Zach Cunningham ranks in the all-time elite tier for linebackers — a career that places Cunningham in the top 5% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns Cunningham a career score of 73, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.

ILBDET#52RES

Zach Cunningham

Top 4% all-time linebackersAll-Time Great⛰️ Mountain Arc · 2020

Height6'3"

Weight230 lb

BornDec 2, 1994

Age31

CollegeVanderbilt See College Stats

ConferenceSoutheastern

Rookie yr2017

Draft2017 · Rd 2, Pick 57 · HOU

Archetype Intelligence

All-Time GreatExplore archetypes →

A top 5% all-time linebacker — a career that puts them among the greatest at their position in NFL history. Their lower snap-level production underscores the elite level they operated at.

Career Value · VORP

VORP 147 · #658 · High-Value

Worth 147 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker — top 15% of all 4,642 ranked at the position. 6 of 7 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +24.5 on average.See board →

Seasons above replacement

6 cleared

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

Replacement

the KC-H bar

→

Seasons over

cleared the bar

+24.5

Avg surplus

peak +38

6 seasons × ~24.5 surplus ≈ VORP 147

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%
2017	—	HOU	16	—	76	39	37	5	2	1.5	8.5	0	6	1	—	0	0	—	0.0%	812	79.3%	210	42.9%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2018	—	HOU	14	—	99	67	32	3	2	0.0	5.0	1	5	2	—	1	0	—	0.0%	753	80.4%	68	16.6%	67	51	0.8	103.2	6.2	3	2	1	26	16	0.1
2019	—	HOU	16	—	124	82	42	7	3	2.0	12.0	0	2	0	2	0	0	—	0.0%	942	86.8%	134	31.4%	49	38	0.8	107.4	3.0	5	2	0	52	11	0.1
2020	—	HOU	16	—	150	92	58	7	4	3.0	14.0	0	2	1	—	0	0	—	0.0%	945	85.6%	124	28.0%	43	37	0.9	126.0	4.4	7	3	1	35	17	0.1
2021	—	TEN	14	—	85	43	42	7	1	0.0	8.0	0	3	1	—	0	0	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2021	—	HOU	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	0.0%	647	69.3%	18	14.0%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2021	—	2TM	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	51	42	0.8	107.6	4.0	1	0	1	27	16	0.1
2022	—	TEN	5	—	18	9	9	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	1	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	205	50.7%	11	20.0%	19	12	0.6	96.2	3.6	0	0	0	7	1	0.0
2023	—	PHI	13	—	81	50	31	2	1	0.0	3.0	0	4	0	1	0	0	—	0.0%	717	80.3%	22	13.7%	54	41	0.8	93.9	1.8	1	0	1	32	8	0.1
2024	—	DEN	1	—	3	1	2	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	15	9.3%	41	23.5%	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2025	—	DET	3	—	7	5	2	1	0	0.0	1.0	0	0	0	—	0	0	—	0.0%	14	7.0%	64	58.0%	1	1	1.0	118.7	12.0	0	1	0	0	0	0.0
Career		—	126	—	643	388	255	32	13	6.5	51.5	1	23	5	3	1	0	—	0.0%	5,050	61.0%	692	27.6%	284	222	—	—	—	17	8	4	179	69	—

Defense

Season	Age	Team	G	GS	Tkl	Solo	Ast	TFL	QBHits	Sk	Dis	Int	PD	FF	FR	TD	VAL
2017	23	HOU	16	13*	76	39	37	5	2	1.5	8.5	0	6	1	—	0	8.4
2018	24	HOU	14	11*	99	67	32	3	2	0.0	5.0	1	5	2	—	1	9.6
2019	25	HOU	16	14*	124	82	42	7	3	2.0	12.0	0	2	0	2	0	8.4
2020	26	HOU	16	14*	150	92	58	7	4	3.0	14.0	0	2	1	—	0	9.8
2021	27	TEN	14	10*	85	43	42	7	1	0.0	8.0	0	3	1	—	0	7.3
2022	28	TEN	5	3*	18	9	9	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	1	0	—	0	1.7
2023	29	PHI	13	10*	81	50	31	2	1	0.0	3.0	0	4	0	1	0	5.4
2024	30	DEN	1	0*	3	1	2	0	0	0.0	0.0	0	0	0	—	0	—
2025	31	DET	3	0*	7	5	2	1	0	0.0	1.0	0	0	0	—	0	—
Career			98	75*	643	388	255	32	13	—	—	1	23	5	3	1	50.6

* 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%
2017	23	HOU	16	13*	—	0.0%	812	79.3%	210	42.9%
2018	24	HOU	14	11*	—	0.0%	753	80.4%	68	16.6%
2019	25	HOU	16	14*	—	0.0%	942	86.8%	134	31.4%
2020	26	HOU	16	14*	—	0.0%	945	85.6%	124	28.0%
2021	27	HOU	14	10*	—	0.0%	647	69.3%	18	14.0%
2022	28	TEN	6	3*	—	0.0%	205	50.7%	11	20.0%
2023	29	PHI	13	10*	—	0.0%	717	80.3%	22	13.7%
2024	30	DEN	7	0*	—	0.0%	15	9.3%	41	23.5%
2025	31	DET	4	0*	—	0.0%	14	7.0%	64	58.0%
Career			106	75*	—	—	5,050	—	692	—

* 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	24	HOU	14	11*	67	51	0.8	103.2	6.2	3	2	1	26	16	0.1
2019	25	HOU	16	14*	49	38	0.8	107.4	3.0	5	2	0	52	11	0.1
2020	26	HOU	16	14*	43	37	0.9	126.0	4.4	7	3	1	35	17	0.1
2021	27	2TM	14	10*	51	42	0.8	107.6	4.0	1	0	1	27	16	0.1
2022	28	TEN	6	3*	19	12	0.6	96.2	3.6	0	0	0	7	1	0.0
2023	29	PHI	13	10*	54	41	0.8	93.9	1.8	1	0	1	32	8	0.1
2025	31	DET	4	0*	1	1	1.0	118.7	12.0	0	1	0	0	0	0.0
Career			83	62*	284	222	—	—	—	17	8	4	179	69	—

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

KV-H Anatomy

KV-H 73 · Great

A great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 73 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 7 scored seasons.

