Whitney Mercilus ranks in the all-time elite tier for pass rushers — a career that places Mercilus in the top 10% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Mercilus a career score of 76, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

DEGB#50ACT

Whitney Mercilus

Top 8% all-time pass rushersElite Playmaker

Height6'4"

Weight258 lb

BornJul 21, 1990

Age35

CollegeIllinois See College Stats

ConferenceBig Ten

Rookie yr2012

Draft2012 · Rd 1, Pick 26 · HOU

All-Time Rank & Honors

career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context

Postseason all-time ranks

23rdPlayoff Sacks·7

Archetype Intelligence

Elite PlaymakerExplore archetypes →

A top 10% all-time edge rusher who consistently made an impact across multiple seasons. Average per-snap value reinforces the playmaking ability.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 191 · #415 · Elite

Worth 191 points of value above a freely-available replacement edge rusher — top 10% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 9 of 9 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +21.2 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

9 cleared

Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+21.2

Avg surplus

peak +40

9 seasons × ~21.2 surplus ≈ VORP 191

Combined Season Grid

The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping.

3 grids split in one view

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Defense													Snap Counts						Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)
Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	Sfty	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%	Tgt	Cmp	Cmp%	RateAll	ADOT	Prss	Hrry	QBKD	Bltz	MissTkl	Miss%
2012	—	HOU	12	—	16	13	3	6	7	6.0	19.0	0	1	2	1	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2013	—	HOU	16	—	42	28	14	6	18	7.0	31.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	932	91.7%	88	18.4%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2014	—	HOU	14	—	47	28	19	9	11	5.0	25.0	0	0	2	—	0	0	—	0.0%	803	76.1%	138	31.4%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2015	—	HOU	16	—	48	30	18	14	16	12.0	42.0	0	2	1	1	0	0	—	0.0%	740	70.5%	149	30.9%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2016	—	HOU	15	—	50	33	17	13	22	7.5	42.5	0	1	1	4	0	0	—	0.0%	869	90.6%	98	23.4%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2017	—	HOU	3	—	7	6	1	1	1	1.0	3.0	0	0	1	—	0	0	—	0.0%	203	67.6%	15	12.5%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2018	—	HOU	15	—	36	19	17	5	14	4.0	23.0	0	0	2	—	0	0	—	0.0%	785	73.5%	64	13.6%	22	18	0.8	97.3	3.5	26	13	7	89	8	0.2
2019	—	HOU	14	—	48	33	15	9	16	7.5	32.5	2	2	4	1	0	0	—	0.0%	951	87.8%	1	4.0%	7	4	0.6	56.0	4.7	25	11	6	89	6	0.1
2020	—	HOU	11	—	20	11	9	5	7	4.0	16.0	0	1	0	2	0	0	—	0.0%	614	68.7%	—	0.0%	7	5	0.7	94.9	1.4	10	3	3	36	5	0.2
2021	—	GB	9	—	16	8	8	5	5	4.0	14.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2021	—	HOU	10	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.0%	312	47.7%	2	5.5%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2021	—	2TM	10	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0	0	—	—	—	9	4	1	2	1	0.1
Career		—	145	—	330	209	121	73	117	58.0	248.0	2	7	13	9	0	0	—	0.0%	6,209	74.9%	555	17.5%	36	27	—	—	—	70	31	17	216	20	—

