Tory James ranks in the all-time elite tier for defensive backs β a career that places James in the top 3% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns James a career score of 79, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.
Tory James
1Γ Pro BowlTop 3% all-time defensive backsIron Legendπ Late Developer Β· 2004Team Carrier Β· #519
Height6'2"
Weight192 lb
BornMay 18, 1973
Age53
CollegeLSUSee College Stats
Rookie yr1996
Draft1996 Β· Rd 2, Pick 44 Β· DEN
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title contextRegular-season all-time ranks
Postseason all-time ranks
1x
Pro Bowls
An all-time caliber defensive back (top 5% all-time) who combined elite production with exceptional availability β almost never missed time. Iron Legends define eras β they show up, every game, for years on end.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 203 Β· #357 Β· EliteWorth 203 points of value above a freely-available replacement cornerback β top 9% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 8 of 8 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +25.4 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
8 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
49
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
8
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+25.4
Avg surplus
peak +43
8 seasons Γ ~25.4 surplus β VORP 203
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 | |||||
| 1999 | β | DEN | 12 | β | 30 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 11 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | LV | 14 | β | 23 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | LV | 15 | β | 32 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 16 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | β | LV | 14 | β | 37 | 33 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 4 | 19 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | β | CIN | 16 | β | 56 | 50 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4 | 18 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | β | CIN | 16 | β | 52 | 47 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | β | CIN | 16 | β | 54 | 46 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | β | CIN | 16 | β | 41 | 32 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4 | 14 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 119 | β | 325 | 286 | 39 | 4 | 0 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 37 | 114 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 26 | DEN | 12 | β | 30 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 11 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 9.2 |
| 2000 | 27 | LV | 14 | β | 23 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 6.9 |
| 2001 | 28 | LV | 15 | β | 32 | 29 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 16 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 10.8 |
| 2002 | 29 | LV | 14 | β | 37 | 33 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 4 | 19 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 10.3 |
| 2003 | 30 | CIN | 16 | β | 56 | 50 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 4 | 18 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 10.9 |
| 2004 | 31 | CIN | 16 | β | 52 | 47 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8 | 13 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13.5 |
| 2005 | 32 | CIN | 16 | β | 54 | 46 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11.8 |
| 2006 | 33 | CIN | 16 | β | 41 | 32 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4 | 14 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Career | 119 | 325 | 286 | 39 | 4 | 0 | β | β | 37 | 114 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 83.4 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 79 Β· GreatA great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 79 of 100, era-normalized against int/g peers across 8 scored seasons.
74
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
83
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 77.6 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 79Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 74
On-field 55.4
Availability 18.6
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative int/g)
1999bestavg 74elite 702006
Team Carrier Evidence
Ranked #519 of 600 by seasons where high individual production happened on low-win teams. Score aggregates only tracked StatVault categories.
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position15
Depth
of 100
Reached 17% of the all-time Interceptions leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
17% of the all-time Interceptions leader17
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 defensive backs aging curve. Group peak age: 21. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Postseason Career
8 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl27Solo24Ast3TFL1Dis1.0Int3PD8FF2TD1
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (LSU), 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
Justin SmithDE4yShayne GrahamK4yChad JohnsonWR4yBrian SimmonsLB4yJohn ThorntonDT4yReggie KellyTE4yKevin KaesviharnDB4yRudi JohnsonRB4yJeremi JohnsonFB4yKelley WashingtonWR4yTony StewartTE4ySebastian JanikowskiK3yCharles WoodsonFS3yTim BrownWR3yShane LechlerP3yCarson PalmerQB3yRich GannonQB3yJon KitnaQB3yT.J. HoushmandzadehWR3yEric BartonILB3yRobert GeathersDE3yZack CrockettRB3yKevin WalterWR3yTyrone WheatleyRB3y
1996 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #44
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterTory inherited the Cincinnati Bengals DB room from Kevin Kaesviharn (2001β2006), and handed it to Deltha O'Neal (2004β2007).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2006final season
Last recorded season with CIN
- 2003team change
Joined CIN (from LV)
- 2000team change
Joined LV (from DEN)
- 1996draft
Drafted by DEN β Round 2, Pick 44
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'2" / 192 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
79
peak 83
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
A1999
C+2000
B+2001
B+2002
B+2003
A+2004
B+2005
B+2006
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 8 seasons.
93%
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 | 5 | 0.4 | 5 | 0.3 |
| 2000 | 2 | 0.1 | 1-1 | 0.1 |
| 2001 | 5 | 0.3 | 4-1 | 0.2 |
| 2002 | 4 | 0.3 | 3-1 | 0.2 |
| 2003 | 4 | 0.3 | 3-1 | 0.2 |
| 2004 | 8 | 0.5 | 6-2 | 0.3 |
| 2005 | 5 | 0.3 | 3-2 | 0.2 |
| 2006 | 4 | 0.3 | 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 (facts-only reference) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
203 career value over replacement β #357 all-time of 4,642. 25.4/season above a replacement-level CB.
Career Profile
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #44 (Rd 2) Β· DEN Β· 1996 Β· +29.2 vs expected KV-H
79actual
49.8 expected Β· Ξ+29.2
Fan Rating
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