Sam Shade is a career quality starter β a defensive back whose body of work places Shade in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Shade's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Sam Shade
Top 37% all-time defensive backsReliable Starter
Height6'0"
Weight211 lb
BornJun 14, 1973
Age53
CollegeAlabamaSee College Stats
Rookie yr1995
Draft1995 Β· Rd 4, Pick 102 Β· CIN
A defensive back with a above-average career β the kind of consistent contributor every roster needs. Solid availability (excellent availability over their career) added to their value.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 49 Β· #2089 Β· Above AverageWorth 49 points of value above a freely-available replacement safety β top 46% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 4 of 7 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +12.3 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
4 cleared
3 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
48
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
4
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+12.3
Avg surplus
peak +16
4 seasons Γ ~12.3 surplus β VORP 49
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 | |||||
| 1995 | β | CIN | 2 | β | 16 | 14 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β |
| 1996 | β | CIN | 12 | β | 7 | 5 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β |
| 1997 | β | CIN | 12 | β | 96 | 81 | β | β | β | 4.0 | 4.0 | 1 | β | 1 | 1 | β | β |
| 1998 | β | CIN | 15 | β | 78 | 60 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3 | β | 1 | 2 | β | β |
| 1999 | β | WAS | 16 | β | 99 | 73 | 26 | 6 | 2 | 1.5 | 9.5 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | WAS | 16 | β | 86 | 71 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | WAS | 16 | β | 79 | 66 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | β | WAS | 9 | β | 21 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 98 | β | 482 | 385 | 60 | 10 | 3 | 8.5 | 21.5 | 10 | 24 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 22 | CIN | 2 | β | 16 | 14 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | 23 | CIN | 12 | β | 7 | 5 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | 2.2 |
| 1997 | 24 | CIN | 12 | β | 96 | 81 | β | β | β | 4.0 | 4.0 | 1 | β | 1 | 1 | β | β | 6.8 |
| 1998 | 25 | CIN | 15 | β | 78 | 60 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3 | β | 1 | 2 | β | β | 9.9 |
| 1999 | 26 | WAS | 16 | β | 99 | 73 | 26 | 6 | 2 | 1.5 | 9.5 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.9 |
| 2000 | 27 | WAS | 16 | β | 86 | 71 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7.7 |
| 2001 | 28 | WAS | 16 | β | 79 | 66 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8.2 |
| 2002 | 29 | WAS | 9 | β | 21 | 15 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | β | 0 | 0 | 3.6 |
| Career | 98 | 482 | 385 | 60 | 10 | 3 | β | β | 10 | 24 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 47.3 |
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 int/g peers across 7 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 36.3
Availability 17.7
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative int/g)
1996bestavg 522002
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position5
Depth
of 100
Reached 5% of the all-time Interceptions leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
5% of the all-time Interceptions leader5
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: 93%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average defensive backs aging curve. Group peak age: 21. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Postseason Career
2 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl8Solo5Ast3TFL1QBHits1Sk2.0Dis4.0PD1FF1
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (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 β every name is linked.
Top Teammates
Dan WilkinsonDT7yJames FrancisLB5yDarrell GreenCB4yLee JohnsonP4yChamp BaileyCB4yKimo von OelhoffenDT4yTony McGeeTE4yStephen DavisRB4yEric BieniemyRB4yCarl PickensWR4yDarnay ScottWR4yJeff BlakeQB4yDoug PelfreyK4yJohn CopelandNT4yMarco BattagliaTE4yCorey SawyerDB4yKi-Jana CarterRB4yBrett ConwayK4yEddie MasonLB4yBruce SmithDE3yMarco ColemanDE3yAshley AmbroseCB3yKenard LangDE3yAndre CollinsLB3y
1995 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #102
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterSam inherited the Cincinnati Bengals DB room from Corey Sawyer (1994β1998), and handed it to Jimmy Spencer (1996β1997).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2002final season
Last recorded season with WAS
- 1999team change
Joined WAS (from CIN)
- 1995draft
Drafted by CIN β Round 4, Pick 102
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'0" / 211 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 7-season peers. See all β
57
peak 61
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
D1996
C1997
B1998
C+1999
C+2000
C+2001
C2002
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 8 seasons.
86%
Era Translator
INT 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 INT | INT/G | β 2025 INT | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | 1 | 0.1 | 0-1 | 0 |
| 1998 | 3 | 0.2 | 2-1 | 0.1 |
| 1999 | 2 | 0.1 | 1-1 | 0.1 |
| 2000 | 2 | 0.1 | 1-1 | 0.1 |
| 2001 | 2 | 0.1 | 1-1 | 0.1 |
| 2002 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only), 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
49 career value over replacement β #2089 all-time of 4,642. 7/season above a replacement-level S.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #102 (Rd 4) Β· CIN Β· 1995 Β· +20.2 vs expected KV-H
57actual
36.8 expected Β· Ξ+20.2
Fan Rating
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