I don't even know whether to group him with the '90s guys or the best of the early 2000s. Draymond Green, Sports Central / Original Sports Fan Commentary Since 1998, Best Wide Receivers Not in the Hall of Fame: 1980s, Best Wide Receivers Not in the Hall of Fame: 1970s, Best Wide Receivers Not in the Hall of Fame: 1960s, Best Wide Receivers Not in the Hall of Fame: 1950s, Risers, Fallers of the 2022-23 NFL Season. Compared to the other great receivers of the mid-70s and early 80s, Carmichael: 590 rec, 8,985 yds, 79 TD Sharpe simply got lost in the shuffle. Becoming a wide receiver is almost just an inevitable part of life at that point lmao" Looking just at the 70s, Gray ranks 17th in receptions, 9th in yardage, and 11th in TDs. Im scared as hell. The Hall of Fame argument in Rison's favor is that he has good career stats for his era, and he was a remarkable player in his prime, with five 1,000-yard seasons and four years of double-digit TDs. Raider fans want Branch and Ken Stabler and Ray Guy and maybe a couple others in, as well. The late '80s and early '90s, meanwhile, have no one but Jerry Rice in the Hall of Fame. More, Subscribe to the Sports Central Feed Follow Sports Central on Twitter, "There is a reason he is a two-time MVP, a Finals MVP, because he pushes us over the top in moments like this. But those guys had a lot of other really good seasons, too. But what a force at his best. Eagles great Harold Carmichael finally gets his Hall of Fame enshrinement He also had several very good seasons in the '80s, making the Pro Bowl in 1980 and going over 1,000 yards in '81. For years, it was Lynn Swann or Art Monk. HOF Qualifications: POOR. Receiving statistics are exploding, and their numbers don't look as glorious now that guys like Marvin Harrison, Randy Moss, and Terrell Owens have played full careers. A score of 100 is around the average modern-era inductee. Gary Clark - Washington Redskins/Phoenix Cardinals/Miami Dolphins -. Their stats in the decade are comparable, but Pearson found the postseason glory that eluded Branch until the 1980s, and teammates called him Mr. That's good. Moss? The same is true for Brown. Tony Boselli, one of the best left tackles of a generation full of great ones, has been a finalist for five years. There is one clear answer when it comes to who is the greatest receiver in 'Skins history: Art Monk. If you're here for another era, check out our other articles in this series: Best Wide Receivers Not in the Hall of Fame: 1980s When he's in the zone like that, you try to just get him in his spots, get him the ball and get out of the way. He was a showboat in Atlanta, but you can get away with that when you're performing at a high level. The same thing happened to Brown with receiving yardage. In the '70s, Jackson gained 7,724 receiving yards, far ahead of 2nd-place Ken Burrough (6,343), and even farther ahead of celebrated players like Harold Carmichael (6,080), Drew Pearson (5,713), Cliff Branch (5,520), and Lynn Swann (3,982). He lacks Johnsons best seasons and Smiths image. Andre Rison Touchdown machine in the early '90s who revived his career with a 54-yard TD in the Super Bowl and a Pro Bowl with the Chiefs. 1945-54: Tom Fears, Elroy Hirsch, Dante Lavelli, Pete Pihos Julio Jones: Hes a Hall of Fame lock. Art Monk. OG Bill Willis (1942-44, Hall of Fame class of 1977) A three-year starter for Ohio State from 1942-44, Bill Willis was a Buckeye All-American in 1943 and 1944 Ohio State's first Black honoree . Four: Branch, Ellard, Fryar, Hennigan, Howton, Moore, Sharpe, Otis Taylor Think again. 1971-84, Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys His first 1,000-yard season came in 1991, when Fryar was 29 and playing his eighth year in the NFL. 1990-99: Michael Irvin. He has a well-deserved tough-guy personality, a high television profile (all voters try to tune that sort of thing out, and a few succeed), and several signature plays, including the. Those teams were consistently good, but they played in two Super Bowls. Jerry Rice, Marvin Harrison, and Carter are the only players in history with five straight years of double-digit receiving touchdowns. I was surprised when Carter didn't get elected to Canton in either of his first two years of eligibility. Both the Eagles and Rams improved dramatically when they acquired Jackson. Troy