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

TEBAL#82ACT

L.J. Smith

Top 13% all-time TEsElite PlaymakerTwo-Way Profile

Height6'3"

Weight245 lb

BornMay 13, 1980

Age46

CollegeRutgers See College Stats

Rookie yr2003

Draft2003 · Rd 2, Pick 61 · PHI

Archetype Intelligence

Elite PlaymakerExplore archetypes →

A top 20% all-time tight end who consistently made an impact across multiple seasons.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 105 · #1050 · High-Value

Worth 105 points of value above a freely-available replacement tight end — top 24% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 6 of 6 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +17.5 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

6 cleared

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+17.5

Avg surplus

peak +31

6 seasons × ~17.5 surplus ≈ VORP 105

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	Receiving									Defense													Advanced (EPA)
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty	Pass EPA	Rush EPA	Rec EPA	Pass AirYd	Rec AirYd
2003	—	PHI	12	—	27	27	320	1	100.0%	11.9	11.9	—	15	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2003	—	NYJ	1	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
2003	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	26.8	0	0
2004	—	PHI	12	—	34	34	377	5	100.0%	11.1	11.1	—	21	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2004	—	CLE	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1	1	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
2004	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	31.9	0	0
2005	—	PHI	16	—	61	61	682	3	100.0%	11.2	11.2	—	36	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2005	—	WAS	4	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	6	6	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
2005	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	50.8	0	0
2006	—	PHI	14	—	55	50	611	5	90.9%	12.2	11.1	—	29	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2006	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	37.5	0	311
2007	—	PHI	9	—	22	22	236	1	100.0%	10.7	10.7	—	12	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2007	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	17.6	0	130
2008	—	PHI	12	—	37	37	298	3	100.0%	8.1	8.1	—	16	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2008	—	NYG	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	2	2	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
2008	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	20.3	0	122
2009	—	BAL	3	—	3	2	31	0	66.7%	15.5	10.3	—	2	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2009	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.7	0	16
Career		—	87	—	239	233	2,555	18	97.5%	11.0	10.7	—	131	10	10	0	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	185.6	0	579

Career EPA185.6·186 receiving·26.5/season

Receiving

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Rec	Yds	TD	Ctch%	Y/R	Y/Tgt	AirYd/T	1D	VAL
2003	23	PHI	12	—	27	27	320	1	100.0%	11.9	11.9	—	15	6.6
2004	24	PHI	12	—	34	34	377	5	100.0%	11.1	11.1	—	21	10.9
2005	25	PHI	16	—	61	61	682	3	100.0%	11.2	11.2	—	36	13.3
2006	26	PHI	14	—	55	50	611	5	90.9%	12.2	11.1	—	29	14.7
2007	27	PHI	9	—	22	22	236	1	100.0%	10.7	10.7	—	12	4.9
2008	28	PHI	12	—	37	37	298	3	100.0%	8.1	8.1	—	16	8.9
2009	29	BAL	3	—	3	2	31	0	66.7%	15.5	10.3	—	2	—
Career			78		239	233	2,555	18	97.5%	11.0	10.7	—	131	59.3

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Sk	Dis	FR
2003	23	NYJ	1	—	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
2004	24	CLE	2	—	1	1	0.0	0.0	—
2005	25	WAS	4	—	6	6	0.0	0.0	—
2008	28	NYG	2	—	2	2	0.0	0.0	—
Career			9		10	10	—	—	—

Advanced (EPA)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Pass EPA	Rush EPA	Rec EPA	Rec AirYd
2003	23	—	—	—	—	—	26.8	0
2004	24	—	—	—	—	—	31.9	0
2005	25	—	—	—	—	—	50.8	0
2006	26	—	—	—	—	—	37.5	311
2007	27	—	—	—	—	—	17.6	130
2008	28	—	—	—	—	—	20.3	122
2009	29	—	—	—	—	—	0.7	16
Career					—	—	—	579

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 67 · Strong Starter

A strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 67 of 100, era-normalized against rec yds/g peers across 6 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 67.4 × longevity 1 = KV-H 67· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 65

On-field 48.9

Availability 16.1

On-field production Staying available

Season-by-season quality (era-relative rec yds/g)

2003bestavg 64elite 702008

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 15% of the all-time Receptions leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

15% of the all-time Receptions leader15

0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0

26.52 EPA/season over 7 seasons59

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: 91%.

