N. D. Kalu is a career quality starter — a pass rusher whose body of work places D. in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and D.'s career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
N. D. Kalu
Top 21% all-time pass rushersHigh-End Starter
A quality edge rusher with a top 30% among starters — a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Career Value · VORP
VORP 87 · #1340 · High-ValueWorth 87 points of value above a freely-available replacement edge rusher — top 30% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 8 of 9 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +10.9 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
8 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit
51
Replacement
the KC-H bar
→
8
Seasons over
cleared the bar
×
+10.9
Avg surplus
peak +27
8 seasons × ~10.9 surplus ≈ VORP 87
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no 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 | |||||
| 1997 | — | PHI | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998 | — | WAS | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3.0 | 3.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999 | — | WAS | 9 | — | 11 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3.5 | 8.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | — | WAS | 8 | — | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | — | PHI | 8 | — | 11 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3.0 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | — | PHI | 15 | — | 22 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 8.0 | 21.0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | — | PHI | 16 | — | 47 | 39 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 2005 | — | PHI | 13 | — | 29 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | — | HOU | 15 | — | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | — | HOU | 9 | — | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 3.0 | 10.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | — | HOU | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Career | — | 111 | — | 155 | 119 | 36 | 14 | 28 | 32.0 | 74.0 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 22 | PHI | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998 | 23 | WAS | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3.0 | 3.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 7.9 |
| 1999 | 24 | WAS | 9 | — | 11 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3.5 | 8.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 5.9 |
| 2000 | 25 | WAS | 8 | — | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.9 |
| 2001 | 26 | PHI | 8 | — | 11 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3.0 | 10.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 5.7 |
| 2002 | 27 | PHI | 15 | — | 22 | 17 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 8.0 | 21.0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 2003 | 28 | PHI | 16 | — | 47 | 39 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 13.1 |
| 2005 | 30 | PHI | 13 | — | 29 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 7.7 |
| 2006 | 31 | HOU | 15 | — | 16 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 8 | 2.0 | 10.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 8.1 |
| 2007 | 32 | HOU | 9 | — | 11 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 3.0 | 10.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6.5 |
| 2008 | 33 | HOU | 2 | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| Career | 111 | 155 | 119 | 36 | 14 | 28 | — | — | 1 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 70.8 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 64 · Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 64 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 9 scored seasons.
61
Sustained
career value
×.6
69
Peak
best 3 seasons
×.4
×1
Longevity
career length
Blend 64.2 × longevity 1 = KV-H 64· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 61
On-field 45.3
Availability 15.7
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
1998bestavg 60elite 702007
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position14
Depth
of 100
Reached 16% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
16% of the all-time Sacks leader16
0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0
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 basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average edge rushers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Postseason Career
6 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl9Solo6Ast3TFL1QBHits1Sk1.0Dis3.0PD3FF1
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Rice), 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
James ThrashWR7yBrian DawkinsS5yDavid AkersK5yShawn BarberLB5yChad LewisTE5yTroy VincentS4yDonovan McNabbQB4yHollis ThomasDT4yMatt TurkP4yBobby TaylorCB4yDuce StaleyRB4yPaul GrasmanisDT4yDarwin WalkerDT4yKoy DetmerQB4yDarrell GreenCB3ySean LandetaP3yIrving FryarWR3yAndre JohnsonWR3yMarco ColemanDE3yDan WilkinsonDT3yDerek M. SmithILB3ySheldon BrownCB3yDana StubblefieldDT3yKenard LangDE3y
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterN. inherited the Philadelphia Eagles DL room from Hollis Thomas (1996–2005), and handed it to Brandon Whiting (1998–2003).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2008final season
Last recorded season with HOU
- 2006team change
Joined HOU (from PHI)
- 2001team change
Joined PHI (from WAS)
- 1998team change
Joined WAS (from PHI)
- 1997signing
Entered the NFL with PHI
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'3" / 266 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 9-season peers. See all →
64
peak 69
Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1998
B1999
C2000
C+2001
B+2002
B+2003
C+2005
C+2006
B2007
Availability
Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 11 seasons.
68%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 3 | 0.2 | 3 | 0.2 |
| 1999 | 3.5 | 0.4 | 6+2.5 | 0.3 |
| 2000 | 1 | 0.1 | 2+1 | 0.1 |
| 2001 | 3 | 0.4 | 6+3 | 0.3 |
| 2002 | 8 | 0.5 | 9+1 | 0.5 |
| 2003 | 6.5 | 0.4 | 7+0.5 | 0.4 |
| 2005 | 2 | 0.2 | 2 | 0.1 |
| 2006 | 2 | 0.1 | 2 | 0.1 |
| 2007 | 3 | 0.3 | 6+3 | 0.3 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), nfl.com:official-stats (facts-only reference), nfl.com:official-stats (games-played, facts-only reference) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026
Career Value · VORP
87 career value over replacement — #1340 all-time of 4,642. 9.7/season above a replacement-level EDGE.
Fan Rating
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