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	VAL
2012	22	HOU	12	—	16	13	3	6	7	6.0	19.0	0	1	2	1	11.2
2013	23	HOU	16	15*	42	28	14	6	18	7.0	31.0	0	0	0	—	13.2
2014	24	HOU	14	11*	47	28	19	9	11	5.0	25.0	0	0	2	—	13.3
2015	25	HOU	16	11*	48	30	18	14	16	12.0	42.0	0	2	1	1	19.1
2016	26	HOU	15	14*	50	33	17	13	22	7.5	42.5	0	1	1	4	16.8
2017	27	HOU	3	3*	7	6	1	1	1	1.0	3.0	0	0	1	—	—
2018	28	HOU	15	12*	36	19	17	5	14	4.0	23.0	0	0	2	—	11.9
2019	29	HOU	14	14*	48	33	15	9	16	7.5	32.5	2	2	4	1	15.2
2020	30	HOU	11	9*	20	11	9	5	7	4.0	16.0	0	1	0	2	8.1
2021	31	GB	9	0*	16	8	8	5	5	4.0	14.0	0	0	0	—	6.9
Career			125	89*	330	209	121	73	117	—	—	2	7	13	9	115.7

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Snap Counts

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Off	Off%	Def	Def%	ST	ST%
2013	23	HOU	16	15*	—	0.0%	932	91.7%	88	18.4%
2014	24	HOU	15	11*	—	0.0%	803	76.1%	138	31.4%
2015	25	HOU	16	11*	—	0.0%	740	70.5%	149	30.9%
2016	26	HOU	15	14*	—	0.0%	869	90.6%	98	23.4%
2017	27	HOU	5	3*	—	0.0%	203	67.6%	15	12.5%
2018	28	HOU	16	12*	—	0.0%	785	73.5%	64	13.6%
2019	29	HOU	16	14*	—	0.0%	951	87.8%	1	4.0%
2020	30	HOU	13	9*	—	0.0%	614	68.7%	—	0.0%
2021	31	HOU	10	0*	—	0.0%	312	47.7%	2	5.5%
Career			122	89*	—	—	6,209	—	555	—

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tgt	Cmp	Cmp%	RateAll	ADOT	Prss	Hrry	QBKD	Bltz	MissTkl	Miss%
2018	28	HOU	16	12*	22	18	0.8	97.3	3.5	26	13	7	89	8	0.2
2019	29	HOU	16	14*	7	4	0.6	56.0	4.7	25	11	6	89	6	0.1
2020	30	HOU	13	9*	7	5	0.7	94.9	1.4	10	3	3	36	5	0.2
2021	31	2TM	10	0*	0	0	—	—	—	9	4	1	2	1	0.1
Career			55	35*	36	27	—	—	—	70	31	17	216	20	—

* GS not available from free sources — SG* estimated from snap share (nflverse 2012+)

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 76 · Great

A great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 76 of 100, era-normalized against sacks/g peers across 9 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 76.2 × longevity 1 = KV-H 76· confidence 100%

What builds the career mark of 73

On-field 55.7

Availability 17.3

On-field production Staying available

Season-by-season quality (era-relative sacks/g)

2012bestavg 72elite 702021

All-Time Standing

how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position

Depth

of 100

Reached 29% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

29% of the all-time Sacks leader29

1 category ≥25% of the all-time leader33

A 0–100 scale where 100 = matched the all-time leaderat this position. Built only from visible encyclopedia data — career production vs. the all-time leader, plus efficiency (EPA) and comparable-player confidence — so it's a transparent context score, not a subjective rating. Tiers: Elite ≥ 85 · Strong ≥ 65 · Solid ≥ 45 · Depth < 45. Comparable-player confidence: 95%.

Per-Snap Impact

Edge Rushers · proprietary · 2012+

Above average

SIS

Disruption / 100 snaps:3.994See leaderboard →

Disruption/1003.994Snap share74.9%Def snaps6,209ReliableCV 0.31

Production per snap — the box score normalized by opportunity. SIS is z-scored within edge rushers, shrinkage-regularized so small samples don't spike, over the NFL snap-count era (2012+).

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average edge rushers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Combine · 2012

Percentiles compare each raw measurement against position peers, the full combine pool, and the same draft class where enough samples exist.

