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 77, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.
Season totals or exact team stints. Career totals count each season once.
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | VAL | Defense | Snap Counts | Advanced Defense & Coverage (2018+) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 22 | HOU | 12 | — | 3.6 | 16 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 6.0 | 19.0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2013 | 23 | HOU | 16 | — | 4.4 | 42 | 28 | 14 | 6 | 18 | 7.0 | 31.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 932 | 91.7% | 88 | 18.4% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2014 | 24 | HOU | 15 | — | 3.3 | 47 | 28 | 19 | 9 | 11 | 5.0 | 25.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 803 | 76.1% | 138 | 31.4% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2015 | 25 | HOU | 16 | — | 8.9 | 48 | 30 | 18 | 14 | 16 | 12.0 | 42.0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 740 | 70.5% | 149 | 30.9% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016 | 26 | HOU | 15 | — | 5.7 | 50 | 33 | 17 | 13 | 22 | 7.5 | 42.5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 869 | 90.6% | 98 | 23.4% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 27 | HOU | 5 | — | 0.1 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 203 | 67.6% | 15 | 10.0% | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2018 | 28 | HOU | 16 | — | 2.6 | 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 | 29 | HOU | 16 | — | 7.6 | 48 | 33 | 15 | 9 | 16 | 7.5 | 32.5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | 0.0% | 951 | 87.8% | 1 | 0.3% | 7 | 4 | 0.6 | 56.0 | 4.7 | 25 | 11 | 6 | 89 | 6 | 0.1 |
| 2020 | 30 | HOU | 13 | — | 2.0 | 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 | 31 | GB / HOU | 10 | — | 1.8 | 16 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 4.0 | 14.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | 312 | — | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0.1 |
| Career | — | 134 | — | 40.0 | 330 | 209 | 121 | 73 | 117 | 58.0 | 248.0 | 2 | 7 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 36 | 27 | — | — | — | 70 | 31 | 17 | 216 | 20 | — | |
Career Value · VORP
194 career value over replacement — #414 all-time of 4,695. 21.6/season above a replacement-level EDGE.
Career Profile
Pick #26 (Rd 1) · HOU · 2012 · +22.2 vs expected KV-H
Fan Rating
Rate Whitney Mercilus — All-Time
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Postseason all-time ranks
A top 10% all-time edge rusher who consistently made an impact across multiple seasons. Average per-snap value reinforces the playmaking ability.
Worth 194 points of value above a freely-available replacement edge rusher — top 10% of all 4,695 ranked at the position. 9 of 9 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +21.6 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
9 seasons × ~21.6 surplus ≈ VORP 194
Boye Mafe
DE
92% match