Ronald McKinnon ranks in the all-time elite tier for linebackers — a career that places McKinnon in the top 5% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns McKinnon a career score of 72, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.
Ronald McKinnon
An all-time caliber linebacker (top 5% all-time) who combined elite production with exceptional availability — almost never missed time. Iron Legends define eras — they show up, every game, for years on end.
Career Value · VORP
VORP 148 · #650 · High-ValueWorth 148 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker — top 15% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 7 of 7 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +21.1 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
7 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
→
7
Seasons over
cleared the bar
×
+21.1
Avg surplus
peak +30
7 seasons × ~21.1 surplus ≈ VORP 148
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping.
2 grids split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Defense | Rushing | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | Att | Yds | TD | Y/A | TD% | 1D | 1D% | Fmb | |||||
| 1996 | — | ARI | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | -4 | 0 | -4.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — |
| 1997 | — | ARI | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — |
| 1998 | — | ARI | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999 | — | ARI | 16 | — | 109 | 64 | 45 | 4 | 0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2000 | — | ARI | 16 | — | 116 | 79 | 37 | 11 | 4 | 4.0 | 19.0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2001 | — | ARI | 16 | — | 119 | 71 | 48 | 10 | 2 | 2.0 | 14.0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2002 | — | ARI | 16 | — | 88 | 47 | 41 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2003 | — | ARI | 16 | — | 86 | 61 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2004 | — | ARI | 14 | — | 62 | 37 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2005 | — | NO | 15 | — | 59 | 42 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | — | 154 | — | 639 | 401 | 238 | 28 | 6 | 12.0 | 46.0 | 2 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 0 | -0.5 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 23 | ARI | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 |
| 1997 | 24 | ARI | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 6.9 |
| 1998 | 25 | ARI | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2.0 | 2.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 8 |
| 1999 | 26 | ARI | 16 | — | 109 | 64 | 45 | 4 | 0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.8 |
| 2000 | 27 | ARI | 16 | — | 116 | 79 | 37 | 11 | 4 | 4.0 | 19.0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11.2 |
| 2001 | 28 | ARI | 16 | — | 119 | 71 | 48 | 10 | 2 | 2.0 | 14.0 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 11.3 |
| 2002 | 29 | ARI | 16 | — | 88 | 47 | 41 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6.7 |
| 2003 | 30 | ARI | 16 | — | 86 | 61 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.2 |
| 2004 | 31 | ARI | 14 | — | 62 | 37 | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 5.7 |
| 2005 | 32 | NO | 15 | — | 59 | 42 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 6.1 |
| Career | 154 | 639 | 401 | 238 | 28 | 6 | — | — | 2 | 16 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 78.9 |
Rushing
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 72 · GreatA great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 72 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 7 scored seasons.
68
Sustained
career value
×.6
76
Peak
best 3 seasons
×.4
×1
Longevity
career length
Blend 71.2 × longevity 1 = KV-H 72· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 68
On-field 48.6
Availability 19.4
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
1999bestavg 68elite 702005
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position5
Depth
of 100
Reached 6% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
6% of the all-time Sacks leader6
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: 92%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average · 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 (North Alabama), 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
Frank SandersWR7yScott PlayerP7yJake PlummerQB6ySimeon RiceDE5yAeneas WilliamsFS5yRussell DavisDT5yTommy BennettDB5yRaynoch ThompsonOLB5yAdrian WilsonS4yCorey ChavousS4yRob MooreWR4yRenaldo HillS4yEric SwannDT4yRob FredricksonOLB4yDavid BarrettCB4yKwamie LassiterDB4yDavid BostonWR4yJohnny McWilliamsTE4yMark SmithDT4yJustin LucasDB4yJoel MakovickaFB4yBarron TannerDT4yLeVar WoodsLB4yCoby RhinehartCB4y
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterRonald inherited the Arizona Cardinals LB room from Jamir Miller (1994–1998), and handed it to Rob Fredrickson (1999–2002).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2005team change
Joined NO (from ARI)
- 2005final season
Last recorded season with NO
- 1996signing
Entered the NFL with ARI
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'0" / 246 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 7-season peers. See all →
72
peak 76
Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season
B+1999
B+2000
B+2001
B2002
B2003
C+2004
C+2005
Availability
Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 10 seasons.
96%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 109 | 6.8 | 117+8 | 6.9 |
| 2000 | 116 | 7.3 | 124+8 | 7.3 |
| 2001 | 119 | 7.4 | 126+7 | 7.4 |
| 2002 | 88 | 5.5 | 87-1 | 5.1 |
| 2003 | 86 | 5.4 | 84-2 | 4.9 |
| 2004 | 62 | 4.4 | 62 | 3.6 |
| 2005 | 59 | 3.9 | 51-8 | 3 |
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
148 career value over replacement — #650 all-time of 4,642. 21.1/season above a replacement-level LB.
Fan Rating
Rate Ronald McKinnon — All-Time
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