Ken Norton ranks in the all-time elite tier for linebackers — a career that places Norton in the top 5% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Norton a career score of 74, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

On the boards· Appears on 1 board

#15Dynasty playersof 200

MLBSF#51ACT

Ken Norton

3× Pro Bowl1× All-Pro👑 Dynasty DNA · 11 seasons · 3 titles Top 4% all-time linebackersIron Legend📈 Late Developer · 1996

Height6'2"

Career Value · VORP

232 career value over replacement — #275 all-time of 4,695. 19.3/season above a replacement-level LB.

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #41 (Rd 2) · DAL · 1988 · +23.3 vs expected KV-H

74actual

50.7 expected · Δ+23.3

Fan Rating

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Compare Ken Norton vs Player Report data error

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 6% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

6% of the all-time Sacks leader6

0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0

A 0–100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leader at 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: 89%.

Encyclopedia Coverage5/8 data layers

StatVault aggregates multiple open-licensed and proprietary sources into a single profile. The depth indicator above shows which layers are available for this player.

Bio & DraftBirth date, height/weight, draft round/pick, college — sourced from nflverse players.csv (CC-BY 4.0). Covers all NFL eras.

Season Stats (1999–present)Week-by-week box scores aggregated to season totals: passing, rushing, receiving, defense. Source: nflverse player_stats. Counting stats are exact; rates are derived.

Advanced (EPA, 1999–present)Not available for this player

Snap Counts (2012–present)Not available for this player

Defensive StatsMaterial defensive production only: playmaking stats, 10+ tackles, or 50+ defensive snaps. Source: nflverse player_stats and snap_counts.

College StatsCollege attribution is present, but this profile artifact does not yet carry a parsed college stat table.

NFL Combine / Pro DayNot available for this player

Proprietary LayersKV-H (Knox Value-Historical) — era-normalized career rating 0–100 calibrated within position group (1999+ coverage). SIS (Snap Impact Score, 2012+) — per-snap production z-scored within position. VORP — value over replacement player. Durability IQ — games-played percentile adjusted for era.

Where this data comes from

Modern-era stats (1999+) come from nflverse's open data releases. Pre-1999 seasons are backfilled additively from Wikipedia and NFL.com's own official season pages — never from rights-restricted sources.

nflverse — CC-BY 4.0 — attribution required
Wikipedia — Facts extracted under Feist v. Rural Telephone; courtesy CC-BY-SA attribution
NFL.com — Official league site; facts extracted under Feist, courtesy attribution

Methodology · Trust Center

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Understanding These Stats

Defense

Tkl / Solo / Ast — Combined tackles (Solo + ½ Assist). Solo = unassisted. Ast = helped by a teammate.

TFL — Tackles for loss — stops made behind the line of scrimmage (run stuffs + QB contain).

QBHits — QB hits — any legal contact on the quarterback, including but beyond sacks (hurries that land).

Sk — Sacks — tackled the QB behind the line for a loss. Half-sacks shared between defenders.

Dis — Disruption plays = sacks + QB hits + TFL. The composite pass-rush / run-stop impact stat for one season. Elite pass rushers post 30+ disruption plays per season.

Int — Interceptions caught by this defender.

PD — Passes defended — deflections and breakups.

FF / FR — Forced fumbles (stripped or jarred loose). Fumble Recoveries.

TD — Defensive touchdowns — picks, fumble returns, safeties returned.

Sfty — Safeties — tackled the ball carrier in their own end zone.

Proprietary StatVault Metrics

College Stats

UCLACollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (UCLA), 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.

Top Teammates

Jerry RiceWR7y Bryant YoungDT7y Tim McDonaldS6y Steve YoungQB6y

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

2000final season
Last recorded season with SF
1994team change
Joined SF (from DAL)
1988draft
Drafted by DAL — Round 2, Pick 41

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'2" / 254 lb

Frame

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 12-season peers. See all →

peak 77

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

B1989

C1990

B1991

B1992

B+1993

B1994

B1995

B+1996

B+1997

B+1998

B+1999

B2000

Availability

Era Translator

Tackles translated to the 2025 NFL — 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
1989	53	4.1	72+19	4.2
1990	0	0	12+12	0.7
1991	67	4.2	69+2	4.1
1992	82	5.1	82	4.8
1993	123	7.7	115-8	6.7
1994	87	5.4	78-9	4.6
1995	95	5.9	86-9	5
1996	127	7.9	122-5	7.2
1997	95	5.9	97+2	5.7
1998	113	7.1	118+5	7
1999	93	5.8	95+2	5.6
2000	65	4.1	59-6	3.5

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:player_stats_def, 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) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 8/31/2026

KV-H (Knox Value-Historical) — Era-normalized career rating 0–100 within position group, calibrated so a 50 = average starter and 90+ = all-time great. Covers 1999–present. Built on a 5-year IQR/robust-std era window.

SIS (Snap Impact Score) — Per-snap production z-scored within position group and era (2012+). Measures how much a player produced per opportunity, not raw volume.

VORP (Value Over Replacement) — Sum of max(0, season KV-H − positional replacement level) across a career. Measures career value above the minimum-roster baseline at each position.

Durability IQ — 0–100 score reflecting how many games a player played relative to peers at the same position in the same era. Adjusts for injury-shortened seasons.