Ricardo McDonald is a career quality starter β a pass rusher whose body of work places McDonald in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and McDonald's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Ricardo McDonald
Top 34% all-time pass rushersReliable Starter
Height6'2"
Weight252 lb
BornNov 8, 1969
Age56
CollegePittsburghSee College Stats
Rookie yr1992
Draft1992 Β· Rd 4, Pick 88 Β· CIN
A edge rusher with a above-average career β the kind of consistent contributor every roster needs. Solid availability (exceptional availability β almost never missed time) added to their value.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 56 Β· #1915 Β· Above AverageWorth 56 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker β top 42% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 8 of 8 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +7 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
8 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
8
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+7
Avg surplus
peak +19
8 seasons Γ ~7 surplus β VORP 56
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 | |||||
| 1992 | β | CIN | 16 | β | 97 | 77 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1993 | β | CIN | 14 | β | 105 | 91 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 2 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1994 | β | CIN | 13 | β | 48 | 31 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | CIN | 16 | β | 63 | 46 | β | β | β | 5.0 | 5.0 | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | CIN | 16 | β | 61 | 47 | β | β | β | 5.0 | 5.0 | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | CIN | 13 | β | 66 | 52 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 3 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | CHI | 15 | β | 43 | 28 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 3 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | CHI | 16 | β | 52 | 37 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 119 | β | 535 | 409 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 14.5 | 17.5 | 1 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 23 | CIN | 16 | β | 97 | 77 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | β | β | β | 7.8 |
| 1993 | 24 | CIN | 14 | β | 105 | 91 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 2 | 1 | β | β | β | 8.1 |
| 1994 | 25 | CIN | 13 | β | 48 | 31 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 7.5 |
| 1995 | 26 | CIN | 16 | β | 63 | 46 | β | β | β | 5.0 | 5.0 | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 9.8 |
| 1996 | 27 | CIN | 16 | β | 61 | 47 | β | β | β | 5.0 | 5.0 | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | β | 11.1 |
| 1997 | 28 | CIN | 13 | β | 66 | 52 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 3 | 0 | β | β | β | 6 |
| 1998 | 29 | CHI | 15 | β | 43 | 28 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 3 | 1 | β | β | β | 8.5 |
| 1999 | 30 | CHI | 16 | β | 52 | 37 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0.5 | 3.5 | 0 | 1 | 2 | β | 0 | 0 | 6.6 |
| Career | 119 | 535 | 409 | 15 | 3 | 0 | β | β | 1 | 16 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 65.4 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 57 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 57 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 8 scored seasons.
54
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
61
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 56.8 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 57Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 54
On-field 35.4
Availability 18.6
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
1992bestavg 541999
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position6
Depth
of 100
Reached 7% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
7% of the all-time Sacks leader7
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: 86%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average linebackers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Pittsburgh), 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
Lee JohnsonP6yJames FrancisLB6yCarl PickensWR6yTony McGeeTE5yDoug PelfreyK5ySteve TovarLB5yJohn CopelandNT5yKimo von OelhoffenDT4yDan WilkinsonDT4yDarryl WilliamsDB4yAndre CollinsLB4yHarold GreenRB4yDarnay ScottWR4yJeff BlakeQB4yCorey SawyerDB4yDavid KlinglerQB4yEric BieniemyRB3yAlfred WilliamsDE3yDerrick FennerRB3ySam ShadeS3yEric BallRB3yJeff QueryWR3yTroy SadowskiTE3yDavid DunnWR3y
1992 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #88
#71Kevin TurnerFB#77Corey HarrisS#78Gerald DixonOLB#79Tyji ArmstrongTE#80Jeremy LincolnDB#81Thomas McLemoreDE#85Rodney CulverRB#86Craig EricksonQB#94Charles DavenportWR#97Dwight HollierMLB#98Roy BarkerDT#99Keith HamiltonDT#100Michael BankstonDE#102Casey WeldonQB#103Edgar BennettRB#104Frankie SmithDB
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterRicardo inherited the Cincinnati Bengals LB room from James Francis (1990β1998), and handed it to Steve Tovar (1993β1997).
James Francis 1990β1998Ricardo McDonald 1992β1997Steve Tovar 1993β1997Andre Collins 1995β1997Gerald Dixon 1996β1997Reinard Wilson
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1999final season
Last recorded season with CHI
- 1998team change
Joined CHI (from CIN)
- 1992draft
Drafted by CIN β Round 4, Pick 88
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'2" / 252 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 8-season peers. See all β
57
peak 61
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1992
C+1993
C+1994
B1995
B1996
C1997
C+1998
C+1999
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 8 seasons.
93%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1993 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 1994 | 1 | 0.1 | 2+1 | 0.1 |
| 1995 | 5 | 0.3 | 5 | 0.3 |
| 1996 | 5 | 0.3 | 5 | 0.3 |
| 1997 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 1998 | 1 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 |
| 1999 | 0.5 | 0 | 0-0.5 | 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
56 career value over replacement β #1915 all-time of 4,642. 7/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #88 (Rd 4) Β· CIN Β· 1992 Β· +18.3 vs expected KV-H
57actual
38.7 expected Β· Ξ+18.3
Fan Rating
Rate Ricardo McDonald β All-Time
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