Steve Tovar is a career quality starter β a linebacker whose body of work places Tovar in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Tovar's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Steve Tovar
Height6'3"
Weight245 lb
BornApr 25, 1970
Age56
CollegeOhio StateSee College Stats
Rookie yr1993
Draft1993 Β· Rd 3, Pick 59 Β· CIN
A top 20% all-time linebacker who consistently made an impact across multiple seasons.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 112 Β· #974 Β· High-ValueWorth 112 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker β top 22% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 6 of 8 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +18.7 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
6 cleared
2 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
6
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+18.7
Avg surplus
peak +27
6 seasons Γ ~18.7 surplus β VORP 112
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 | |||||
| 1993 | β | CIN | 16 | β | 96 | 82 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1994 | β | CIN | 16 | β | 124 | 97 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | CIN | 14 | β | 98 | 76 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | CIN | 13 | β | 94 | 74 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4 | 11 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | CIN | 14 | β | 44 | 37 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | LAC | 16 | β | 39 | 33 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | CAR | 12 | β | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | LAC | 4 | β | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 105 | β | 524 | 420 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | 7 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 23 | CIN | 16 | β | 96 | 82 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | β | β | β | 7.2 |
| 1994 | 24 | CIN | 16 | β | 124 | 97 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | β | β | β | 12.8 |
| 1995 | 25 | CIN | 14 | β | 98 | 76 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | β | β | β | 8.7 |
| 1996 | 26 | CIN | 13 | β | 94 | 74 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | 4 | 11 | 0 | β | β | β | 12.9 |
| 1997 | 27 | CIN | 14 | β | 44 | 37 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β | 4.5 |
| 1998 | 28 | LAC | 16 | β | 39 | 33 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 6.6 |
| 1999 | 29 | CAR | 12 | β | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2000 | 30 | LAC | 4 | β | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 1.2 |
| Career | 105 | 524 | 420 | 8 | 0 | 0 | β | β | 7 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57.9 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 65 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 65 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 8 scored seasons.
62
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
71
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 65.6 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 65Β· confidence 94%
What builds the career mark of 62
On-field 44.3
Availability 17.7
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
1993bestavg 57elite 702000
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position4
Depth
of 100
Reached 4% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
4% of the all-time Sacks leader4
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: 88%.
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+).
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Ohio 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
Lee JohnsonP5yTony McGeeTE5yJames FrancisLB5yCarl PickensWR5yRicardo McDonaldOLB5yDoug PelfreyK5yJohn CopelandNT5yKimo von OelhoffenDT4yDan WilkinsonDT4yGerald DixonOLB4yDarnay ScottWR4yJeff BlakeQB4yCorey SawyerDB4yJimmy SpencerDB3yDarryl WilliamsDB3yAndre CollinsLB3yEric BieniemyRB3yHarold GreenRB3ySam ShadeS3yTroy SadowskiTE3yDavid DunnWR3yTy PartenDT3yJeff CothranFB3yDavid KlinglerQB3y
1993 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #59
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterSteve inherited the Cincinnati Bengals LB room from Ricardo McDonald (1992β1997), and handed it to Andre Collins (1995β1997).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2000team change
Joined LAC (from CAR)
- 2000final season
Last recorded season with LAC
- 1999team change
Joined CAR (from LAC)
- 1998team change
Joined LAC (from CIN)
- 1993draft
Drafted by CIN β Round 3, Pick 59
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'3" / 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 8-season peers. See all β
65
peak 71
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
B1993
B+1994
B1995
B+1996
C+1997
C+1998
C1999
F2000
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 8 seasons.
82%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 96 | 6 | 91-5 | 5.4 |
| 1994 | 124 | 7.8 | 112-12 | 6.6 |
| 1995 | 98 | 7 | 105+7 | 6.2 |
| 1996 | 94 | 7.2 | 115+21 | 6.8 |
| 1997 | 44 | 3.1 | 56+12 | 3.3 |
| 1998 | 39 | 2.4 | 42+3 | 2.5 |
| 1999 | 24 | 2 | 30+6 | 1.8 |
| 2000 | 5 | 1.3 | 7+2 | 0.4 |
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
112 career value over replacement β #974 all-time of 4,642. 14/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #59 (Rd 3) Β· CIN Β· 1993 Β· +18.1 vs expected KV-H
65actual
46.9 expected Β· Ξ+18.1
Fan Rating
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