Five Players Deserving Of The NFL Hall-Of-Fame
The 2015 NFL Hall-of-Fame ballot was announced yesterday, with a total of 113 candidates that will be narrowed down to 25 finalists by April. Here are five of those players that should be a lock for Canton.
1. Kurt Warner - QB (4x Pro Bowl, 2x All-Pro, 2x NFL MVP, XXXIV Super Bowl Champion)
Warner's star didn't really start burning until late in his career. He originally entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 1994, where he didn't survive training camp with the Packers. After an extended stop in the Arena Football League, Warner was given another chance in 1998 with the St. Louis Rams. Warner made the most of the opportunity, leading the league in completion percentage in 1999, 2000, and 2001, throwing for over 4,000 yards twice and leading the Rams to their first ever Super Bowl title. Warner was a three-time NFC Champion, leading the Cardinals to their first Super Bowl appearance in 2008.
2. Charles Haley - DE, OLB (5x Pro Bowl, 2x All-Pro, 5x Super Bowl Champion)
Haley was a dominant force on the field for two of the most dominant teams of the 80's and 90's, compiling more than 100 sacks across thirteen season for the 49ers and Cowboys. Haley deserves recognition for perhaps no other reason than that the world needs to know about the last naked warrior.
3. Junior Seau - LB (12x Pro Bowl, 6x All Pro)
Linebackers can be tough to assess when looking at Hall-of-Fame status. They don't score touchdowns, they don't typically get a lot of sacks, and number of tackles can be misleading in terms of judging a player's quality. Seau's accomplishments speak for themselves - he was a mainstay in Honolulu from 1991-2002 and amassed over 1500 tackles in his 20-year career while starting in fifteen games or more twelve times.
4. Zach Thomas - LB (7x Pro Bowl, 5x All-Pro)
Again, much like Seau, the impact of Thomas is tough to measure with statistics. The individual accolades, in this case, are the deciding factor. Thomas started fifteen or more games eight times, and four times had more than 100 tackles in a season.
5. Tim Brown - WR, KR, PR (9x Pro Bowl)
Brown is hoping that this won't be the sixth consecutive year that he's been denied induction into the Hall-of-Fame. The Raiders legend piled up nearly 15,000 receiving yards over his seventeen-year career, eclipsing 80 receptions nine times. Where Brown sets himself apart, however, is with his ability as a returner. While his credentials as a receiver alone may be enough for enshrinement, Brown racked up over 4,500 return yards, scoring four touchdowns.