Roman Phifer ranks in the all-time elite tier for linebackers — a career that places Phifer in the top 10% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Phifer a career score of 70, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

LBNYG#55RES

Roman Phifer

Top 6% all-time linebackersIron Man📈 Late Developer · 2002

Height6'2"

Weight248 lb

BornMar 5, 1968

Age58

CollegeUCLA See College Stats

Rookie yr1991

Draft1991 · Rd 2, Pick 31 · LA

Archetype Intelligence

Iron ManExplore archetypes →

A high-end linebacker defined as much by exceptional availability — almost never missed time as by their on-field impact (top 10% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 221 · #313 · Elite

Worth 221 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker — top 8% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 13 of 14 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +17 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

13 cleared

Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+17

Avg surplus

peak +31

13 seasons × ~17 surplus ≈ VORP 221

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
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty
1991	—	LAR	12	—	27	0	—	—	—	2.0	2.0	—	0	1	—	—	—
1992	—	LAR	16	—	69	60	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	1	6	1	—	—	—
1993	—	LAR	16	—	118	106	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	7	0	—	—	—
1994	—	LAR	16	—	99	82	—	—	—	1.5	1.5	2	7	1	—	—	—
1995	—	LAR	16	—	115	87	—	—	—	3.0	3.0	3	12	1	—	—	—
1996	—	LAR	15	—	128	108	—	—	—	1.5	1.5	—	5	0	—	—	—
1997	—	LAR	16	—	76	58	—	—	—	2.0	2.0	—	6	0	—	—	—
1998	—	LAR	13	—	72	59	—	—	—	6.5	6.5	1	3	1	—	—	—
1999	—	NYJ	15	—	37	24	13	4	4	4.5	12.5	2	5	3	—	0	0
2000	—	NYJ	16	—	35	22	13	6	4	4.0	14.0	0	1	1	—	0	0
2001	—	NE	16	—	74	53	21	9	2	2.0	13.0	1	5	2	2	0	0
2002	—	NE	14	—	82	42	40	4	1	0.5	5.5	0	2	2	1	0	0
2003	—	NE	16	—	77	44	33	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	5	1	1	0	0
2004	—	NE	13	—	25	15	10	0	0	1.5	1.5	1	2	0	1	0	0
Career		—	210	—	1,034	760	130	23	11	29.0	63.0	11	66	14	5	0	0

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty	VAL
1991	23	LAR	12	—	27	0	—	—	—	2.0	2.0	—	0	1	—	—	—	5.8
1992	24	LAR	16	—	69	60	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	1	6	1	—	—	—	8.5
1993	25	LAR	16	—	118	106	—	—	—	0.0	0.0	—	7	0	—	—	—	8.2
1994	26	LAR	16	—	99	82	—	—	—	1.5	1.5	2	7	1	—	—	—	11.1
1995	27	LAR	16	—	115	87	—	—	—	3.0	3.0	3	12	1	—	—	—	12.4
1996	28	LAR	15	—	128	108	—	—	—	1.5	1.5	—	5	0	—	—	—	9.7
1997	29	LAR	16	—	76	58	—	—	—	2.0	2.0	—	6	0	—	—	—	8.4
1998	30	LAR	13	—	72	59	—	—	—	6.5	6.5	1	3	1	—	—	—	10.9
1999	31	NYJ	15	—	37	24	13	4	4	4.5	12.5	2	5	3	—	0	0	11.3
2000	32	NYJ	16	—	35	22	13	6	4	4.0	14.0	0	1	1	—	0	0	8.3
2001	33	NE	16	—	74	53	21	9	2	2.0	13.0	1	5	2	2	0	0	9.9
2002	34	NE	14	—	82	42	40	4	1	0.5	5.5	0	2	2	1	0	0	7.3
2003	35	NE	16	—	77	44	33	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	5	1	1	0	0	7.6
2004	36	NE	13	—	25	15	10	0	0	1.5	1.5	1	2	0	1	0	0	6.5
Career			210		1,034	760	130	23	11	—	—	11	66	14	5	0	0	125.9

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 70 · Great

A great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 70 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 14 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 67.8 × longevity 1 = KV-H 70· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 63

On-field 44.1

Availability 18.9

On-field production Staying available

Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)

1991bestavg 62elite 702004

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 15% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

15% of the all-time Sacks leader15

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 basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average linebackers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Postseason Career

8 playoff games

Defense

Tkl30Solo19Ast11TFL2Dis2.0PD1

College Stats

UCLACollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (UCLA), 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.

1991 Draft Class· this player went #31

#21Harvey WilliamsRB #23Randal HillWR #24Todd MarinovichQB #25Ted WashingtonNT #26Henry JonesDB #27Jarrod BunchFB #28Mike DumasFS #30Reggie JohnsonTE #33Brett FavreQB #34Browning NagleQB #35Esera TuaoloNT #38Darryll LewisCB #39Eric BieniemyRB #42Wesley CarrollWR #43Nick BellRB #44John FlanneryG

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Roman inherited the Los Angeles Rams LB room from Fred Strickland (1988–1992), and handed it to Charlie Clemons (1997–1999).

Fred Strickland 1988–1992Roman Phifer 1991–1998Charlie Clemons 1997–1999Mike A. Jones 1997–2000London Fletcher 1998–2001Tommy Polley

Similar Players

Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).

Movementderived from season history

2004final season
Last recorded season with NE
2001team change
Joined NE (from NYJ)
1999team change
Joined NYJ (from LAR)
1991draft
Drafted by LA — Round 2, Pick 31
1991team change
Joined LAR (from LA)

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'2" / 248 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 14-season peers. See all →

peak 75

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

C+1991

B1992

B+1993

B1994

B+1995

B+1996

B1997

B1998

C+1999

C+2000

B2001

B2002

B2003

C2004

Era Translator

Tackles 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 Tackles	Tackles/G	→ 2025 Tackles	→ 2025 /G
1991	27	2.3	42+15	2.5
1992	69	4.3	72+3	4.2
1993	118	7.4	110-8	6.5
1994	99	6.2	91-8	5.4
1995	115	7.2	107-8	6.3
1996	128	8.5	134+6	7.9
1997	76	4.8	80+4	4.7
1998	72	5.5	93+21	5.5
1999	37	2.5	39+2	2.3
2000	35	2.2	26-9	1.5
2001	74	4.6	67-7	3.9
2002	82	5.9	95+13	5.6
2003	77	4.8	71-6	4.2
2004	25	1.9	4-21	0.3

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) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

221 career value over replacement — #313 all-time of 4,642. 15.8/season above a replacement-level LB.

Draft OutcomeValue ↑

Pick #31 (Rd 2) · LA · 1991 · +15.1 vs expected KV-H

70actual

54.9 expected · Δ+15.1

Fan Rating

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Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Defense

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Career Aging Trajectory

Postseason Career

Defense

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

1991 Draft Class· this player went #31

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography