.0%	719	81.3%	1	2.0%
2019	30	IND	16	10*	—	0.0%	674	65.6%	1	4.0%
2020	31	IND	16	9*	—	0.0%	608	59.3%	—	0.0%
2021	32	BAL	15	9*	—	0.0%	579	60.9%	—	0.0%
2022	33	BAL	14	0*	—	0.0%	397	44.1%	—	0.0%
2023	34	CAR	7	0*	—	0.0%	180	40.6%	1	5.0%
Career			138	91*	—	—	6,747	—	43	—

* 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	29	KC	12	10*	10	7	0.7	43.7	0.1	29	15	4	23	6	0.1
2019	30	IND	16	10*	0	0	—	—	—	28	9	8	1	2	0.0
2020	31	IND	16	9*	3	1	0.3	42.4	0.7	25	12	3	6	2	0.1
2021	32	BAL	15	9*	4	4	1.0	118.7	-1.8	24	7	12	44	8	0.2
2022	33	BAL	14	0*	4	4	1.0	59.4	-1.0	25	8	6	10	2	0.1
Career			73	38*	21	16	—	—	—	131	51	33	84	20	—

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

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 91 · All-Time Great

A all-time great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 91 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 13 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 86.2 × longevity 1 = KV-H 91· confidence 94%

What builds the career mark of 81

On-field 64.2

Availability 16.8

On-field production Staying available

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

2011bestavg 76elite 702023

Team Carrier Evidence

Ranked #221 of 600 by seasons where high individual production happened on low-win teams. Score aggregates only tracked StatVault categories.

Full board

Total Score

1 qualifying season

2012 KC·2 team wins#17

Sacks · 10 · score 45

All-Time Standing

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

Solid

of 100

Reached 57% of the all-time Sacks leader — a solid all-time profile at the position.

57% of the all-time Sacks leader57

1 category ≥25% of the all-time leader33

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: 94%.

Per-Snap Impact

Edge Rushers · proprietary · 2012+

Excellent

SIS

Disruption / 100 snaps:6.069See leaderboard →

Disruption/1006.069Snap share72.4%Def snaps6,747ReliableCV 0.24

Production per snap — the box score normalized by opportunity. SIS is z-scored within edge rushers, 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 · 2011

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

EDGE · 2011 class

4.62s

40-Yard

Strong · 84th pct

Pos 84thAll 55thClass Pos 92thClass All 53th

36.5"

Vertical

Strong · 81th pct

Pos 81thAll 77thClass Pos 82thClass All 80th

125"

Broad Jump

Elite · 90th pct

Pos 90thAll 86thClass Pos 93thClass All 87th

30 reps

Bench

Strong · 88th pct

Pos 88thAll 92thClass Pos 87thClass All 92th

6.95s

3-Cone

Strong · 88th pct

Pos 88thAll 75thClass Pos 82thClass All 59th

4.37s

Shuttle

Above avg · 54th pct

Pos 54thAll 45thClass Pos 61thClass All 39th

Postseason Career

9 playoff games

Defense

Tkl22Solo17Ast5TFL5QBHits10Sk5.5Dis20.5PD3FR2

College Stats

GeorgiaCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Georgia), 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.

2011 Draft Class· this player went #70

#60Brandon HarrisDB #63Marcus GilbertOT #64Randall CobbWR #65Terrell McClainDT #66Dontay MochLB #67Nate IrvingILB #68Kelvin SheppardLB #69Rob HouslerTE #71DeMarco MurrayRB #72Martez WilsonLB #73Stevan RidleyRB #74Ryan MallettQB #75John MoffittG #76Will RackleyG #77Jurrell CaseyDE #78Austin PettisWR

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Justin inherited the Kansas City Chiefs LB room from Tamba Hali (2006–2017), and handed it to Anthony Hitchens (2018–2021).

Derrick Thomas 1989–1999Lonnie Marts 1991–1993Tracy Simien 1991–1997Greg Manusky 1994–1999Donnie Edwards 1996–2008Marvcus Patton

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

2023team change
Joined CAR (from BAL)
2023final season
Last recorded season with CAR
2021team change
Joined BAL (from IND)
2019team change
Joined IND (from KC)
2011draft
Drafted by KC — Round 3, Pick 70

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'3" / 270 lb

Frame

270 lb at 4.62s

Size-speed

36.5" vert / 125" broad

Explosion

30 reps

Bench power

Injury History

12 career games missed (Out)

From nflverse weekly injury reports · coverage begins 2009.

Season	Team	Games Out	Designations
2023	CAR	1	W3Questionable· CalfW9Out· Hamstring
2022	BAL	2	W4Doubtful· GroinW5Out· GroinW6Out· GroinW7Questionable· Groin / Not injury related - resting player
2020	IND	0	W2Questionable· CalfW6Questionable· Hip
2019	IND	0	W7Questionable· CalfW9Questionable· Calf
2018	KC	0	W6Doubtful· HamstringW7Doubtful· HamstringW8Doubtful· HamstringW9Questionable· HamstringW10Questionable· Hamstring
2017	KC	0	W8Questionable· KneeW9Questionable· KneeW16Questionable· Illness
2016	KC	2	W10Out· KneeW11Questionable· KneeW13Questionable· ShoulderW15Questionable· Illness / KneeW16Questionable· KneeW17Out· Knee
2015	KC	4	W13Out· KneeW14Out· KneeW15Out· KneeW16Out· KneeW17Questionable· KneeW19Questionable· Knee
2013	KC	3	W13Out· ElbowW14Out· ElbowW15Out· ElbowW16Questionable· Elbow

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 13-season peers. See all →

peak 94

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

B2011

A2012

A+2013

A+2014

A2015

C2016

A2017

A2018

A2019

A2020

B2021

A+2022

D2023

Era Translator

Sacks 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 Sacks	Sacks/G	→ 2025 Sacks	→ 2025 /G
2011	5.5	0.4	6+0.5	0.4
2012	10	0.6	11+1	0.6
2013	11	1	17+6	1
2014	22	1.4	23+1	1.4
2015	7.5	0.8	12+4.5	0.7
2016	4	1	17+13	1
2017	9.5	0.6	10+0.5	0.6
2018	9	0.8	12+3	0.7
2019	11	0.7	11	0.7
2020	8	0.6	10+2	0.6
2021	4.5	0.3	5+0.5	0.3
2022	9.5	0.8	14+4.5	0.8
2023	0.5	0.1	2+1.5	0.1

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

404 career value over replacement — #43 all-time of 4,642. 31.1/season above a replacement-level LB.

Career Profile

Led league 1×1 top-10

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #70 (Rd 3) · KC · 2011 · +47.4 vs expected KV-H

91actual

43.6 expected · Δ+47.4

💔+80.9 stolen VORP·2.6 szns lost

Fan Rating

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Justin Houston

All-Time Rank & Honors

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Defense

Snap Counts

Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)

KV-H Anatomy

Team Carrier Evidence

All-Time Standing

Per-Snap Impact

Career Aging Trajectory

Combine · 2011

Postseason Career

Defense

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

2011 Draft Class· this player went #70

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Injury History

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography