Zac Diles is a career quality starter β a linebacker whose body of work places Diles in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Diles's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.
Zac Diles
Top 33% all-time linebackersHigh-End Starter
A quality linebacker with a above-average career β a legitimate starter who contributed meaningfully across their career.
Career Value Β· VORP
VORP 36 Β· #2479 Β· Role PlayerWorth 36 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker β top 54% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 3 of 4 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +12 on average.See board β
Seasons above replacement
3 cleared
1 replaced
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it β adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
β
3
Seasons over
cleared the bar
Γ
+12
Avg surplus
peak +15
3 seasons Γ ~12 surplus β VORP 36
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at onceβno tab hopping.
2 grids split in one view
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Defense | Snap Counts | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty | Off | Off% | Def | Def% | ST | ST% | |||||
| 2007 | β | HOU | 3 | β | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 2008 | β | HOU | 8 | β | 51 | 32 | 19 | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 5.0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 2009 | β | HOU | 14 | β | 50 | 34 | 16 | 7 | 1 | 0.0 | 8.0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 2010 | β | HOU | 14 | β | 64 | 41 | 23 | 4 | 3 | 0.0 | 7.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 2012 | β | TEN | 5 | β | 11 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | β | 0 | 0 | β | β | β | β | β | β |
| 2013 | β | TEN | 2 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | 0.0% | β | 0.0% | 37 | 61.5% |
| 2014 | β | CLE | 5 | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | β | 0.0% | β | 0.0% | 94 | 65.6% |
| Career | β | 51 | β | 180 | 118 | 62 | 14 | 5 | 1.0 | 20.0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | β | 0.0% | β | 0.0% | 131 | 63.5% | |
Defense
Snap Counts
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 52 Β· SolidA solid career by KV-H: a well-rounded profile that scores 52 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 4 scored seasons, with a short career trimming the score.
54
Sustained
career value
Γ.6
59
Peak
best 3 seasons
Γ.4
Γ0.93
Longevity
career length
Blend 56 Γ longevity 0.93 = KV-H 52Β· confidence 91%
What builds the career mark of 54
On-field 39.6
Availability 14.4
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
2008bestavg 502012
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position1
Depth
of 100
Reached 1% of the all-time Sacks leader β a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
1% of the all-time Sacks leader1
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 (Kansas State; Fresno City College), 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
Andre JohnsonWR4yMario WilliamsDE4yDeMeco RyansILB4yMatt TurkP4yMatt SchaubQB4yOwen DanielsTE4yKevin WalterWR4yJacoby JonesWR4yVonta LeachFB4yJoel DreessenTE4yAmobi OkoyeDT4yDavid AndersonWR4yJeff ZgoninaDT3yDunta RobinsonCB3yBernard PollardS3yEugene WilsonFS3yAndre DavisWR3yKevin BentleyLB3ySteve SlatonRB3yTim BulmanDT3yFred BennettDB3yDominique BarberDB3yXavier AdibiLB3yAntwaun MoldenDB3y
2007 Draft ClassΒ· this player went #218
#203Daren StoneDB#204Jacob FordDE#205Jordan PalmerQB#207Prescott BurgessLB#209Corey HilliardOT#210Jordan KentWR#215Ben PatrickTE#217Tyler ThigpenQB#219Kelvin SmithLB#220Marvin MitchellOLB#221Trumaine McBrideCB#222Derek SchoumanTE#223Michael OttoOT#224Michael JohnsonFS#225Brandon FieldsP#226C.J. WilsonDB
Franchise Succession
the room, before and afterZac inherited the Houston Texans LB room from DeMeco Ryans (2006β2011), and handed it to Connor Barwin (2009β2012).
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0β100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2014team change
Joined CLE (from TEN)
- 2014final season
Last recorded season with CLE
- 2012team change
Joined TEN (from HOU)
- 2007draft
Drafted by HOU β Round 7, Pick 218
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts6'0" / 245 lb
Frame
Injury History
From nflverse weekly injury reports Β· coverage begins 2009.
| Season | Team | Games Out | Designations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | TEN | 0 | W1QuestionableΒ· Hamstring |
| 2011 | TB | 0 | W5DoubtfulΒ· HamstringW6QuestionableΒ· Hamstring |
| 2010 | HOU | 0 | W11QuestionableΒ· Illness |
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 4-season peers. See all β
52
peak 59
Season Report CardsΒ· KV-H era-normalized per season
B2008
C+2009
B2010
F2012
Availability
Career durability β games played vs. scheduled, across 7 seasons.
50%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 51 | 6.4 | 104+53 | 6.1 |
| 2009 | 50 | 3.6 | 48-2 | 2.8 |
| 2010 | 64 | 4.6 | 69+5 | 4 |
| 2012 | 11 | 2.2 | 21+10 | 1.2 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:snap_counts, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:injuries Β· multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle Β· updated 6/18/2026
Career Value Β· VORP
36 career value over replacement β #2479 all-time of 4,642. 9/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeSteal β
Pick #218 (Rd 7) Β· HOU Β· 2007 Β· +28.1 vs expected KV-H
52actual
23.9 expected Β· Ξ+28.1
Fan Rating
Rate Zac Diles β All-Time
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