Luther Elliss is a career quality starter β a pass rusher whose body of work places Elliss in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Elliss's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Luther Elliss
Height6'5"
Weight318 lb
BornMar 22, 1973
Age53
CollegeUtahSee College Stats
Rookie yr1995
Draft1995 Β· Rd 1, Pick 20 Β· DET
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context2x
Pro Bowls
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 100 Β· #1122 Β· High-ValueWorth 100 points of value above a freely-available replacement interior lineman β top 25% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 7 of 9 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +14.3 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
7 cleared
2 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
7
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+14.3
Avg surplus
peak +30
7 seasons Γ ~14.3 surplus β VORP 100
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 | |||||
| 1995 | β | DET | 16 | β | 19 | 9 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | β | 0 | 0 | β | β |
| 1996 | β | DET | 14 | β | 49 | 26 | β | β | β | 6.5 | 6.5 | β | β | 0 | 0 | β | β |
| 1997 | β | DET | 16 | β | 59 | 35 | β | β | β | 8.5 | 8.5 | β | β | 0 | 2 | β | β |
| 1998 | β | DET | 16 | β | 49 | 37 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | β | 0 | 1 | β | β |
| 1999 | β | DET | 15 | β | 41 | 26 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 3.5 | 16.5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | DET | 15 | β | 31 | 16 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 3.0 | 12.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | DET | 13 | β | 28 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | β | DET | 13 | β | 22 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2.5 | 9.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | β | DEN | 5 | β | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 123 | β | 305 | 193 | 43 | 20 | 9 | 29.0 | 58.0 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 22 | DET | 16 | β | 19 | 9 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | 2.8 |
| 1996 | 23 | DET | 14 | β | 49 | 26 | β | β | β | 6.5 | 6.5 | β | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | 10.9 |
| 1997 | 24 | DET | 16 | β | 59 | 35 | β | β | β | 8.5 | 8.5 | β | β | 0 | 2 | β | β | 13.7 |
| 1998 | 25 | DET | 16 | β | 49 | 37 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | β | 0 | 1 | β | β | 9.2 |
| 1999 | 26 | DET | 15 | β | 41 | 26 | 15 | 10 | 3 | 3.5 | 16.5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12.1 |
| 2000 | 27 | DET | 15 | β | 31 | 16 | 15 | 6 | 3 | 3.0 | 12.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7.9 |
| 2001 | 28 | DET | 13 | β | 28 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 4.3 |
| 2002 | 29 | DET | 13 | β | 22 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 2.5 | 9.5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 7.5 |
| 2004 | 31 | DEN | 5 | β | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 3.4 |
| Career | 123 | 305 | 193 | 43 | 20 | 9 | β | β | 0 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 71.8 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 63 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 63 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 9 scored seasons.
58
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
69
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 62.4 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 63Β· confidence 96%
What builds the career mark of 58
On-field 40.2
Availability 17.8
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
1995bestavg 57elite 702004
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position14
Depth
of 100
Reached 15% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
15% of the all-time Sacks leader15
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 defensive linemen aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Postseason Career
1 playoff gameDefense
Tkl3Solo3TFL1Dis1.0
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Utah), 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
Robert PorcherDE8yJohnnie MortonWR7yHerman MooreWR7yTracy ScrogginsDE7yDavid SloanTE7yJohn JettP6yRon RiceS6yTravis KirschkeDE5yRon RiversRB5yBryant WestbrookDB5yKelvin PritchettDT4yBarry SandersRB4yRobert BaileyDB4yAllen AldridgeOLB4yChris ClaiborneLB4yCory SchlesingerFB4yScott MitchellQB4yJared DeVriesDE4yGreg JeffriesCB4yCharlie BatchQB4yTerry FairDB4yGermane CrowellWR4yLamar CampbellFS4yRyan StewartDB4y
1995 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #20
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterLuther inherited the Detroit Lions DL room from Henry Thomas (1995β1996), and handed it to Jared DeVries (1999β2008).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2004team change
Joined DEN (from DET)
- 2004final season
Last recorded season with DEN
- 1995draft
Drafted by DET β Round 1, Pick 20
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'5" / 318 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 9-season peers. See all β
63
peak 69
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1995
B+1996
B+1997
C+1998
C+1999
C+2000
C2001
C+2002
D2004
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 9 seasons.
85%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1996 | 6.5 | 0.5 | 7+0.5 | 0.4 |
| 1997 | 8.5 | 0.5 | 8-0.5 | 0.5 |
| 1998 | 3 | 0.2 | 3 | 0.2 |
| 1999 | 3.5 | 0.2 | 3-0.5 | 0.2 |
| 2000 | 3 | 0.2 | 3 | 0.2 |
| 2001 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 3+0.5 | 0.2 |
| 2004 | 2 | 0.4 | 7+5 | 0.4 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
100 career value over replacement β #1122 all-time of 4,642. 11.1/season above a replacement-level DL.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #20 (Rd 1) Β· DET Β· 1995 Β· +6.5 vs expected KV-H
63actual
56.5 expected Β· Ξ+6.5
Fan Rating
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