Willie Clay ranks in the all-time elite tier for defensive backs β a career that places Clay in the top 10% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Clay a career score of 74, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.
Willie Clay
Top 7% all-time defensive backsIron Man
A high-end defensive back 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 137 Β· #727 Β· High-ValueWorth 137 points of value above a freely-available replacement safety β top 17% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 6 of 6 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +22.8 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
6 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
48
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
6
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+22.8
Avg surplus
peak +42
6 seasons Γ ~22.8 surplus β VORP 137
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 | |||||
| 1992 | β | DET | 6 | β | 6 | 5 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1993 | β | DET | 16 | β | 32 | 31 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 4 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1994 | β | DET | 16 | β | 72 | 55 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 10 | 3 | β | β | β |
| 1995 | β | DET | 16 | β | 67 | 50 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8 | 12 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1996 | β | NE | 16 | β | 91 | 72 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4 | 12 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1997 | β | NE | 16 | β | 94 | 67 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 11 | 1 | β | β | β |
| 1998 | β | NE | 16 | β | 99 | 66 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | β | β | β |
| 1999 | β | NO | 15 | β | 35 | 24 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 |
| Career | β | 117 | β | 496 | 370 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 27 | 63 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | VAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 22 | DET | 6 | β | 6 | 5 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | β | 1 | 0 | β | β | β | 1.1 |
| 1993 | 23 | DET | 16 | β | 32 | 31 | β | β | β | 1.0 | 1.0 | β | 4 | 1 | β | β | β | 6.8 |
| 1994 | 24 | DET | 16 | β | 72 | 55 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 10 | 3 | β | β | β | 10.9 |
| 1995 | 25 | DET | 16 | β | 67 | 50 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8 | 12 | 0 | β | β | β | 12.2 |
| 1996 | 26 | NE | 16 | β | 91 | 72 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4 | 12 | 1 | β | β | β | 10.6 |
| 1997 | 27 | NE | 16 | β | 94 | 67 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6 | 11 | 1 | β | β | β | 12.2 |
| 1998 | 28 | NE | 16 | β | 99 | 66 | β | β | β | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | β | β | β | 8.9 |
| 1999 | 29 | NO | 15 | β | 35 | 24 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3 | 4 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | 6.4 |
| Career | 117 | 496 | 370 | 11 | 0 | 0 | β | β | 27 | 63 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69.1 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 74 Β· GreatA great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 74 of 100, era-normalized against int/g peers across 6 scored seasons.
71
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
79
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ1
Longevity
career length
Blend 74.2 Γ longevity 1 = KV-H 74Β· confidence 100%
What builds the career mark of 71
On-field 51.2
Availability 19.8
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative int/g)
1994bestavg 71elite 701999
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position11
Depth
of 100
Reached 12% of the all-time Interceptions leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
12% of the all-time Interceptions leader12
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 defensive backs aging curve. Group peak age: 21. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Georgia Tech), 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
Robert PorcherDE4yBrett PerrimanWR4yBarry SandersRB4yHerman MooreWR4yDan OwensDT4yTracy ScrogginsDE4yAdam VinatieriK3yLawyer MilloyS3yRodney HolmanTE3yHenry ThomasNT3yWillie McGinestOLB3yTy LawCB3yDrew BledsoeQB3yTedy BruschiILB3yKelvin PritchettDT3yTom TupaP3yTroy BrownWR3yRyan McNeilDB3yBen CoatesTE3yShawn JeffersonWR3yTerry GlennWR3yChris SladeDE3yTed JohnsonILB3yMark WheelerDT3y
1992 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #221
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterWillie inherited the Detroit Lions DB room from Ray Crockett (1989β1993), and handed it to Ryan McNeil (1993β1996).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 1999team change
Joined NO (from NE)
- 1999final season
Last recorded season with NO
- 1996team change
Joined NE (from DET)
- 1992draft
Drafted by DET β Round 8, Pick 221
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts5'10" / 200 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 6-season peers. See all β
74
peak 79
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
B1994
A+1995
B1996
A1997
B1998
B1999
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 8 seasons.
99%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 3 | 0.2 | 1-2 | 0.1 |
| 1995 | 8 | 0.5 | 5-3 | 0.3 |
| 1996 | 4 | 0.3 | 2-2 | 0.1 |
| 1997 | 6 | 0.4 | 4-2 | 0.2 |
| 1998 | 3 | 0.2 | 2-1 | 0.1 |
| 1999 | 3 | 0.2 | 2-1 | 0.1 |
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), nfl.com:official-stats (games-played, facts-only reference) Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
137 career value over replacement β #727 all-time of 4,642. 22.8/season above a replacement-level S.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #221 (Rd 8) Β· DET Β· 1992 Β· +51.2 vs expected KV-H
74actual
22.8 expected Β· Ξ+51.2
Fan Rating
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