Usage Score
7.7
Player Dossier
2019-2023Northern Illinois
James Ester
DT • 6'3" • 298 lbs • Detroit, MI, USA
Ball-hunting defenderSplash play profile
James Ester shows a ball-hunting defender profile with 22.9 disruption score.
Efficiency
22.9
Consistency
51.3
Season Value
27
Career Arc
Value trend by season
Best season by value score: 2019 Regular Season · Northern Illinois
19202121222323
Snapshot
- Career Teams
- 1
- Seasons Tracked
- 7
- Program Path
- Northern Illinois
- Peak Game
- Peak game by takeover score: Eastern Michigan
Scouting Read
Best season and peak-game context are pinned here so the rest of the page can stay analytical without losing the headline story.
James Ester, DT. Best season Best season by value score: 2019 Regular Season · Northern Illinois. James Ester shows a ball-hunting defender profile with 22.9 disruption score.
Player insights
Lead takeaway
Best season by value score: 2019 Regular Season
Northern Illinois paired 2 primary output with 14.2 efficiency.
Supporting note
2023 Postseason role shape
impact-led usage with 22.9 efficiency.
Supporting note
Career value stayed steady
2023 Regular Season tracked close to the prior stop by season value score.
Supporting note
Peak game by takeover score: Eastern Michigan
Win with 2.5 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet. It landed in the 100th percentile of the selected season.
Analysis workspace
Season Workbench
Filter the strongest season sample, inspect game-level shape, and then drop into the full log without losing the story of the year.
Season Explorer
Understand the selected season before dropping into the full game log.
2023 Postseason · Northern Illinois
Games
13
Havoc Plays / G
0.9
Efficiency
22.9
Usage
7.7
Consistency
51.3
Best Game by takeover score
Arkansas State
Hover a point or expand a game row to keep the active game context visible here.
Game-by-Game Trend
12345678910111213
Chronological game order.
Game by game trend chart. Arkansas State: 1. Boston College: 0. Unknown: 1. Nebraska: 2. Tulsa: 0. Toledo: 0. Akron: 2. Ohio: 0. Eastern Michigan: 2.5. Central Michigan: 0. Ball State: 0. Western Michigan: 2. Kent State: 1
Volume vs Efficiency
Low volume / high quality
High volume / high quality
Low volume / lower quality
High volume / lower quality
Volume on the x-axis, quality on the y-axis.
Volume versus efficiency scatter chart. Arkansas State: 1 by 14.2. Boston College: 1 by 4.2. Unknown: 2 by 18.3. Nebraska: 5 by 40.8. Tulsa: 1 by 4.2. Toledo: 3 by 12.5. Akron: 3 by 32.5. Ohio: 5 by 20.8. Eastern Michigan: 6 by 50. Central Michigan: 5 by 20.8. Ball State: 5 by 20.8. Western Michigan: 3 by 32.5. Kent State: 4 by 26.7
Split Comparison
Wins1.2 · n=7 · +0.8 vs Losses
Losses0.4 · n=5 · -0.8 vs Wins
First Half0.9 · n=7 · -0.1 vs Second Half
Second Half0.9 · n=6 · +0.1 vs First Half
Game Log
Dense stat lines with inline explanations and season-linked highlights.
13 games
Featured metric
Havoc Plays
Top game by takeover score
Eastern Michigan
Best efficiency game
50 vs Eastern Michigan
| Result | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 12/23 | vs Arkansas State | W 21-19 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Sat 11/25 | @ Kent State | W 37-27 | 4 | 2 | — | 0 | 1 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Wed 11/15 | vs Western Michigan | W 24-0 | 3 | 2 | — | 0.50 | 0.50 | — | 1 | — | — |
| Wed 11/8 | vs Ball State | L 17-20 | 5 | 4 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Tue 10/31 | @ Central Michigan | L 31-37 | 5 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Sat 10/21 | vs Eastern Michigan | W 20-13 | 6 | 3 | — | 1.50 | 1 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Sat 10/14 | vs Ohio | W 23-13 | 5 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Sat 10/7 | @ Akron | W 55-14 | 3 | 2 | — | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Sat 9/30 | @ Toledo | L 33-35 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Sat 9/23 | vs Tulsa | L 14-22 | 1 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Sat 9/16 | @ NebraskaSplash game | L 11-35 | 5 | 3 | — | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Sat 9/9 | vs Unknown | — | 2 | 1 | — | 0.50 | 0.50 | — | 0 | — | — |
| Sat 9/2 | @ Boston College | W 27-24 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — | — |
Career Arc
Track team changes, role shifts, and season-to-season movement.
- 1
Northern Illinois
2019-2023
Opening stop
Season Progression
2019202020212021202220232023
| Season | Team | Primary | Efficiency | Usage | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 Regular Season | Northern Illinois | 2 | 14.2 | 13 | — |
| 2020 Regular Season | Northern Illinois | 5 | 23.3 | 6 | 3 |
| 2021 Postseason | Northern Illinois | 6.5 | 13 | 5.4 | 1.5 |
| 2021 Regular Season | Northern Illinois | 6.5 | 13 | 5.4 | 0 |
| 2022 Regular Season | Northern Illinois | 7.5 | 15.8 | 6.1 | 1 |
| 2023 Postseason | Northern Illinois | 11.5 | 22.9 | 7.7 | 4 |
| 2023 Regular Season | Northern Illinois | 11.5 | 22.9 | 7.7 | 0 |
Signature Performances
Top Games
#1 Featured game
Eastern Michigan
Win with 2.5 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.
2.5
Primary metric
2.5 disruption/tackle impact with 57.6 takeover score.
#2
Central Michigan
2.5
Primary metric
Loss with 2.5 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.
2.5 disruption/tackle impact with 56 takeover score.
#3
Eastern Michigan
3
Primary metric
Loss with 3 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.
3 disruption/tackle impact with 51.5 takeover score.
#4
Bowling Green
2
Primary metric
Win with 2 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.
2 disruption/tackle impact with 50 takeover score.
#5
Nebraska
2
Primary metric
Loss with 2 impact plays across the defensive snap sheet.
2 disruption/tackle impact with 48 takeover score.
Top Seasons
#1 Season by value score
2019 Regular Season · Northern Illinois
2 primary output · 14.2 efficiency · 13 usage
32.9
#2
2023 Postseason · Northern Illinois
27
11.5 primary · 22.9 efficiency · 7.7 usage
#3
2023 Regular Season · Northern Illinois
27
11.5 primary · 22.9 efficiency · 7.7 usage
Milestones
0
Impact games
1
Splash games
0
10+ tackle games
Bio, Recruit, and Data Context
Recruit Profile
2★
Class 2019 · Rating 0.7744
Cass Technical · Detroit, MI
- Committed To
- Northern Illinois
- Commit Date
- Jan 1, 2019
Career Facts
1
Career teams
7
Seasons tracked
107
Career Tackles
Data Context
Coverage spans 7 tracked seasons, 43 games, and base opponent context only. Derived metrics fall back to raw production when share or rating context is missing.