Tony Parrish ranks in the all-time elite tier for defensive backs β a career that places Parrish in the top 10% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Parrish a career score of 75, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.
Tony Parrish
Height5'11"
Weight210 lb
BornNov 23, 1975
Age50
CollegeWashingtonSee College Stats
Rookie yr1998
Draft1998 Β· Rd 2, Pick 35 Β· CHI
A high-end defensive back defined as much by excellent availability over their career as by their on-field impact (top 10% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 161 Β· #563 Β· High-ValueWorth 161 points of value above a freely-available replacement safety β top 13% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 7 of 8 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +23 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
7 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
48
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
7
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+23
Avg surplus
peak +49
7 seasons Γ ~23 surplus β VORP 161
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 | CHI | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | CHI | 16 | β | 82 | 69 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | CHI | 16 | β | 72 | 52 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 3 | 9 | 1 | β | 1 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | CHI | 16 | β | 61 | 50 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | β | SF | 16 | β | 58 | 49 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 7 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | β | SF | 16 | β | 58 | 43 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 9 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | β | SF | 16 | β | 70 | 42 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | β | SF | 9 | β | 40 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | β | 1 | 0 |
| 2006 | β | SF | 6 | β | 15 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 127 | β | 456 | 347 | 109 | 20 | 2 | 5.0 | 27.0 | 29 | 70 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 23 | CHI | 16 | β | β | β | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 1999 | 24 | CHI | 16 | β | 82 | 69 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 1 | 7 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 7.7 |
| 2000 | 25 | CHI | 16 | β | 72 | 52 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 3 | 9 | 1 | β | 1 | 0 | 10.6 |
| 2001 | 26 | CHI | 16 | β | 61 | 50 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 1.0 | 8.0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 |
| 2002 | 27 | SF | 16 | β | 58 | 49 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0.0 | 2.0 | 7 | 17 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13.4 |
| 2003 | 28 | SF | 16 | β | 58 | 43 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 9 | 18 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14.7 |
| 2004 | 29 | SF | 16 | β | 70 | 42 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.7 |
| 2005 | 30 | SF | 9 | β | 40 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | β | 1 | 0 | 6.5 |
| 2006 | 31 | SF | 6 | β | 15 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 1.4 |
| Career | 127 | 456 | 347 | 109 | 20 | 2 | β | β | 29 | 70 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 71.2 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 75 Β· GreatA great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 75 of 100, era-normalized against int/g peers across 8 scored seasons.
69
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
85
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 75.4 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 75Β· confidence 97%
What builds the career mark of 69
On-field 50.6
Availability 18.4
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative int/g)
1999bestavg 66elite 702006
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position12
Depth
of 100
Reached 13% of the all-time Interceptions leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
13% of the all-time Interceptions leader13
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: 90%.
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
4 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl13Solo13TFL1Dis1.0
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Washington), 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
Bryant YoungDT5yWalt HarrisCB5yDerek M. SmithILB5yJeff UlbrichILB5yBrandon MooreLB5yBryan RobinsonNT4yAndre CarterDE4yJulian PetersonOLB4yJim FlaniganDT4yAnthony AdamsDT4yGlyn MilburnWR4yFred BeasleyFB4yKevan BarlowRB4yAhmed PlummerCB4yArnaz BattleWR4yJames AllenRB4yMike RumphDB4yTim RattayQB4ySaleem RasheedLB4yAndy LeeP3yMike AdamsFS3yCurtis ConwayWR3yBobby EngramWR3yMarty BookerWR3y
1998 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #35
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterTony inherited the San Francisco 49ers DB room from Ahmed Plummer (2000β2005), and handed it to Shawntae Spencer (2004β2011).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2006final season
Last recorded season with SF
- 2002team change
Joined SF (from CHI)
- 1998draft
Drafted by CHI β Round 2, Pick 35
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts5'11" / 210 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
75
peak 85
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1999
B2000
B2001
A2002
A+2003
B+2004
C+2005
F2006
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 9 seasons.
88%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1 | 0.1 | 0-1 | 0 |
| 2000 | 3 | 0.2 | 2-1 | 0.1 |
| 2001 | 3 | 0.2 | 2-1 | 0.1 |
| 2002 | 7 | 0.4 | 5-2 | 0.3 |
| 2003 | 9 | 0.6 | 6-3 | 0.4 |
| 2004 | 4 | 0.3 | 3-1 | 0.2 |
| 2005 | 2 | 0.2 | 2 | 0.1 |
| 2006 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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
161 career value over replacement β #563 all-time of 4,642. 20.1/season above a replacement-level S.
Career Profile
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #35 (Rd 2) Β· CHI Β· 1998 Β· +20.1 vs expected KV-H
75actual
54.9 expected Β· Ξ+20.1
Fan Rating
Rate Tony Parrish β All-Time
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