Aikman, and Emmitt Smith. This is a Game 7 I will forever remember as the Steph Curry game." Smith, like Andre Johnson, becomes Hall of Fame eligible next season. Some of those assignments are close calls. Below, I've organized HOF receivers by the decade in which they most established their greatness. Hill is no Hall of Famer yet, but it will only take a few more deep playoff runs with Patrick Mahomes to put him over the top. In the '90s, who besides Jerry Rice did what Brown and Carter did? Hall Of Good (13). (In fact, Smith remains the Jags all-time franchise leader in AV to this day.). Worthy Hall of Fame (HOF) NFL Wide Receivers: The shoo-ins Let's start by running through five obvious cases of overly-qualified receivers who have not yet been enshrined. A wide receiver who was the 5th- or 6th-best of his generation is a player I'm okay leaving out of Canton. Harrison is one of the best wide receivers in NFL history, currently ranked fourth all-time in career receptions and fifth all-time in receiving yards. Known for his durability, Carter played full 16-game seasons in 13 of his 16 years in the NFL. But that would result in a Pro Football Hall of Fame teeming with hundreds of players at various positions. Pro Football Network, LLC. Essentially, Carter is battling the notion that he usually wasn't even the best receiver on his own team, that he was a system player who seldom had to deal with double-teams and caught a bunch of short passes. During the 1970s, Carmichael ranked 2nd in receptions, tied for 2nd in receiving TDs, and 4th in receiving yardage. Holt still has better numbers, but he played on a wild offense. Were Branch and Carmichael and Pearson really more outstanding than Henry Ellard and Andre Reed and Sterling Sharpe? According to the True Receiving Yards metric I created with Chase Stuart of FootballPerspective.com which adjusts a receivers stats for era, schedule length and team passing volume only Harrison (8,311 TRY) was more productive over that span than Smith (8,271). These NFL wide receivers do not count toward our list of 10 worthy Hall of Famers. He probably doesn't need to be in. When football fans cry "snub," there's a good chance they're talking about a wide receiver. Fryar was a late bloomer. Ellard had four seasons among the top four in receiving yards, Fryar none. Boldin is yet another receiver who becomes a Hall of Fame nominee this year. As Pro-Football-References Doug Drinen once astutely noted, football receivers are teammates but they are also competitors, vying for the quarterbacks attention in addition to fighting off defenders. And Smiths best set of seven straight seasons (1996 through 2002) earns him sole possession of seventh place since 1960, trailing only Rice, Harrison, Reggie Wayne, Michael Irvin, Alworth and Moss. And that line is inevitably blurry. Gray: 351 rec, 6,644 yds, 45 TD Is former Patriots receiver Julian Edelman a Hall of Famer? Mel Gray was certainly a fine player. Here's a look at some of the best prospects available for teams drafting in the early part of the second round: Jordan Porter Jr., CB, Penn State. In his 17-year career, Brown made the Associated Press All-Pro team just once, as a second-team selection in 1997. Top 25 Best NFL Wide Receivers of All Time - bolavip.com 9:00 AM. They all had about three really good years, plus some others when they were above average. Harrison, Owens, and Isaac Bruce all have far more impressive career stats. Reggie Wayne is still years away, and it's too early to even make predictions about guys like Andre Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald. Reaching those round numbers makes his stats look a lot different. Moore's problem is two-fold. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); After looking over all the stats for these great receivers, Ive come to the conclusion that Lynn Swan should not be in the HOF before quite a few of these other receivers. For what it's worth, neither has ever reached the Finalist stage of voting. 1955-64: Raymond Berry, Tommy McDonald, Bobby Mitchell How in the hell going to put him in and pass on player like brown and carter. NFL Rumors: DeAndre Hopkins To Remain With the Arizona Cardinals? At . Ranking Tom Brady's 41 best receivers during his 18-year, 9-Super Bowl Jackson made five Pro Bowls and was remarkably steady, with over 500 receiving yards for 13 consecutive seasons, breaking Raymond Berry's record of 11. 