Steve Atwater is a Hall of Fame defensive back whose career earned a modest career value score of 30 in the Knox value model. Atwater's enshrinement reflects a career that consistently placed him among the elite of his generation.
Steve Atwater
Height6'3"
Weight220 lb
BornOct 28, 1966
Age59
CollegeArkansasSee College Stats
Rookie yr1989
Draft1989 · Rd 1, Pick 20 · DEN
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context8x
Pro Bowls
2x
All-Pro
Yes
Hall of Fame
A defensive back who contributed in a defined role. Their developmental reflects a career built on specific contributions rather than volume.
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 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | |||||
| 1989 | — | DEN | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1990 | — | DEN | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1991 | — | DEN | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1992 | — | DEN | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1993 | — | DEN | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1994 | — | DEN | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1995 | — | DEN | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1996 | — | DEN | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1997 | — | DEN | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998 | — | DEN | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999 | — | NYJ | 11 | — | 45 | 25 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Career | — | 166 | — | 45 | 25 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 23 | DEN | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1990 | 24 | DEN | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1991 | 25 | DEN | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1992 | 26 | DEN | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1993 | 27 | DEN | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1994 | 28 | DEN | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1995 | 29 | DEN | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1996 | 30 | DEN | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1997 | 31 | DEN | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998 | 32 | DEN | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999 | 33 | NYJ | 11 | — | 45 | 25 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 4.1 |
| Career | 166 | 45 | 25 | 20 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.1 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 30 · Depth / RotationalA depth / rotational career by KV-H: a remarkably steady profile that scores 30 of 100, era-normalized against int/g peers across 1 scored season, with a short career trimming the score.
42
Sustained
career value
×.6
42
Peak
best 3 seasons
×.4
×0.72
Longevity
career length
Blend 42 × longevity 0.72 = KV-H 30· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 42
On-field 28.1
Availability 13.9
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative int/g)
1999bestavg 421999
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position3
Depth
of 100
Reached 3% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
3% of the all-time Sacks leader3
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%.
Postseason Career
14 playoff gamesDefense
Sk1.0Dis1.0
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Arkansas), 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
John ElwayQB10yShannon SharpeTE9yTyrone BraxtonS9yJason ElamK6yTom RouenP6yVance JohnsonWR6yRay CrockettCB5yHarald HasselbachDE5yKeith TraylorNT4yMike HoranP4yEd McCaffreyWR4yMike LodishDT4yShane DronettDT4yGlenn CadrezOLB4yMark JacksonWR4yClarence KayTE4yDwayne CarswellOT4yAllen AldridgeOLB4yMike YoungWR4yByron ChamberlainTE4yDerek RussellWR4yTerrell DavisRB4yBill RomanowskiOLB3yCharles DimryCB3y
1989 Draft Class· this player went #20
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1999team change
Joined NYJ (from DEN)
- 1999final season
Last recorded season with NYJ
- 1989draft
Drafted by DEN — Round 1, Pick 20
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'3" / 220 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 1-season peers. See all →
30
peak 42
Availability
Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 11 seasons.
94%
Era Translator
INT 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 INT | INT/G | → 2025 INT | → 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026
Draft OutcomeBust ↓
Pick #20 (Rd 1) · DEN · 1989 · -26.5 vs expected KV-H
30actual
56.5 expected · Δ−26.5
Fan Rating
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