Orlando Thomas is a career quality starter β a defensive back whose body of work places Thomas in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Thomas's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Orlando Thomas
Top 11% all-time defensive backsIron Man
A high-end defensive back defined as much by excellent availability over their career as by their on-field impact (top 20% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 104 Β· #1066 Β· High-ValueWorth 104 points of value above a freely-available replacement safety β top 24% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 7 of 7 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +14.9 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
7 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
48
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
7
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+14.9
Avg surplus
peak +48
7 seasons Γ ~14.9 surplus β VORP 104
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 | MIN | 16 | β | 61 | 51 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9 | 15 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | MIN | 16 | β | 82 | 64 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 10 | 2 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | MIN | 15 | β | 69 | 56 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | MIN | 16 | β | 69 | 60 | β | β | β | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2 | 9 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | MIN | 13 | β | 63 | 44 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | MIN | 9 | β | 32 | 25 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | MIN | 12 | β | 57 | 41 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 97 | β | 433 | 341 | 42 | 1 | 1 | 1.5 | 3.5 | 22 | 56 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 23 | MIN | 16 | β | 61 | 51 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9 | 15 | 1 | β | β | β | 14.4 |
| 1996 | 24 | MIN | 16 | β | 82 | 64 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 10 | 2 | β | β | β | 11.6 |
| 1997 | 25 | MIN | 15 | β | 69 | 56 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | β | β | β | 7.5 |
| 1998 | 26 | MIN | 16 | β | 69 | 60 | β | β | β | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2 | 9 | 0 | β | β | β | 7.7 |
| 1999 | 27 | MIN | 13 | β | 63 | 44 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8.3 |
| 2000 | 28 | MIN | 9 | β | 32 | 25 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.4 |
| 2001 | 29 | MIN | 12 | β | 57 | 41 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 5.8 |
| Career | 97 | 433 | 341 | 42 | 1 | 1 | β | β | 22 | 56 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 59.7 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 69 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 69 of 100, era-normalized against int/g peers across 7 scored seasons.
65
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
75
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 69 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 69Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 65
On-field 47
Availability 18
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative int/g)
1995bestavg 63elite 702001
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position9
Depth
of 100
Reached 10% of the all-time Interceptions leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
10% of the all-time Interceptions leader10
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 backs aging curve. Group peak age: 21. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Postseason Career
1 playoff gameDefense
Tkl1Solo1
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Louisiana-Lafayette), 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
Cris CarterWR7yRobert GriffithFS7yChris WalshWR7yJohn RandleDT6yJake ReedWR6yMitch BergerP6yEd McDanielOLB6yDavid PalmerRB6yRobert SmithRB6yAndrew JordanTE5yGary AndersonK4yRandy MossWR4yKailee WongLB4yMoe WilliamsRB4yDuane ClemonsDE4yTony WilliamsDT4yChuck EvansRB4yLeroy HoardRB4yDwayne RuddLB4yFernando SmithDE4yRobert TateDB4yDerrick L. AlexanderDE4yGreg DeLongTE4yMatt HatchetteWR4y
1995 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #42
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterOrlando inherited the Minnesota Vikings DB room from Robert Griffith (1994β2001), and handed it to Jimmy Hitchcock (1998β1999).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2001final season
Last recorded season with MIN
- 1995draft
Drafted by MIN β Round 2, Pick 42
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'1" / 225 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 7-season peers. See all β
69
peak 75
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
A+1995
B+1996
C+1997
C+1998
C+1999
C2000
C+2001
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 7 seasons.
87%
Era Translator
INT 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 INT | INT/G | β 2025 INT | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 9 | 0.6 | 6-3 | 0.4 |
| 1996 | 5 | 0.3 | 3-2 | 0.2 |
| 1997 | 2 | 0.1 | 1-1 | 0 |
| 1998 | 2 | 0.1 | 1-1 | 0.1 |
| 1999 | 2 | 0.2 | 1-1 | 0.1 |
| 2000 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 2001 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), nfl.com:official-stats (facts-only reference), espn.com:stats-api (games-played, facts-only reference) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
104 career value over replacement β #1066 all-time of 4,642. 14.9/season above a replacement-level S.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #42 (Rd 2) Β· MIN Β· 1995 Β· +19.2 vs expected KV-H
69actual
49.8 expected Β· Ξ+19.2
Fan Rating
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