Otis Smith is a career quality starter — a defensive back 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.
Otis Smith
Top 18% all-time defensive backsIron Man
Height5'11"
Weight198 lb
BornOct 22, 1965
Age60
Rookie yr1991
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 · VORP
VORP 133 · #759 · High-ValueWorth 133 points of value above a freely-available replacement cornerback — top 17% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 9 of 11 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +14.8 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
9 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit
49
Replacement
the KC-H bar
→
9
Seasons over
cleared the bar
×
+14.8
Avg surplus
peak +40
9 seasons × ~14.8 surplus ≈ VORP 133
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 | |||||
| 1991 | — | PHI | 15 | — | 25 | 2 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 1992 | — | PHI | 16 | — | 31 | 28 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 1993 | — | PHI | 15 | — | 10 | 10 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1994 | — | PHI | 16 | — | 33 | 31 | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1995 | — | NYJ | 11 | — | 41 | 34 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 16 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1996 | — | NYJ | 11 | — | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1996 | — | NE | 11 | — | 36 | 31 | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1997 | — | NYJ | 16 | — | 69 | 56 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 17 | 1 | — | — | — |
| 1998 | — | NYJ | 16 | — | 70 | 57 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 15 | 0 | — | — | — |
| 1999 | — | NYJ | 1 | — | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | — | NE | 15 | — | 58 | 48 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | — | NE | 15 | — | 48 | 41 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 5 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2002 | — | NE | 14 | — | 44 | 37 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | — | DET | 14 | — | 54 | 44 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | — | 186 | — | 524 | 424 | 34 | 7 | 2 | 5.0 | 14.0 | 29 | 110 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 26 | PHI | 15 | — | 25 | 2 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | 7.1 |
| 1992 | 27 | PHI | 16 | — | 31 | 28 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | 4.4 |
| 1993 | 28 | PHI | 15 | — | 10 | 10 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 4.1 |
| 1994 | 29 | PHI | 16 | — | 33 | 31 | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 4.4 |
| 1995 | 30 | NYJ | 11 | — | 41 | 34 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | 10.3 |
| 1996 | 31 | NYJ | 11 | — | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 5.5 |
| 1996 | 31 | NE | 11 | — | 36 | 31 | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 5.5 |
| 1997 | 32 | NYJ | 16 | — | 69 | 56 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 17 | 1 | — | — | — | 13.2 |
| 1998 | 33 | NYJ | 16 | — | 70 | 57 | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 15 | 0 | — | — | — | 8.8 |
| 1999 | 34 | NYJ | 1 | — | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — |
| 2000 | 35 | NE | 15 | — | 58 | 48 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.4 |
| 2001 | 36 | NE | 15 | — | 48 | 41 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 5 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 13.5 |
| 2002 | 37 | NE | 14 | — | 44 | 37 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.9 |
| 2003 | 38 | DET | 14 | — | 54 | 44 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.4 |
| Career | 186 | 524 | 424 | 34 | 7 | 2 | — | — | 29 | 110 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 94 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 65 · Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 65 of 100, era-normalized against int/g peers across 11 scored seasons.
60
Sustained
career value
×.6
72
Peak
best 3 seasons
×.4
×1
Longevity
career length
Blend 64.8 × longevity 1 = KV-H 65· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 60
On-field 41.9
Availability 18.1
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative int/g)
1991bestavg 61elite 702003
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position12
Depth
of 100
Reached 13% of the all-time Interceptions leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
13% of the all-time Interceptions leader13
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 defensive backs aging curve. Group peak age: 21. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Postseason Career
3 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl15Solo11Ast4Int1PD4
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Missouri; Taft College), 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
Bobby HamiltonDE7yVictor GreenDB6yMo LewisOLB5yAaron GlennDB5yRichie AndersonFB5yWayne ChrebetWR5yFred BaxterTE5yChad CascaddenLB5yAdam VinatieriK4yLawyer MilloyS4yEric AllenCB4yBrian HansenP4yWillie McGinestOLB4yTy LawCB4yKeith ByarsFB4yAnthony PleasantDE4yRandall CunninghamQB4yTedy BruschiILB4yKeyshawn JohnsonWR4yKyle BradyTE4yTroy BrownWR4yWilliam ThomasOLB4yRay MickensDB4yMarcus ColemanDB4y
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterOtis inherited the New England Patriots DB room from Lawyer Milloy (1996–2002), and handed it to Steve Israel (1997–1999).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2003team change
Joined DET (from NE)
- 2003final season
Last recorded season with DET
- 2000team change
Joined NE (from NYJ)
- 1995team change
Joined NYJ (from PHI)
- 1991signing
Entered the NFL with PHI
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts5'11" / 198 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 11-season peers. See all →
65
peak 72
Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1991
C1992
C1993
A1995
C+1996
A1997
C+1998
C+2000
B+2001
C+2002
C+2003
Availability
Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 13 seasons.
Era Translator
INT 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 INT | INT/G | → 2025 INT | → 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 2 | 0.1 | 1-1 | 0 |
| 1992 | 1 | 0.1 | 0-1 | 0 |
| 1993 | 1 | 0.1 | 0-1 | 0 |
| 1995 | 6 | 0.5 | 6 | 0.4 |
| 1996 | 2 | 0.2 | 1-1 | 0.1 |
| 1997 | 6 | 0.4 | 4-2 | 0.2 |
| 1998 | 2 | 0.1 | 1-1 | 0.1 |
| 2000 | 1 | 0.1 | 0-1 | 0 |
| 2001 | 5 | 0.3 | 4-1 | 0.2 |
| 2002 | 2 | 0.1 | 1-1 | 0.1 |
| 2003 | 1 | 0.1 | 0-1 | 0 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), nfl.com:official-stats (facts-only reference), espn.com:stats-api (games-played, facts-only reference) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026
Career Value · VORP
133 career value over replacement — #759 all-time of 4,642. 12.1/season above a replacement-level CB.
Fan Rating
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