Ray Buchanan ranks in the all-time elite tier for defensive backs — a career that places Buchanan in the top 3% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Buchanan a career score of 78, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

FSOAK#34ACT

Ray Buchanan

1× Pro BowlTop 3% all-time defensive backsIron Legend🌅 Early Bloomer · 1994 Team Carrier · #200

Height5'9"

Weight185 lb

BornSep 29, 1971

Age55

College

Team Carrier Evidence

Ranked #200 of 568 by seasons where high individual production happened on low-win teams. Score aggregates only tracked StatVault categories.

Full board

Total Score

1 qualifying season

2000 ATL·4 team wins#11

Interceptions · 6 · score 45

All-Time Standing

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

Solid

of 100

Reached 58% of the all-time Interceptions leader — a solid all-time profile at the position.

58% of the all-time Interceptions leader

Career Value · VORP

246 career value over replacement — #238 all-time of 4,695. 20.5/season above a replacement-level S.

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #65 (Rd 3) · IND · 1993 · +31.9 vs expected KV-H

78actual

46.1 expected · Δ+31.9

Fan Rating

Rate Ray Buchanan — All-Time

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Compare Ray Buchanan vs Player Report data error

1 category ≥25% of the all-time leader33

A 0–100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leader at 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: 87%.

Encyclopedia Coverage5/8 data layers

StatVault aggregates multiple open-licensed and proprietary sources into a single profile. The depth indicator above shows which layers are available for this player.

Bio & DraftBirth date, height/weight, draft round/pick, college — sourced from nflverse players.csv (CC-BY 4.0). Covers all NFL eras.

Season Stats (1999–present)Week-by-week box scores aggregated to season totals: passing, rushing, receiving, defense. Source: nflverse player_stats. Counting stats are exact; rates are derived.

Advanced (EPA, 1999–present)Not available for this player

Snap Counts (2012–present)Not available for this player

Defensive StatsMaterial defensive production only: playmaking stats, 10+ tackles, or 50+ defensive snaps. Source: nflverse player_stats and snap_counts.

College StatsCollege attribution is present, but this profile artifact does not yet carry a parsed college stat table.

NFL Combine / Pro DayNot available for this player

Proprietary LayersKV-H (Knox Value-Historical) — era-normalized career rating 0–100 calibrated within position group (1999+ coverage). SIS (Snap Impact Score, 2012+) — per-snap production z-scored within position. VORP — value over replacement player. Durability IQ — games-played percentile adjusted for era.

Pre-1999 players have bio + draft data but counting stats are not available from any freely-licensed source. Players with ★ Career Only see verified career aggregates from nflverse draft_picks.

Where this data comes from

Modern-era stats (1999+) come from nflverse's open data releases. Pre-1999 seasons are backfilled additively from Wikipedia and NFL.com's own official season pages — never from rights-restricted sources.

nflverse — CC-BY 4.0 — attribution required
Wikipedia — Facts extracted under Feist v. Rural Telephone; courtesy CC-BY-SA attribution
NFL.com — Official league site; facts extracted under Feist, courtesy attribution

Methodology · Trust Center

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average defensive backs aging curve. Group peak age: 21. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Understanding These Stats

Defense

Tkl / Solo / Ast — Combined tackles (Solo + ½ Assist). Solo = unassisted. Ast = helped by a teammate.

TFL — Tackles for loss — stops made behind the line of scrimmage (run stuffs + QB contain).

QBHits — QB hits — any legal contact on the quarterback, including but beyond sacks (hurries that land).

Sk — Sacks — tackled the QB behind the line for a loss. Half-sacks shared between defenders.

Dis — Disruption plays = sacks + QB hits + TFL. The composite pass-rush / run-stop impact stat for one season. Elite pass rushers post 30+ disruption plays per season.

Int — Interceptions caught by this defender.

PD — Passes defended — deflections and breakups.

FF / FR — Forced fumbles (stripped or jarred loose). Fumble Recoveries.

TD — Defensive touchdowns — picks, fumble returns, safeties returned.

Sfty — Safeties — tackled the ball carrier in their own end zone.

Proprietary StatVault Metrics

KV-H (Knox Value-Historical) — Era-normalized career rating 0–100 within position group, calibrated so a 50 = average starter and 90+ = all-time great. Covers 1999–present. Built on a 5-year IQR/robust-std era window.

SIS (Snap Impact Score) — Per-snap production z-scored within position group and era (2012+). Measures how much a player produced per opportunity, not raw volume.

VORP (Value Over Replacement) — Sum of max(0, season KV-H − positional replacement level) across a career. Measures career value above the minimum-roster baseline at each position.

Durability IQ — 0–100 score reflecting how many games a player played relative to peers at the same position in the same era. Adjusts for injury-shortened seasons.

Postseason Career

2 playoff games

Defense

Tkl6Solo6PD3

College Stats

LouisvilleCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Louisville), 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.

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Ray inherited the Atlanta Falcons DB room from Deion Sanders (1989–1993), and handed it to DeAngelo Hall (2004–2007).

Kenny Johnson 1980–1986Bobby Butler 1981–1992Deion Sanders 1989–1993Ray Buchanan 1997–2003DeAngelo Hall 2004–2007Brent Grimes 2007–2012Thomas DeCoud 2008–2013William Moore 2010–2015Robert Alford 2013–2018Desmond Trufant 2013–2019Jessie Bates 2023–2026

Ray inherited the Indianapolis Colts DB room from Jason Belser (1992–2000), and handed it to Nick Harper (2001–2006).

Lyle Blackwood 1977–1980Eugene Daniel 1984–1996Mike Prior 1987–1992Jason Belser 1992–2000Ray Buchanan 1993–1996Nick Harper 2001–2006Vontae Davis

The room is reconstructed from arrival order among durable members (≥4 seasons with the club) at the player’s position group — a lineage by arrival, not a week-by-week depth chart. Distinct from the league-wide positional GOAT torch.

Movementderived from season history

2004team change
Joined OAK (from ATL)
2004final season
Last recorded season with OAK
1997team change
Joined ATL (from IND)
1993draft
Drafted by IND — Round 3, Pick 65

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

5'9" / 185 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 12-season peers. See all →

peak 88

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

B1993

A+1994

C+1995

C+1996

B+1997

A1998

B+1999

A2000

B+2001

C+2002

C+2003

C+2004

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 12 seasons.

94%

19932004

2002 · cause not documented · 69%

Durability IQ

Composite score across availability, IR frequency, and injury severity. See all →

Iron

Era Translator

INT translated to the 2025 NFL — 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
1993	4	0.3	2-2	0.1
1994	8	0.5	6-2	0.4
1995	2	0.1	0-2	0
1996	2	0.2	1-1	0
1997	5	0.3	3-2	0.2
1998	7	0.4	5-2	0.3
1999	4	0.3	3-1	0.2
2000	6	0.4	4-2	0.2
2001	5	0.3	3-2	0.2
2002	2	0.2	2	0.1
2003	1	0.1	1	0
2004	1	0.1	0-1	0

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:player_stats_def, wikipedia:college-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), 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 8/31/2026

Career Geography

Journeyman · 3 crestsLeague board →

Wore 3 distinct franchise crests across 12 seasons (1993–2004) — a true nomad. The crest trail:

IND 1993–1996 ATL 1997–2003 LV 2004

Ray Buchanan

Team Carrier Evidence

All-Time Standing

Where this data comes from

Career Aging Trajectory

Postseason Career

Defense

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1993 Draft Class· this player went #65

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography