Sam Adams is a career quality starter — a pass rusher whose body of work places Adams in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Adams's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Sam Adams
Height6'3"
Weight350 lb
BornJun 13, 1973
Age53
CollegeTexas A&MSee College Stats
Rookie yr1994
Draft1994 · Rd 1, Pick 8 · SEA
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context3x
Pro Bowls
A quality edge rusher with a top 30% among starters — a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Career Value · VORP
VORP 73 · #1541 · Above AverageWorth 73 points of value above a freely-available replacement interior lineman — top 34% of all 4,612 ranked at the position. 7 of 9 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +10.4 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
7 cleared
2 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
→
7
Seasons over
cleared the bar
×
+10.4
Avg surplus
peak +20
7 seasons × ~10.4 surplus ≈ VORP 73
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping. Switch to Combined to fold the selected families into unified totals—yards from scrimmage, total TDs, touches.
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 | |||||
| 1999 | — | SEA | 9 | — | 26 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | — | BAL | 13 | — | 24 | 20 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 2.0 | 11.0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | — | BAL | 11 | — | 17 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | — | OAK | 13 | — | 18 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2.0 | 9.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | — | BUF | 12 | — | 23 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004 | — | BUF | 14 | — | 36 | 22 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | — | BUF | 11 | — | 13 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | — | CIN | 10 | — | 13 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | — | DEN | 7 | — | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Career | — | 100 | — | 178 | 124 | 54 | 23 | 8 | 22.0 | 53.0 | 2 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 26 | SEA | 9 | — | 26 | 20 | 6 | 8 | 1 | 1.0 | 10.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | 27 | BAL | 13 | — | 24 | 20 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 2.0 | 11.0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | 28 | BAL | 11 | — | 17 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | 29 | OAK | 13 | — | 18 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 2.0 | 9.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | 30 | BUF | 12 | — | 23 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2004 | 31 | BUF | 14 | — | 36 | 22 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | 32 | BUF | 11 | — | 13 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | 33 | CIN | 10 | — | 13 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 34 | DEN | 7 | — | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 100 | 178 | 124 | 54 | 23 | 8 | — | — | 2 | 17 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 59 · Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 59 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 9 scored seasons.
55
Sustained
career value
×.6
62
Peak
best 3 seasons
×.4
×1
Longevity
career length
Blend 57.8 × longevity 1 = KV-H 59· confidence 99%
What builds the career mark of 55
On-field 40.7
Availability 14.3
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
1999bestavg 532007
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position10
Depth
of 100
Reached 11% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
11% of the all-time Sacks leader11
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: 89%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average · KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average defensive linemen aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Postseason Career
8 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl12Solo8Ast4TFL5QBHits2Sk2.0Dis9.0PD3FR1
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Texas A&M), 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
London FletcherILB3yRod WoodsonFS3yLawyer MilloyS3yTakeo SpikesILB3yEric MouldsWR3yNate ClementsS3ySam GashFB3yBrandon StokleyWR3yChris KelsayDE3yAaron SchobelDE3yJustin BannanDT3yJeff PoseyLB3yRon EdwardsDT3yJosh ReedWR3yTerrence McGeeCB3yRyan DenneyDE3yTravis HenryRB3yMark CampbellTE3yCoy WireOLB3ySam AikenWR3yJoe BurnsRB3yJosh StamerLB3yRyan NeufeldFB3yMatt StoverK2y
1994 Draft Class· this player went #8
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2007team change
Joined DEN (from CIN)
- 2007final season
Last recorded season with DEN
- 2006team change
Joined CIN (from BUF)
- 2003team change
Joined BUF (from OAK)
- 2002team change
Joined OAK (from BAL)
- 2000team change
Joined BAL (from SEA)
- 1994draft
Drafted by SEA — Round 1, Pick 8
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'3" / 350 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 9-season peers. See all →
59
peak 62
Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season
C1999
C+2000
C+2001
C+2002
B2003
B2004
C+2005
C+2006
D2007
Availability
Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 9 seasons.
69%
Era Translator
Sacks 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 Sacks | Sacks/G | → 2025 Sacks | → 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1 | 0.1 | 2+1 | 0.1 |
| 2000 | 2 | 0.2 | 2 | 0.1 |
| 2001 | 2 | 0.2 | 3+1 | 0.2 |
| 2002 | 2 | 0.2 | 2 | 0.1 |
| 2003 | 5 | 0.4 | 7+2 | 0.4 |
| 2004 | 5 | 0.4 | 6+1 | 0.3 |
| 2005 | 3 | 0.3 | 4+1 | 0.3 |
| 2006 | 2 | 0.2 | 3+1 | 0.2 |
| 2007 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 7/31/2026
Career Value · VORP
73 career value over replacement — #1541 all-time of 4,612. 8.1/season above a replacement-level DL.
Draft OutcomeMiss ↓
Pick #8 (Rd 1) · SEA · 1994 · -1.2 vs expected KV-H
59actual
60.2 expected · Δ−1.2
Fan Rating
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