Sustained

career value

×.6

Peak

best 3 seasons

×.4

×1

Longevity

career length

Blend 72.6 × longevity 1 = KV-H 73· confidence 95%

What builds the career mark of 69

On-field 51.6

Availability 17.4

On-field production Staying available

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

2017bestavg 65elite 702023

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 3% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

3% of the all-time Sacks leader3

0 categories ≥25% of the all-time leader0

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: 87%.

Per-Snap Impact

Linebackers · proprietary · 2012+

Rotational

SIS

Disruption / 100 snaps:1.594See leaderboard →

Disruption/1001.594Snap share61%Def snaps5,050ReliableCV 0.34

Production per snap — the box score normalized by opportunity. SIS is z-scored within linebackers, 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 linebackers aging curve. Group peak age: 25. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Combine · 2017

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

LB · 2017 class

4.67s

40-Yard

Above avg · 53th pct

Pos 53thAll 48thClass Pos 52thClass All 44th

35"

Vertical

Above avg · 61th pct

Pos 61thAll 64thClass Pos 88thClass All 75th

125"

Broad Jump

Strong · 87th pct

Pos 87thAll 86thClass Pos 94thClass All 81th

15 reps

Bench

Low · 5th pct

Pos 5thAll 17thClass Pos 8thClass All 25th

7.03s

3-Cone

Above avg · 65th pct

Pos 65thAll 66thClass Pos 47thClass All 54th

4.29s

Shuttle

Above avg · 51th pct

Pos 51thAll 58thClass Pos 76thClass All 64th

Postseason Career

5 playoff games

Defense

Tkl37Solo22Ast15TFL3QBHits2Dis5.0PD5

College Stats

VanderbiltCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Vanderbilt), 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.

2017 Draft Class· this player went #57

#49Ryan AndersonLB #50Justin EvansS #51DeMarcus WalkerDE #52DeShone KizerQB #53Teez TaborCB #54Raekwon McMillanMLB #55Dalvin TomlinsonDE #56Obi MelifonwuDB #58Ethan PocicC #59Tanoh KpassagnonDE #60Chidobe AwuzieCB #61Josh JonesS #62JuJu Smith-SchusterWR #63Dion DawkinsOT #64Taylor MotonOT #65Larry OgunjobiDT

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Zach inherited the Houston Texans LB room from Brennan Scarlett (2016–2020), and handed it to Jonathan Greenard (2020–2023).

Jamie Sharper 2002–2004Jay Foreman 2002–2004Kailee Wong 2002–2006Antwan Peek 2003–2006Shantee Orr 2003–2006Morlon Greenwood

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

2025team change
Joined DET (from DEN)
2025final season
Last recorded season with DET
2024team change
Joined DEN (from PHI)
2023team change
Joined PHI (from TEN)
2021team change
Joined TEN (from HOU)
2017draft
Drafted by HOU — Round 2, Pick 57

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'3" / 230 lb

Frame

234 lb at 4.67s

Size-speed

35" vert / 125" broad

Explosion

15 reps

Bench power

Injury History

10 career games missed (Out)

From nflverse weekly injury reports · coverage begins 2009.

Season	Team	Games Out	Designations
2023	PHI	3	W13Out· HamstringW15Out· KneeW16Out· KneeW17Questionable· Knee
2022	TEN	5	W3Questionable· KneeW4Out· ElbowW5Out· ElbowW7Out· ElbowW10Out· ElbowW17Out· Elbow
2021	TEN	1	W14Out· Not Injury Related
2018	HOU	1	W9Out· KneeW11Questionable· Knee

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 7-season peers. See all →

peak 78

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

B2017

B+2018

B+2019

A2020

B2021

F2022

B2023

Availability

Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 9 seasons.

71%

Era Translator

Tackles 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 Tackles	Tackles/G	→ 2025 Tackles	→ 2025 /G
2017	76	4.8	69-7	4
2018	99	7.1	111+12	6.5
2019	124	7.8	125+1	7.4
2020	150	9.4	156+6	9.2
2021	85	6.1	99+14	5.8
2022	18	3.6	59+41	3.4
2023	81	6.2	105+24	6.2

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

147 career value over replacement — #658 all-time of 4,642. 21/season above a replacement-level LB.

Draft OutcomeSteal ↑

Pick #57 (Rd 2) · HOU · 2017 · +26.1 vs expected KV-H

73actual

46.9 expected · Δ+26.1

💔+54.8 stolen VORP·2.61 szns lost

Fan Rating

Rate Zach Cunningham — All-Time

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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 · 2017

Postseason Career

Defense

College Stats

Reference Graph

Top Teammates

2017 Draft Class· this player went #57

Franchise Succession

Similar Players

Movementderived from season history

Athletic & Unique Profile

Injury History

Knox

Era Translator

Career Geography