Tony Peterson is a career quality starter β a linebacker whose body of work places Peterson in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Peterson's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Tony Peterson
Top 40% all-time linebackersHigh-End Starter
Height6'1"
Weight232 lb
BornJan 23, 1972
Age54
CollegeNotre DameSee College Stats
Rookie yr1994
Draft1994 Β· Rd 5, Pick 153 Β· SF
A quality linebacker with a above-average career β a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 7 Β· #3820 Β· Role PlayerWorth 7 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker β top 83% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 4 of 6 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +1.8 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
4 cleared
2 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
4
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+1.8
Avg surplus
peak +2
4 seasons Γ ~1.8 surplus β VORP 7
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 | |||||
| 1994 | β | SF | 15 | β | 17 | 15 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | SF | 15 | β | 12 | 8 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | SF | 13 | β | 7 | 7 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 2 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | CHI | 16 | β | 10 | 9 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | SF | 16 | β | 14 | 11 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | SF | 4 | β | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 79 | β | 62 | 51 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 22 | SF | 15 | β | 17 | 15 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 5 |
| 1995 | 23 | SF | 15 | β | 12 | 8 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 3.6 |
| 1996 | 24 | SF | 13 | β | 7 | 7 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 2 | β | β | β | 6.2 |
| 1997 | 25 | CHI | 16 | β | 10 | 9 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 3.8 |
| 1998 | 26 | SF | 16 | β | 14 | 11 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β | 6.3 |
| 1999 | 27 | SF | 4 | β | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 1.3 |
| Career | 79 | 62 | 51 | 1 | 0 | 0 | β | β | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26.2 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 48 Β· SolidA solid career by KV-H: a remarkably steady profile that scores 48 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 6 scored seasons.
47
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
49
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 47.8 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 48Β· confidence 92%
What builds the career mark of 47
On-field 28.9
Availability 18.1
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
1994bestavg 431999
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position1
Depth
of 100
Reached 1% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
1% of the all-time Sacks leader1
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: 95%.
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 (Notre Dame), 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
Jerry RiceWR5yBryant YoungDT5yKen NortonMLB5ySteve YoungQB5yLee WoodallLB5yTim McDonaldS5yMerton HanksDB4yJ.J. StokesWR4yJunior BryantDE4yTerrell OwensWR3yDana StubblefieldDT3yBrent JonesTE3yMarquez PopeS3yDexter CarterRB3yElvis GrbacQB3yKevin MitchellMLB3yDerek LovilleRB3yTyronne DrakefordCB3yWilliam FloydFB3yTed PopsonTE3yNate SingletonWR3yRickey JacksonLB2yChris DolemanDE2yEric DavisFS2y
1994 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #153
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterTony inherited the San Francisco 49ers LB room from Lee Woodall (1994β1999), and handed it to Ken Norton (1994β2000).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1999final season
Last recorded season with SF
- 1998team change
Joined SF (from CHI)
- 1997team change
Joined CHI (from SF)
- 1994draft
Drafted by SF β Round 5, Pick 153
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'1" / 232 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 6-season peers. See all β
48
peak 49
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C1994
C1995
C1996
C1997
C1998
F1999
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 17 | 1.1 | 22+5 | 1.3 |
| 1995 | 12 | 0.8 | 18+6 | 1 |
| 1996 | 7 | 0.5 | 21+14 | 1.2 |
| 1997 | 10 | 0.6 | 18+8 | 1.1 |
| 1998 | 14 | 0.9 | 16+2 | 0.9 |
| 1999 | 2 | 0.5 | 3+1 | 0.2 |
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
7 career value over replacement β #3820 all-time of 4,642. 1.2/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeValue β
Pick #153 (Rd 5) Β· SF Β· 1994 Β· +15 vs expected KV-H
48actual
33 expected Β· Ξ+15
Fan Rating
Rate Tony Peterson β All-Time
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