Zach Thomas is a Hall of Fame linebacker whose career earned one of the highest career value scores of 95 in the Knox value model. Thomas's enshrinement reflects a career that consistently placed him among the elite of his generation.
Zach Thomas
Height5'11"
Weight242 lb
BornSep 1, 1973
Age52
CollegeTexas TechSee College Stats
Rookie yr1996
Draft1996 · Rd 5, Pick 154 · MIA
All-Time Rank & Honors
career ranks, postseason ranks, awards, title context7x
Pro Bowls
5x
All-Pro
Yes
Hall of Fame
An all-time caliber linebacker (top 1% all-time) who combined elite production with excellent availability over their career. Iron Legends define eras — they show up, every game, for years on end.
Career Value · VORP
VORP 330 · #93 · All-TimeWorth 330 points of value above a freely-available replacement linebacker — top 3% of all 4,612 ranked at the position. 9 of 10 seasons cleared the replacement bar, by +36.7 on average.See board →
Seasons above replacement
9 cleared
Beat replacement (adds to VORP) Below it — adds 0, never a debit
47
Replacement
the KC-H bar
→
9
Seasons over
cleared the bar
×
+36.7
Avg surplus
peak +46
9 seasons × ~36.7 surplus ≈ VORP 330
Combined Season Grid
The full season-by-season grids, joined on one timeline. Every selected stat family stays visible at once—no tab hopping. Switch to Combined to fold the selected families into unified totals—yards from scrimmage, total TDs, touches.
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 | |||||
| 1999 | — | MIA | 16 | — | 119 | 71 | 48 | 13 | 1 | 1.0 | 15.0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | — | MIA | 10 | — | 81 | 42 | 39 | 8 | 2 | 1.5 | 11.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | — | MIA | 15 | — | 135 | 75 | 60 | 4 | 2 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | — | MIA | 16 | — | 139 | 83 | 56 | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 5.5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | — | MIA | 15 | — | 142 | 74 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | — | MIA | 13 | — | 131 | 71 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | — | MIA | 14 | — | 142 | 87 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | — | MIA | 16 | — | 142 | 80 | 62 | 0 | 3 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | — | MIA | 5 | — | 39 | 29 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | — | DAL | 16 | — | 85 | 56 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | — | 136 | — | 1,155 | 668 | 487 | 33 | 11 | 16.0 | 60.0 | 10 | 48 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 0 | |
Defense
| Season | Age | Team | G | GS | Tkl | Solo | Ast | TFL | QBHits | Sk | Dis | Int | PD | FF | FR | TD | Sfty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 26 | MIA | 16 | — | 119 | 71 | 48 | 13 | 1 | 1.0 | 15.0 | 1 | 9 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2000 | 27 | MIA | 10 | — | 81 | 42 | 39 | 8 | 2 | 1.5 | 11.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2001 | 28 | MIA | 15 | — | 135 | 75 | 60 | 4 | 2 | 3.0 | 9.0 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | 1 | 0 |
| 2002 | 29 | MIA | 16 | — | 139 | 83 | 56 | 4 | 1 | 0.5 | 5.5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | 30 | MIA | 15 | — | 142 | 74 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 3 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | 31 | MIA | 13 | — | 131 | 71 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2005 | 32 | MIA | 14 | — | 142 | 87 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006 | 33 | MIA | 16 | — | 142 | 80 | 62 | 0 | 3 | 3.0 | 6.0 | 1 | 8 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2007 | 34 | MIA | 5 | — | 39 | 29 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2008 | 35 | DAL | 16 | — | 85 | 56 | 29 | 4 | 1 | 1.0 | 6.0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 136 | 1,155 | 668 | 487 | 33 | 11 | — | — | 10 | 48 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 0 |
KV-H Anatomy
KV-H 95 · All-Time GreatA all-time great career by KV-H: a peak-driven profile that scores 95 of 100, era-normalized against tackles/g peers across 10 scored seasons.
82
Sustained
career value
×.6
95
Peak
best 3 seasons
×.4
×1
Longevity
career length
Blend 87.2 × longevity 1 = KV-H 95· confidence 96%
What builds the career mark of 82
On-field 64
Availability 18
On-field production Staying available
Season-by-season quality (era-relative tackles/g)
1999bestavg 79elite 702008
All-Time Standing
how this career measures against the all-time greats at the position7
Depth
of 100
Reached 8% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
8% of the all-time Sacks leader8
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: 91%.
Career Aging Trajectory
vs. position group average · KV-H basisAmber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average linebackers aging curve. Group peak age: 32. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Postseason Career
5 playoff gamesDefense
Tkl56Solo38Ast18TFL3QBHits1Sk1.0Dis5.0PD2
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Texas 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 — every name is linked.
Top Teammates
Jason TaylorOLB9yOlindo MareK8ySam MadisonCB7yChris ChambersWR7yPatrick SurtainCB6yTim BowensDT6yDavid BowensILB6yRob KonradFB6yTravis MinorRB6yBrock MarionFS5yRandy McMichaelTE5yJay FiedlerQB5yOronde GadsdenWR5yJeff ZgoninaDT4yRicky WilliamsRB4yMarty BookerWR4yMatt TurkP4yYeremiah BellS4yMorlon GreenwoodOLB4yDerrick RodgersOLB4yShawn WoodenDB4yArturo FreemanDB4ySage RosenfelsQB4yDerrick PopeOLB4y
1996 Draft Class· this player went #154
#146Jimmy HerndonOT#147Whit MarshallLB#148Sean BoydDB#149Christian PeterDT#150Shane BurtonDT#151Steve MartinDT#152Chris VillarrialG#153Jermaine LewisWR#156Raymond JacksonDB#158Kerwin WaldroupDE#159Patrick JeffersWR#160Iheanyi UwaezuokeWR#162Dell McGeeDB#163Israel RaybonDE#165Terry GuessWR#166La'Roi GloverDT
Similar Players
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).
Movementderived from season history
- 2008team change
Joined DAL (from MIA)
- 2008final season
Last recorded season with DAL
- 1996draft
Drafted by MIA — Round 5, Pick 154
Athletic & Unique Profile
verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts5'11" / 242 lb
Frame
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 10-season peers. See all →
95
peak 95
Season Report Cards· KV-H era-normalized per season
B+1999
B+2000
A2001
A2002
A+2003
A+2004
A+2005
A2006
C2007
B2008
Availability
Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 10 seasons.
85%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 119 | 7.4 | 126+7 | 7.4 |
| 2000 | 81 | 8.1 | 140+59 | 8.3 |
| 2001 | 135 | 9 | 162+27 | 9.5 |
| 2002 | 139 | 8.7 | 161+22 | 9.5 |
| 2003 | 142 | 9.5 | 177+35 | 10.4 |
| 2004 | 131 | 10.1 | 195+64 | 11.4 |
| 2005 | 142 | 10.1 | 194+52 | 11.4 |
| 2006 | 142 | 8.9 | 162+20 | 9.6 |
| 2007 | 39 | 7.8 | 134+95 | 7.9 |
| 2008 | 85 | 5.3 | 80-5 | 4.7 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 7/31/2026
Career Value · VORP
330 career value over replacement — #93 all-time of 4,612. 33/season above a replacement-level LB.
Draft OutcomeSteal ↑
Pick #154 (Rd 5) · MIA · 1996 · +65.2 vs expected KV-H
95actual
29.8 expected · Δ+65.2
Fan Rating
Rate Zach Thomas — All-Time
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