Derek M. Smith ranks in the all-time elite tier for linebackers — a career that places M. in the top 10% of all players at the position. The Knox value model assigns M. a career score of 70, reflecting sustained impact that most players at the position never approach.
Reached 7% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.
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: 90%.
Career Value · VORP
222 career value over replacement — #298 all-time of 4,649. 18.5/season above a replacement-level LB.
Pick #80 (Rd 3) · WAS · 1997 · +32.7 vs expected KV-H
Fan Rating
Rate Derek M. Smith — All-Time
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StatVault aggregates multiple open-licensed and proprietary sources into a single profile. The depth indicator above shows which layers are available for this player.
Pre-1999 players have bio + draft data but counting stats are not available from any freely-licensed source. Players with ★ Career Only see verified career aggregates from nflverse draft_picks.
Amber = this player (normalized to own peak). Indigo = average linebackers aging curve. Group peak age: 32. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).
Defense
Proprietary StatVault Metrics
College stats are not imported for this profile yet.
StatVault has the verified college attribution (Arizona State; Snow), 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.
Career teammates and draft class, derived from year-by-year rosters — every name is linked.
Derek inherited the San Francisco 49ers LB room from Jamie Winborn (2001–2005), and handed it to Manny Lawson (2006–2010).
Derek inherited the Washington Commanders LB room from Marvcus Patton (1995–1998), and handed it to Shawn Barber (1998–2001).
The room is reconstructed from arrival order among durable members (≥4 seasons with the club) at the player’s position group — a lineage by arrival, not a week-by-week depth chart. Distinct from the league-wide positional GOAT torch.
Statistical + physical similarity across every player in the database, position-relevant (0–100%).
Joined SD (from SF)
Last recorded season with SD
Joined SF (from WAS)
Drafted by WAS — Round 3, Pick 80
StatVault's proprietary player intelligence, informed by full career data. How Knox works →
Era-normalized career quality — z-scored against 12-season peers. See all →
Career durability — games played vs. scheduled, across 12 seasons.
Composite score across availability, IR frequency, and injury severity. See all →
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 87 | 5.4 | 88+1 | 5.2 |
| 1998 | 103 | 6.9 | 114+11 | 6.7 |
| 1999 | 87 | 5.4 | 89+2 | 5.2 |
| 2000 | 74 | 4.6 | 71-3 | 4.2 |
| 2001 | 85 | 6.1 | 97+12 | 5.7 |
| 2002 | 87 | 5.4 | 83-4 | 4.9 |
| 2003 | 91 | 5.7 | 89-2 | 5.2 |
| 2004 | 89 | 6.4 | 106+17 | 6.3 |
| 2005 | 104 | 6.5 | 108+4 | 6.4 |
| 2006 | 61 | 4.7 | 67+6 | 3.9 |
| 2007 | 72 | 4.8 | 69-3 | 4 |
| 2008 | 11 | 2.8 | 26+15 | 1.5 |
Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:draft_picks, wikipedia:season-stats (CC-BY-SA, facts-only) · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 7/31/2026
Keith Brooking
MLB
88% match
1997 Draft ClassmatesFull class →
Wore 4 distinct franchise crests across 12 seasons (1997–2008) — a true nomad. The crest trail: