Sam Cowart ranks in the all-time elite tier for linebackers β a career that places Cowart in the top 10% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Cowart a career score of 70, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.
Sam Cowart
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context1x
Pro Bowls
A top 10% all-time linebacker who consistently made an impact across multiple seasons.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 118 Β· #899 Β· High-ValueWorth 118 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker β top 20% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 5 of 6 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +23.6 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
5 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
5
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+23.6
Avg surplus
peak +27
5 seasons Γ ~23.6 surplus β VORP 118
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 | |||||
| 1998 | β | BUF | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | BUF | 16 | β | 101 | 56 | 45 | 6 | 1 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | BUF | 11 | β | 88 | 55 | 33 | 7 | 5 | 5.5 | 17.5 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | BUF | 1 | β | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | β | NYJ | 16 | β | 107 | 71 | 36 | 10 | 2 | 2.0 | 14.0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | β | NYJ | 15 | β | 101 | 57 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | β | NYJ | 5 | β | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | β | MIN | 16 | β | 67 | 54 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 96 | β | 481 | 303 | 178 | 23 | 8 | 12.5 | 43.5 | 2 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 23 | BUF | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 4.9 |
| 1999 | 24 | BUF | 16 | β | 101 | 56 | 45 | 6 | 1 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| 2000 | 25 | BUF | 11 | β | 88 | 55 | 33 | 7 | 5 | 5.5 | 17.5 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 11.6 |
| 2001 | 26 | BUF | 1 | β | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | β |
| 2002 | 27 | NYJ | 16 | β | 107 | 71 | 36 | 10 | 2 | 2.0 | 14.0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 9.9 |
| 2003 | 28 | NYJ | 15 | β | 101 | 57 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.3 |
| 2004 | 29 | NYJ | 5 | β | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 2.3 |
| 2005 | 30 | MIN | 16 | β | 67 | 54 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 7.3 |
| Career | 96 | 481 | 303 | 178 | 23 | 8 | β | β | 2 | 22 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 52.3 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 70 Β· GreatA great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 70 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 6 scored seasons.
67
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
73
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 69.4 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 70Β· confidence 94%
What builds the career mark of 67
On-field 49.3
Availability 17.7
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
1999bestavg 63elite 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 β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
6% of the all-time Sacks leader6
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: 92%.
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+).
Postseason Career
4 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl15Solo8Ast7TFL1Dis1.0PD2
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Florida State), 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
Pat WilliamsDT5yAntoine WinfieldCB4yEric MouldsWR4yPhil HansenDE4yShawn PriceDE4yKeith NewmanLB4yJay RiemersmaTE4yKen IrvinDB4yAlex Van PeltQB4yKenyatta WrightLB4ySteve ChristieK3yTed WashingtonNT3ySantana MossWR3yJohn AbrahamOLB3yCurtis MartinRB3yShaun EllisDE3yHenry JonesDB3yChris MohrP3yJason FergusonNT3yBryan ThomasOLB3yMarcellus WileyDE3yAntowain SmithRB3yDonnie AbrahamCB3yPeerless PriceWR3y
1998 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #39
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterSam inherited the Buffalo Bills LB room from Bryce Paup (1995β1997), and handed it to John Holecek (1999β2000).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2005team change
Joined MIN (from NYJ)
- 2005final season
Last recorded season with MIN
- 2002team change
Joined NYJ (from BUF)
- 1998draft
Drafted by BUF β Round 2, Pick 39
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'2" / 245 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 6-season peers. See all β
70
peak 73
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
B+1999
B+2000
B+2002
B+2003
F2004
C+2005
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 8 seasons.
75%
Era Translator
Tackles 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 Tackles | Tackles/G | β 2025 Tackles | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 101 | 6.3 | 108+7 | 6.3 |
| 2000 | 88 | 8 | 139+51 | 8.2 |
| 2002 | 107 | 6.7 | 114+7 | 6.7 |
| 2003 | 101 | 6.7 | 115+14 | 6.8 |
| 2004 | 15 | 3 | 29+14 | 1.7 |
| 2005 | 67 | 4.2 | 56-11 | 3.3 |
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) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
118 career value over replacement β #899 all-time of 4,642. 19.7/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #39 (Rd 2) Β· BUF Β· 1998 Β· +20.2 vs expected KV-H
70actual
49.8 expected Β· Ξ+20.2
Fan Rating
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