2023 NFL Draft: Pro comparisons and analytical team fits for top wide Sports Central is the longest-running independent sports fan publication online, established in 1998 and featured by the BBC, NY Times, Chicago Tribune, and more. In 1974, Pearson set career-highs in a 14-game season, no less for receptions and receiving yards. Ron Wolf, the GM for the Packers in the '90s, told Sports Illustrated's Paul Zimmerman, "When [the Vikings] got in close, it was Carter you had to worry about. 5. Rison signed a big free agent contract with the Browns, then publicly cursed at the Cleveland fans. The Jets' roster doesn't look wildly different in most spots compared to last season well, unless you count the Hall of Fame quarterback they just added last week. For years, it was Lynn Swann or Art Monk. But he was a heck of a player. 670 receptions, 9,174 yards, 62 TD. 7101 yards, 53 tds. He was a four-time Pro Bowler and made three All-Pro teams as a starter (more than Cris Carter and Tim Brown combined). NFL players with four consecutive seasons of double-digit receiving TDs: Tommy McDonald, Jerry Rice, Rison, Cris Carter, Randy Moss, and Marvin Harrison. But I think the voters have been reluctant to enshrine him partly for the same reason Art Monk had to wait so long. He was the Megatron of the time and his stats blow away the similar era receivers who are in the HOF. 1955-64: Raymond Berry, Tommy McDonald, Bobby Mitchell Super Bowl rings well sure the does matter. But the truth, I think, is that he falls a bit short, maybe as much by bad luck as anything. Hall of Fame Case: Point #1- Dominance While he only played for seven seasons, Sterling Sharpe was, undoubtedly, one of the best (if not THE best) wide receiver in the game during his career. 1950-59: n/a Branch made four Pro Bowls, was four times first-team All-Pro, and played on three Super Bowl winners. "The Marks Brothers" have better numbers than some of the receivers in the Hall of Fame. In 1968, the Eagles finished 14th in the 16-team NFL in passing yardage, and 15th in scoring, with just 14.4 points per game. He played for four teams in three years, his girlfriend alleged that he was abusive, he went to the Raiders of course he went to the Raiders and Rison even played for the Toronto Argonauts after his NFL career ended (winning a Grey Cup in 2004). But debates that take place the moment a good-not-great player retires are not really healthy. Best Wide Receivers Not in the HOF: 1960s - Sports Central They force some of us to denigrate a player like Edelmans legacy because other folks are either just praising a local hero or advancing a bad-faith or ill-informed talking point. Smith in 2004 gained the third-most receiving yards ever by a 35-year-old (1,172), and he and Rice are the only players ever to gain over 1,000 yards in a full season after turning 36. Some of those assignments are close calls. Irving Fryar Five-time Pro Bowler and standout punt returner who played 17 seasons and scored 88 total TDs. Zac Brown Band . Top 20 Receivers | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site His career yards-per-reception rate of 19.2 ranks 10th in history and is the highest of any player whose career began after the AFL-NFL merger. Those same seasons, he placed 23rd, 1st, 2nd, tied for 1st, and 8th in receptions an average of 7th. His detractors would point out that while Smith did have exceptional years, and did play well in several others, he had so few seasons on the field that his overall statistics don't measure up to the best players of his generation. Best Wide Receivers Not in the Hall of Fame: 1960s Drew Pearson Had five standout seasons and played in seven NFC Championship Games. He finished his 234-game career as the NFL's second all-time leading receiver with 1,101 receptions for 13,899 yards. Herman Moore So this is really a list of 15. He probably doesn't need to be in. It's useful to me, in thinking about these issues, to break them down by era. 1985-94: Jerry Rice The argument against Brown is that he was consistent rather than exceptional. Many fans identify the HOF plights of Cliff Branch and Pearson together. That said, Hopkins may have to wait in line behind another recent Houston Texans receiver and former teammate. Visual Edge IT Logo. All members of our Hall of Pretty Damn Good Players brought value to their teams in an underappreciated way its sort of a requirement for enshrinement, after all. Moore is remembered largely as a good player who was very productive in his system for about three years, and I believe that is a fairly accurate representation of his career. Harrison is one of the best wide receivers in NFL history, currently ranked fourth all-time in career receptions and fifth all-time in receiving yards. Brohm was inducted into the Kentucky Athletic Association Hall of Fame in Lexington. And if you look at the list of active players, there's really no one else who figures to pass Brown and Carter any time soon. Branch's stat line in the '80s dwarfs Pearson's, by over 1,000 yards 50% more yardage. Carmichael was one of the best wide receivers of his era. http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-TPSWill he or won't he get into. Swann, Bob Hayes and Warfield all had less receptions and Yards, and only Warfield had more TDs. The 2023 NFL Draft has wrapped -- but the team-building process continues with the signing of undrafted rookie free agents. 743 receptions, 10,205 yards, 84 TD. Chiefs announce Dante Hall to be 2023 inductee into team Hall of Fame. Were we awed by their stats because they were truly great, or largely because of when they played and how the game is changing? During the 1970s, Jackson led all players in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving TDs. That player would be michael irving popular has rings and of course on the cowboys. Best Wide Receivers Not in the HOF: 1990s - Sports Central Hill has already accumulated the kernel of a Hall of Fame portfolio. In 2000, they chose Carter, not Michael Irvin, to join Rice on the All-90s Team. But Smiths Canton case hasnt gotten much more traction than making the preliminary lists of candidates. James Jones: Julian Edelman had a very good career, but there's no way he belongs in the Hall of Fame. Live From New York: Will AI Replace This Podcast. Carmichael begins this exercise in a hole, as the only player on the list who ranked among the top 10 in receiving yardage fewer than three times. Drew Pearson (part of the 2021 class) was a great player, and I grew up worshipping Harold Carmichael (2020 Centennial class), but Branch is more qualified than either of them. There will be about half a dozen who have great seasons like Smith in '99, and about half of those will excel even further, push the records set by superstars like Moss and Owens and Harrison. He has a well-deserved tough-guy personality, a high television profile (all voters try to tune that sort of thing out, and a few succeed), and several signature plays, including the broken-arm catch and some unforgettable playoff performances. Various/Getty Images. Top 25 Best NFL Wide Receivers of All Time Based in Charlotte, NC, we specialize in intelligent sports fan commentary and colorful interpretation. Smith made the most of the years he did play, with nine 1,000-yard receiving seasons and five Pro Bowl appearances. There's a comparison to be drawn between Smith from '95-'04 and Big Game Torry Holt in the 2000s, when BGTH led the league in receptions and yards, with about half as many touchdowns as Moss and Owens. That's when Steve Largent and James Lofton and the Air Coryell teams in San Diego were shattering receiving records. All Rights Reserved. He led the NFL in receiving touchdowns twice, and in . Like Cris Carter and Tim Brown, Jackson was seen more as steady than exceptional. 1965-74: Fred Biletnikoff, Bob Hayes, Charley Taylor, Paul Warfield Based in Charlotte, NC, we specialize in intelligent sports fan commentary and colorful interpretation. for NFL news and in-depth analysis concerning the 2021 season and beyond. We continue this week with WRs of the 1970s. From 200-2006, Hall became one of the premier playmakers for the franchise, gaining . But Branch was only an exceptional player for those three seasons. His Hall of Fame candidacy came up just as the committee was flailing to clear an embarrassing Art Monk-Andre Reed-Tim Brown logjam. He also would have led the NFL in receptions in 1990. In 1969, Jackson's first year with the team, they ranked 7th in passing yards and tied for 8th in scoring, jumping to 19.9 ppg. When Philadelphia traded Jackson to Los Angeles in 1973, the 6-7-1 Rams improved to 12-2. But we can certainly compare these players to their peers. HOF Qualifications: FAIR. They can't be bumped more than five yards downfield. That's a much different rsum, particularly on the touchdowns. And then theres Jimmy Smith, a five-time Pro Bowler who led the NFL with 116 receptions in 1999. Well popularity rings and of course the team. See? Jackson's record wasn't tied until Tim Brown in 2003, and finally broken by Terrell Owens and Tony Gonzalez almost 30 years later. Looking at the 1990s as a whole, Moore had more receptions than Andre Reed, more yardage than Henry Ellard, and more touchdowns than Michael Irvin. He probably doesn't need to be in. And if nothing else, the Hall of Pretty Damn Good is all about keeping great players like him from slipping through the cracks of history. NFL Career: Clayton played from 1983 to 1993. Shortly before Jackson retired, the NFL moved to a 16-game schedule and made several rules changes to substantially open up the passing game. Carter was a standout. In 1979, Carmichael broke the NFL record for consecutive games with a reception, eventually stretching the mark to 127 before it was broken by Steve Largent in 1986. NFL wide receivers that will make the hall of fame and ones that won't.If you're new, Subscribe! The most by any current Hall of Fame receiver is five (Tommy McDonald). He didn't live up to his contract in Cleveland, he got a bad reputation, Left Eye burned his house down, and he played for seven teams, eight if you count the Argos. Despite his qualifications, hes probably not getting in on the first ballot. Visit Canton Logo. And yet, half his production came after '95: five of his eight 1,000-yard seasons, four of his six double-digit TD years, overall about 47% of his statistical value. Stats again: The interesting thing about this list is that many of these players need to be evaluated with serious consideration of their postseason accomplishments. Irving Fryar His receiving TDs ranked 4th, 4th, 11th, 11th, and about 40th (actually a bazillion-way tie for 37th). Grays not in the same statistical neighborhood as anyone except Swann, who was perhaps the most graceful and visually stunning receiver in history, a clutch legend and playoff hero, and who is widely regarded as a poor choice for Canton (see Tims comment above). Moore had four 1,000-yard receiving seasons in the '90s. Just play along. Yeah, he had a bunch of good seasons, a nice prime, but so did all the others. Sports Central is the longest-running independent sports fan publication online, established in 1998 and featured by the BBC, NY Times, Chicago Tribune, and more. [Being sober] is not a victory because its a lifelong battle, Smith told Frenette. In his prime, Smith was a receiving machine, easily the most important part of a Jaguars team that won the NFLs seventh-most games from 1996 through Smiths retirement after the 2005 season. Pearson: 489 rec, 7,822 yds, 48 TD 1992-2005, Dallas Cowboys, Jacksonville Jaguars Who scored more TDs in the '90s, Michael Irvin or Herman Moore? at You probably don't remember Jimmy Smith on the Cowboys in 1992. Is it popularity and how much they were in the spot light. A much different narrative builds around a player who always leads the league in an important stat like that. . Beyond the overall numbers, he led the league at various times in all of those categories, actually led in yardage twice (1969 and 1972). He should be in. Rather than three years finishing second and one tied for first, he's got two seasons alone at the top and another tied for the lead. Stroud Could Slide, Bijan Robinson, and More, Ranking the Best NFL Draft Steals of All Time From Tom Brady to Tony Romo. 30, 2023, 5:11 p.m. Kansas State wide receiver Kade Warner (85) carries the ball as Alabama . I believe only about five of those players deserve induction, but there's a case to be made for all of them. Sharpe, unfortunately, suffered a neck injury at the end of the 1994 season, and that was that. Four: Branch, Ellard, Fryar, Hennigan, Howton, Moore, Sharpe, Otis Taylor He has to be on the list. To me, those are the Hall of Famers, and Smith is just barely that next group down.
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