Not to be confused withWill Smith (OLB · 2014).

Also in other sports:mlbWill Smith (P · 2012–2024), mlbWill Smith (C · 2019–present), nhlWill Smith (C · 2025–present).

Will Smith is a career quality starter — a linebacker whose body of work places Smith in the top half of all players at the position historically. The Knox model values sustained contribution over flash, and Smith's career arc reflects exactly that kind of reliable professional-grade performance.

LBNO#91RES

Will Smith

1× Pro BowlTop 33% all-time linebackersReliable Starter⚙️ Sustained Machine · 2012 Team Carrier · #422

Height6'3"

Weight

Career Value · VORP

34 career value over replacement — #2535 all-time of 4,649. 3.8/season above a replacement-level LB.

Career Profile

1 top-10 seasonstop-10 marks

Draft OutcomeMiss ↓

Pick #18 (Rd 1) · NO · 2004 · -3.7 vs expected KV-H

52actual

55.7 expected · Δ−3.7

Fan Rating

Rate Will Smith — All-Time

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Compare Will Smith vs Player Report data error

Team Carrier Evidence

Ranked #422 of 600 by seasons where high individual production happened on low-win teams. Score aggregates only tracked StatVault categories.

Full board

Total Score

1 qualifying season

2005 NO·3 team wins#22

Sacks · 9 · score 16

All-Time Standing

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

Depth

of 100

Reached 34% of the all-time Sacks leader — a rotational/depth all-time profile at the position.

34% of the all-time Sacks leader34

1 category ≥25% of the all-time leader33

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: 93%.

Encyclopedia Coverage6/8 data layers

StatVault aggregates multiple open-licensed and proprietary sources into a single profile. The depth indicator above shows which layers are available for this player.

Bio & DraftBirth date, height/weight, draft round/pick, college — sourced from nflverse players.csv (CC-BY 4.0). Covers all NFL eras.

Season Stats (1999–present)Week-by-week box scores aggregated to season totals: passing, rushing, receiving, defense. Source: nflverse player_stats. Counting stats are exact; rates are derived.

Advanced (EPA, 1999–present)Not available for this player

Snap Counts (2012–present)Not available for this player

Career Aging Trajectory

vs. position group average · KV-H basis

= this player (normalized to own peak). = average linebackers aging curve. Group peak age: 32. Source: StatVault KV-H era (1999+).

Combine · 2004

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

LB · 2004 class

4.60s

40-Yard

Above avg · 74th pct

Pos 74thAll 61thClass Pos 68thClass All 62th

Understanding These Stats

Defense

Tkl / Solo / Ast — Combined tackles (Solo + ½ Assist). Solo = unassisted. Ast = helped by a teammate.

TFL — Tackles for loss — stops made behind the line of scrimmage (run stuffs + QB contain).

QBHits — QB hits — any legal contact on the quarterback, including but beyond sacks (hurries that land).

Sk — Sacks — tackled the QB behind the line for a loss. Half-sacks shared between defenders.

Dis — Disruption plays = sacks + QB hits + TFL. The composite pass-rush / run-stop impact stat for one season. Elite pass rushers post 30+ disruption plays per season.

Int — Interceptions caught by this defender.

PD — Passes defended — deflections and breakups.

FF / FR — Forced fumbles (stripped or jarred loose). Fumble Recoveries.

TD — Defensive touchdowns — picks, fumble returns, safeties returned.

Sfty — Safeties — tackled the ball carrier in their own end zone.

Proprietary StatVault Metrics

Postseason Career

8 playoff games

Defense

Tkl18Solo16Ast2QBHits7Dis7.0Int1PD2FF1

College Stats

Ohio StateCollege listed; stat table pending import

College stats are not imported for this profile yet.

StatVault has the verified college attribution (Ohio State), 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

Devery HendersonWR8y Drew BreesQB7y Roman HarperS7y Marques ColstonWR7y

Franchise Succession

the room, before and after

Will inherited the New Orleans Saints LB room from Darrin Smith (2000–2003), and handed it to Scott Fujita (2006–2009).

Winfred Tubbs 1994–1997Richard Harvey 1995–1997Mark Fields 1995–2000Keith Mitchell 1997–2001Darrin Smith 2000–2003Will Smith

Similar Players

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

Movementderived from season history

2012final season
Last recorded season with NO
2004draft
Drafted by NO — Round 1, Pick 18

Athletic & Unique Profile

verified measurements and curated source-tagged facts

6'3" / 282 lb

Frame

275 lb at 4.60s

Size-speed

Injury History

From nflverse weekly injury reports · coverage begins 2009.

Season	Team	Games Out	Designations
2010	NO	0	W5Questionable· GroinW6Questionable· Groin

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 9-season peers. See all →

peak 54

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

C2004

C+2005

C2006

C+2007

C+2008

C+2009

C2010

C2011

C+2012

Availability

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

95%

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
2004	34	2.3	10-24	0.6
2005	46	2.9	23-23	1.4
2006	41	2.9	26-15	1.6
2007	52	3.5	40-12	2.3
2008	49	3.1	32-17	1.9
2009	39	2.4	23-16	1.4
2010	28	1.9	15-13	0.9
2011	35	2.5	27-8	1.6
2012	55	3.4	43-12	2.5

Data: nflverse:players, nflverse:player_stats_def, nflverse:combine, nflverse:draft_picks, nflverse:injuries · multi-source verified via the StatVault Oracle · updated 7/31/2026

Defensive StatsMaterial defensive production only: playmaking stats, 10+ tackles, or 50+ defensive snaps. Source: nflverse player_stats and snap_counts.

College StatsCollege attribution is present, but this profile artifact does not yet carry a parsed college stat table.

NFL Combine / Pro Day40-yard dash, vertical, broad jump, 3-cone, shuttle, bench press. Source: nflverse combine.csv.

Proprietary LayersKV-H (Knox Value-Historical) — era-normalized career rating 0–100 calibrated within position group (1999+ coverage). SIS (Snap Impact Score, 2012+) — per-snap production z-scored within position. VORP — value over replacement player. Durability IQ — games-played percentile adjusted for era.

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.

KV-H (Knox Value-Historical) — Era-normalized career rating 0–100 within position group, calibrated so a 50 = average starter and 90+ = all-time great. Covers 1999–present. Built on a 5-year IQR/robust-std era window.

SIS (Snap Impact Score) — Per-snap production z-scored within position group and era (2012+). Measures how much a player produced per opportunity, not raw volume.

VORP (Value Over Replacement) — Sum of max(0, season KV-H − positional replacement level) across a career. Measures career value above the minimum-roster baseline at each position.

Durability IQ — 0–100 score reflecting how many games a player played relative to peers at the same position in the same era. Adjusts for injury-shortened seasons.

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.