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average tight ends aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Combine · 2003

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

TE · 2003 class

4.62s

40-Yard

Strong · 80th pct

Pos 80thAll 55thClass Pos 91thClass All 63th

37"

Vertical

Strong · 86th pct

Pos 86thAll 81thClass Pos 75thClass All 82th

122"

Broad Jump

Strong · 84th pct

Pos 84thAll 74thClass Pos 89thClass All 79th

26 reps

Bench

Elite · 90th pct

Pos 90thAll 79thClass Pos 86thClass All 71th

6.74s

3-Cone

Elite · 99th pct

Pos 99thAll 94thClass Pos 96thClass All 98th

4.25s

Shuttle

Above avg · 73th pct

Pos 73thAll 65thClass Pos 95thClass All 62th

Playoff vs Regular Season

📊 Consistent

Yards / Reception: 11.0 regular season → 10.6 playoffs (4 playoff seasons)

-3%

vs reg season

Postseason Career

9 playoff games

Receiving

Tgt18Rec18Yds191TD1Ctch%100.0%Y/R10.6Y/Tgt10.61D10

Advanced (EPA)

Rec EPA21.2Rec AirYd31

College Stats

RutgersCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Rutgers), 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.

2003 Draft Class· this player went #61

#53Victor HobsonLB #54Anquan BoldinWR #55Bryan ScottLB #56Osi UmenyioraDE #57Anthony AdamsDT #58Mike DossDB #59Alonzo JacksonLB #60Tyrone CalicoWR #62Terrence KielS #63Teyo JohnsonTE #64Dewayne WhiteDE #65Kelley WashingtonWR #66Cory ReddingDE #67Antwan PeekOLB #68Lance BriggsOLB #69Jason WittenTE

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

L.J. inherited the Philadelphia Eagles TE room from Chad Lewis (1997–2005), and handed it to Brent Celek (2007–2017).

Vyto Kab 1982–1984Keith Jackson 1988–1991Mark Bavaro 1993–1994Jimmie Johnson 1995–1998Jason Dunn 1996–1998Chad Lewis

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

2009team change
Joined BAL (from PHI)
2009final season
Last recorded season with BAL
2003draft
Drafted by PHI — Round 2, Pick 61

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'3" / 245 lb

Frame

258 lb at 4.62s

Size-speed

37" vert / 122" broad

Explosion

26 reps

Bench power

Injury History

From nflverse weekly injury reports · coverage begins 2009.

Season	Team	Games Out	Designations
2009	BAL	0	W1Doubtful· HamstringW2Questionable· HamstringW3Questionable· HamstringW13Doubtful· AnkleW14Doubtful· AnkleW15Questionable· Ankle

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 6-season peers. See all →

peak 71

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

C+2003

B2004

B+2005

B+2006

C+2007

C+2008

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 7 seasons.

70%

Era Translator

Rec Yds 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 Rec Yds	Rec Yds/G	→ 2025 Rec Yds	→ 2025 /G
2003	320	26.7	519+199	30.5
2004	377	31.4	621+244	36.5
2005	682	42.6	815+133	48
2006	611	43.6	794+183	46.7
2007	236	26.2	450+214	26.5
2008	298	24.8	423+125	24.9

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:combine, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:advanced-epa (CC-BY 4.0), nflverse:injuries · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

105 career value over replacement — #1050 all-time of 4,642. 17.5/season above a replacement-level TE.

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #61 (Rd 2) · PHI · 2003 · +20.1 vs expected KV-H

67actual

46.9 expected · Δ+20.1

💔+36.8 stolen VORP·2.1 szns lost

Fan Rating

Rate L.J. Smith — All-Time

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Compare L.J. Smith vs Player Report data error

L.J. Smith

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Receiving

Defense

Advanced (EPA)

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

Combine · 2003

Postseason Career

Receiving

Advanced (EPA)

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

2003 Draft Class· this player went #61

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Injury History

Knox

Era Translator