EDGE · 2012 class

4.68s

40-Yard

Above avg · 70th pct

Pos 70thAll 47thClass Pos 69thClass All 46th

32"

Vertical

Below avg · 34th pct

Pos 34thAll 35thClass Pos 33thClass All 36th

118"

Broad Jump

Above avg · 61th pct

Pos 61thAll 55thClass Pos 54thClass All 56th

27 reps

Bench

Strong · 76th pct

Pos 76thAll 83thClass Pos 76thClass All 77th

7.17s

3-Cone

Above avg · 63th pct

Pos 63thAll 48thClass Pos 66thClass All 42th

4.53s

Shuttle

Low · 19th pct

Pos 19thAll 25thClass Pos 14thClass All 27th

Postseason Career

7 playoff games

Defense

Tkl25Solo14Ast11TFL7QBHits13Sk7.0Dis27.0PD1FF1

College Stats

IllinoisCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Illinois), 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 — every name is linked.

2012 Draft Class· this player went #26

#18Melvin IngramLB #19Shea McClellinOLB #20Kendall WrightWR #21Chandler JonesDE #22Brandon WeedenQB #23Riley ReiffOT #24David DeCastroG #25Dont'a HightowerOLB #27Kevin ZeitlerG #28Nick PerryOLB #29Harrison SmithFS #30A.J. JenkinsWR #31Doug MartinRB #32David WilsonRB #33Brian QuickWR #34Coby FleenerTE

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Whitney inherited the Houston Texans DL room from Jared Crick (2012–2015), and handed it to Christian Covington (2015–2018).

Anthony Cook 1995–1996Gary Walker 1995–2005Corey Sears 2002–2004Jerry DeLoach 2002–2005Seth Payne 2002–2006Robaire Smith

Similar Players

Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).

Movementderived from season history

2021team change
Joined GB (from HOU)
2021final season
Last recorded season with GB
2012draft
Drafted by HOU — Round 1, Pick 26

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'4" / 258 lb

Frame

261 lb at 4.68s

Size-speed

32" vert / 118" broad

Explosion

27 reps

Bench power

Injury History

1 career game missed (Out)

From nflverse weekly injury reports · coverage begins 2009.

Season	Team	Games Out	Designations
2016	HOU	0	W15Questionable· Back
2015	HOU	0	W5Questionable· Thigh
2014	HOU	1	W15Out· Back

Knox

StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works →

Historical Knox · KV-H

Era-normalized career quality — z-scored against 9-season peers. See all →

peak 81

Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season

B+2012

B+2013

B2014

A+2015

B+2016

B2018

B+2019

B2020

B2021

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 10 seasons.

83%

Era Translator

Sacks translated to the 2025NFL — each season's standing among its own-era peers, projected onto 2025's scoring environment. Modern-era (1999+) coverage.

Season	Actual Sacks	Sacks/G	→ 2025 Sacks	→ 2025 /G
2012	6	0.5	9+3	0.5
2013	7	0.4	7	0.4
2014	5	0.4	6+1	0.4
2015	12	0.8	12	0.7
2016	7.5	0.5	8+0.5	0.5
2018	4	0.3	5+1	0.3
2019	7.5	0.5	9+1.5	0.5
2020	4	0.4	6+2	0.4
2021	4	0.4	8+4	0.4

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:snap_counts, nflverse:combine, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:injuries · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 6/18/2026

Career Value · VORP

191 career value over replacement — #415 all-time of 4,642. 21.2/season above a replacement-level EDGE.

Career Profile

1 top-10 seasonstop-10 marks

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #26 (Rd 1) · HOU · 2012 · +21.1 vs expected KV-H

76actual

54.9 expected · Δ+21.1

💔+36 stolen VORP·1.7 szns lost

Fan Rating

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Whitney Mercilus

All-Time Rank & Honors

Archetype Intelligence

Career Value · VORP

Combined Season Grid

Defense

Snap Counts

Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+)

KV-H Anatomy

All-Time Standing

Per-Snap Impact

Career Aging Trajectory

Combine · 2012

Postseason Career

Defense

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

2012 Draft Class· this player went #26

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Injury History

Knox

Era Translator