Wali Rainer is a career quality starter β a linebacker whose body of work places Rainer in the top quarter of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Rainer's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Wali Rainer
Height6'2"
Weight240 lb
BornApr 19, 1977
Age49
CollegeVirginiaSee College Stats
Rookie yr1999
Draft1999 Β· Rd 4, Pick 124 Β· CLE
A top 20% all-time linebacker who consistently made an impact across multiple seasons.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 80 Β· #1433 Β· Above AverageWorth 80 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker β top 32% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 4 of 7 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +20 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
4 cleared
3 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
+20
Avg surplus
peak +30
4 seasons Γ ~20 surplus β VORP 80
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 | CLE | 16 | β | 115 | 85 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 1.0 | 11.0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | β | CLE | 16 | β | 100 | 67 | 33 | 9 | 1 | 1.0 | 11.0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | β | CLE | 14 | β | 61 | 33 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2002 | β | JAX | 16 | β | 71 | 51 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | β | DET | 4 | β | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | β | DET | 6 | β | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | β | DET | 10 | β | 32 | 25 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 82 | β | 396 | 271 | 125 | 24 | 3 | 4.0 | 31.0 | 1 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 22 | CLE | 16 | β | 115 | 85 | 30 | 9 | 1 | 1.0 | 11.0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | 9.4 |
| 2000 | 23 | CLE | 16 | β | 100 | 67 | 33 | 9 | 1 | 1.0 | 11.0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 10.4 |
| 2001 | 24 | CLE | 14 | β | 61 | 33 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6.7 |
| 2002 | 25 | JAX | 16 | β | 71 | 51 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 |
| 2003 | 26 | DET | 4 | β | 10 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 1.5 |
| 2004 | 27 | DET | 6 | β | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2005 | 28 | DET | 10 | β | 32 | 25 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 3.8 |
| Career | 82 | 396 | 271 | 125 | 24 | 3 | β | β | 1 | 21 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 41.3 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 63 Β· Strong StarterA strong starter career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 63 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 7 scored seasons.
59
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
70
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 63.4 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 63Β· confidence 89%
What builds the career mark of 59
On-field 42.2
Availability 16.8
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
1999bestavg 50elite 702005
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position2
Depth
of 100
Reached 2% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
2% of the all-time Sacks leader2
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 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 (Virginia), 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
Kevin JohnsonWR4yPhil DawsonK3yChris GardockiP3yDan WilkinsonDT3yCory ReddingDE3yDre' BlyCB3yShaun RogersDT3yJames HallDE3yNick HarrisP3yEarl HolmesMLB3yJamir MillerOLB3yAndre' GoodmanCB3yFernando BryantDB3yDaylon McCutcheonDB3yCory SchlesingerFB3yJared DeVriesDE3yKalimba EdwardsDE3yJoey HarringtonQB3yEarl LittleDB3yShawn BrysonRB3yTim CouchQB3yCasey FitzsimmonsTE3yTerrence HoltDB3yBracy WalkerFS3y
1999 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #124
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterWali inherited the Cleveland Browns LB room from Jamir Miller (1999β2001), and handed it to Tyrone Rogers (1999β2004).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2005final season
Last recorded season with DET
- 2003team change
Joined DET (from JAX)
- 2002team change
Joined JAX (from CLE)
- 1999draft
Drafted by CLE β Round 4, Pick 124
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'2" / 240 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 7-season peers. See all β
63
peak 70
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
B+1999
B+2000
C+2001
B2002
F2003
F2004
C2005
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 7 seasons.
73%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 115 | 7.2 | 123+8 | 7.3 |
| 2000 | 100 | 6.3 | 105+5 | 6.2 |
| 2001 | 61 | 4.4 | 61 | 3.6 |
| 2002 | 71 | 4.4 | 62-9 | 3.7 |
| 2003 | 10 | 2.5 | 18+8 | 1 |
| 2004 | 7 | 1.2 | 0-7 | 0 |
| 2005 | 32 | 3.2 | 34+2 | 2 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
80 career value over replacement β #1433 all-time of 4,642. 11.4/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #124 (Rd 4) Β· CLE Β· 1999 Β· +29.5 vs expected KV-H
63actual
33.5 expected Β· Ξ+29.5
Fan Rating
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