Wayne Martin ranks in the all-time elite tier for pass rushers β a career that places Martin in the top 10% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Martin a career score of 79, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.
Wayne Martin
Height6'5"
Weight275 lb
BornOct 26, 1965
Age60
CollegeArkansasSee College Stats
Rookie yr1989
Draft1989 Β· Rd 1, Pick 19 Β· NO
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title contextRegular-season all-time ranks
1x
Pro Bowls
A high-end edge rusher defined as much by exceptional availability β almost never missed time as by their on-field impact (top 10% all-time). Coaches and teammates could count on them being available.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 270 Β· #182 Β· EliteWorth 270 points of value above a freely-available replacement interior lineman β top 5% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 11 of 11 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +24.5 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
11 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
11
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+24.5
Avg surplus
peak +46
11 seasons Γ ~24.5 surplus β VORP 270
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 | |||||
| 1989 | β | NO | 16 | β | 16 | 12 | β | β | β | 2.5 | 2.5 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1990 | β | NO | 11 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 4.0 | 4.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1991 | β | NO | 16 | β | 22 | 0 | β | β | β | 3.5 | 3.5 | β | 3 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1992 | β | NO | 16 | β | 59 | 46 | β | β | β | 15.5 | 15.5 | β | 4 | 3 | β | β | β |
| 1993 | β | NO | 16 | β | 68 | 55 | β | β | β | 5.0 | 5.0 | β | 3 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1994 | β | NO | 16 | β | 73 | 60 | β | β | β | 10.0 | 10.0 | β | 4 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | NO | 16 | β | 77 | 64 | β | β | β | 13.0 | 13.0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | NO | 16 | β | 86 | 70 | β | β | β | 11.0 | 11.0 | β | 3 | 3 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | NO | 16 | β | 63 | 53 | β | β | β | 10.5 | 10.5 | β | 7 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | NO | 16 | β | 45 | 37 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | 8 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | NO | 15 | β | 30 | 24 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 4.5 | 20.5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 170 | β | 539 | 421 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 82.5 | 98.5 | 1 | 44 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 24 | NO | 16 | β | 16 | 12 | β | β | β | 2.5 | 2.5 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β | 3.1 |
| 1990 | 25 | NO | 11 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 4.0 | 4.0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | 7 |
| 1991 | 26 | NO | 16 | β | 22 | 0 | β | β | β | 3.5 | 3.5 | β | 3 | 0 | β | β | β | 7.9 |
| 1992 | 27 | NO | 16 | β | 59 | 46 | β | β | β | 15.5 | 15.5 | β | 4 | 3 | β | β | β | 23.4 |
| 1993 | 28 | NO | 16 | β | 68 | 55 | β | β | β | 5.0 | 5.0 | β | 3 | 1 | β | β | β | 10.4 |
| 1994 | 29 | NO | 16 | β | 73 | 60 | β | β | β | 10.0 | 10.0 | β | 4 | 1 | β | β | β | 16.4 |
| 1995 | 30 | NO | 16 | β | 77 | 64 | β | β | β | 13.0 | 13.0 | 1 | 8 | 1 | β | β | β | 21 |
| 1996 | 31 | NO | 16 | β | 86 | 70 | β | β | β | 11.0 | 11.0 | β | 3 | 3 | β | β | β | 18.9 |
| 1997 | 32 | NO | 16 | β | 63 | 53 | β | β | β | 10.5 | 10.5 | β | 7 | 1 | β | β | β | 16.9 |
| 1998 | 33 | NO | 16 | β | 45 | 37 | β | β | β | 3.0 | 3.0 | β | 8 | 0 | β | β | β | 9.1 |
| 1999 | 34 | NO | 15 | β | 30 | 24 | 6 | 11 | 5 | 4.5 | 20.5 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 10.5 |
| Career | 170 | 539 | 421 | 6 | 11 | 5 | β | β | 1 | 44 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 144.6 |
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 sacks/g peers across 11 scored seasons.
72
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
89
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 78.8 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 79Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 72
On-field 52.5
Availability 19.5
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)
1989bestavg 72elite 701999
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position41
Depth
of 100
Reached 42% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
42% of the all-time Sacks leader42
1 category β₯25% of the all-time leader33
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: 93%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average Β· KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average defensive linemen 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 (Arkansas), 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
Tommy BarnhardtP7ySam MillsLB6yRickey JacksonLB5yHoby BrennerTE5yEric MartinWR5yToi CookDB5yQuinn EarlyWR5yMark FieldsOLB5yFloyd TurnerWR5yJoe JohnsonDE5yDalton HilliardRB5yTorrance SmallWR5yLorenzo NealFB4yJimmy SpencerDB4yCraig HeywardRB4yJoel SmeengeDE4yBrady SmithDE4yWinfred TubbsOLB4yAlex MoldenDB4yTyrone HughesDB4yAustin RobbinsDT4yMario BatesRB4yRay ZellarsRB4yEric AllenCB3y
1989 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #19
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterWayne opened the New Orleans Saints DL lineage the corpus knows, and handed it to Joe Johnson (1994β2001).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1999final season
Last recorded season with NO
- 1989draft
Drafted by NO β Round 1, Pick 19
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'5" / 275 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 11-season peers. See all β
79
peak 89
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
C+1989
C+1990
C+1991
A+1992
B1993
A1994
A+1995
A1996
A1997
C+1998
B1999
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 11 seasons.
Era Translator
Sacks 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 Sacks | Sacks/G | β 2025 Sacks | β 2025 /G |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 2.5 | 0.2 | 2-0.5 | 0.1 |
| 1990 | 4 | 0.4 | 4 | 0.3 |
| 1991 | 3.5 | 0.2 | 3-0.5 | 0.2 |
| 1992 | 15.5 | 1 | 13-2.5 | 0.8 |
| 1993 | 5 | 0.3 | 5 | 0.3 |
| 1994 | 10 | 0.6 | 9-1 | 0.5 |
| 1995 | 13 | 0.8 | 12-1 | 0.7 |
| 1996 | 11 | 0.7 | 10-1 | 0.6 |
| 1997 | 10.5 | 0.7 | 10-0.5 | 0.6 |
| 1998 | 3 | 0.2 | 3 | 0.2 |
| 1999 | 4.5 | 0.3 | 4-0.5 | 0.3 |
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
270 career value over replacement β #182 all-time of 4,642. 24.5/season above a replacement-level DL.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #19 (Rd 1) Β· NO Β· 1989 Β· +22.5 vs expected KV-H
79actual
56.5 expected Β· Ξ+22.5
Fan Rating
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