Tommy Polley is a career quality starter β a linebacker whose body of work places Polley in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Polley's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Tommy Polley
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title contextPostseason all-time ranks
A high-end linebacker defined as much by excellent availability over their career as by their on-field impact (top 20% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 60 Β· #1838 Β· Above AverageWorth 60 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker β top 41% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 5 of 5 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +12 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
+12
Avg surplus
peak +19
5 seasons Γ ~12 surplus β VORP 60
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 | |||||
| 2001 | β | LA | 13 | β | 59 | 42 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | β | LA | 12 | β | 52 | 37 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | β | LA | 14 | β | 60 | 48 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4 | 12 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | β | LA | 13 | β | 63 | 50 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 0 | 6 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | β | BAL | 15 | β | 84 | 61 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 67 | β | 318 | 238 | 80 | 5 | 0 | 7.5 | 12.5 | 5 | 27 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 60 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a remarkably steady profile that scores 60 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 5 scored seasons.
59
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
61
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 59.8 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 60Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 59
On-field 42.3
Availability 16.7
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
2001bestavg 592005
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: 89%.
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+).
Combine Β· 2001
Percentiles compare each raw measurement against position peers, the full combine pool, and the same draft class where enough samples exist.
4.55s
40-Yard
Strong Β· 85th pct
Pos 85thAll 68thClass Pos 91thClass All 72th
Postseason Career
6 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl45Solo35Ast10Int3PD7FR1TD1
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
Isaac BruceWR4yRyan PickettNT4yTorry HoltWR4yMarshall FaulkRB4yAeneas WilliamsFS4yLeonard LittleDE4yDamione LewisDT4yTyoka JacksonDE4yAdam ArchuletaS4yBrandon ManumaleunaTE4yJerametrius ButlerDB4yGrant WistromDE3yKurt WarnerQB3yBrian YoungDT3yMarc BulgerQB3yTravis FisherDB3yBryce FisherDE3yRich CoadyDB3yJamie MartinQB3yRicky ProehlWR2yJeff ZgoninaDT2yDre' BlyCB2yJeff WilkinsK2yDexter McCleonDB2y
2001 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #42
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterTommy inherited the Los Angeles Rams LB room from London Fletcher (1998β2001), and handed it to Pisa Tinoisamoa (2003β2008).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2005team change
Joined BAL (from LA)
- 2005final season
Last recorded season with BAL
- 2001draft
Drafted by LA β Round 2, Pick 42
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'3" / 230 lb
Frame
234 lb at 4.55s
Size-speed
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 5-season peers. See all β
60
peak 61
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+2001
C+2002
C+2003
C+2004
B2005
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 5 seasons.
84%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 59 | 4.5 | 65+6 | 3.8 |
| 2002 | 52 | 4.3 | 60+8 | 3.5 |
| 2003 | 60 | 4.3 | 59-1 | 3.4 |
| 2004 | 63 | 4.8 | 72+9 | 4.2 |
| 2005 | 84 | 5.6 | 88+4 | 5.2 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:combine, nflverse:draft_picks Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
60 career value over replacement β #1838 all-time of 4,642. 12/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #42 (Rd 2) Β· LA Β· 2001 Β· +10.2 vs expected KV-H
60actual
49.8 expected Β· Ξ+10.2
Fan Rating
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