With this year's Hall of Fame class set to be announced tomorrow at the NFL Honors show, it's the perfect time to rank some players destined for a gold jacket. To keep things fresh, I picked one player per position, meaning it's the best of the best in this list. These are first ballot hall of famers.
1. Tom Brady - QUARTERBACK
He's the GOAT and we all know how much he's accomplished. End of story.
2. JJ Watt - DEFENSIVE END
Any three-time Defensive Player of the Year and five-time First Team All-Pro player is sure to get their bust in Canton. Additionally, he is one of a handful of players to lead the league in sacks twice in his career. JJ Watt has wreaked havoc on opposing offenses even when his surrounding cast hasn't commanded much attention around him. His effort to raise millions of dollars for hurricane relief shows his class off the field.
3. Larry Fitzgerald - WIDE RECEIVER
One of the greatest wide receivers ever is just as much of a shoe in as Brady. Whether he or Dan Marino deserves a Super Bowl more may be as divisive a question as "is Eli Manning deserving of two Super Bowl rings?". Fitzgerald will retire second all-time in receiving yards and receptions behind Jerry Rice, and sixth in receiving touchdowns. He has made more tackles than he has had drops. That he has had such success while catching passes from 18 different quarterbacks since joining the Cardinals in 2004 is a testament to his versatility and talent.
4. Adam Vinatieri - KICKER
During this year's AFC Championship game's wild finish, Tony Romo laughed "would Tom Brady have won so much without Adam Vinatieri?", pointing out how many times the former Patriot had kicked to win a game. Vinatieri has nerves of steel, which shows in the number of records (and four Super Bowl rings) he owns. Most points scored, most field goals made, most overtime field goals made, most post-season points scored; Vinatieri has had a major impact on the league and is the only player with over 1,000 points with two different teams. His lack of time spent on the field is no reason to rank him lower.
5. Aaron Donald - DEFENSIVE TACKLE
Coming up to the draft, all you'll hear about prospects is whether they're a "generational player". It's used to describe any non-quarterback going first overall (see: Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney). But to define "generational player", commentators use Aaron Donald's name. He's an offensive coordinator's nightmare --the kind coaches are looking at before the season even begins. He added a second-straight NFL Defensive Player of the Year to his resume this season along with the sack leader title. But a major summary of his talents is how he is being called the difference between this weekend's Super Bowl contenders, the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams. That kind of talent makes its way to Canton.
6. Frank Gore - RUNNING BACK
Gore is ranked fourth all time in rushing yards. That's ahead of players like LaDainian Tomlinson, Eric Dickerson and Jim Brown. (Any retired player ranked in the Top 10 has made the Hall of Fame.) Gore's 95 touchdowns put him 25th all time. That's ahead of players like Jerome Bettis, Tony Dorsett and Marshawn Lynch. So while he was only named second team All-Pro once, the constant slogging in his career gives him a resume certain to see him enshrined in football immortality.
7. Antonio Gates - TIGHT END
Gates' 116 receiving touchdowns are the most by a tight end and joint sixth all-time (with Larry Fitzgerald). His background as a basketball player (who didn't play football in college) brought speed and athleticism that completely revolutionized the tight end position. Add his three first-team All-Pro selections to that to know he will be remembered as one of the greats.
8. Jason Peters - OFFENSIVE TACKLE
Peters has been the most dominant left tackle for quite a while, a position general managers say is the most difficult to find after quarterback. It's funny then that Peters started his career as a tight end, went undrafted and was cut from his first training camp. That kind of story is enough to put a chip on any player's shoulder, and looks like it will ultimately put Peters in the Hall of Fame. It's somewhat cruel that the left tackle spent his lone Super Bowl win injured on the sideline.
9. Richard Sherman - CORNERBACK
It's difficult not to name a number of players here, but Sherman blows any other active cornerback's statistics away. He beats them in coverage snap per reception allowed, passer rating allowed and completion percentage against, while ranking top five in coverage grade and forced incompletion rate. He has the most interceptions since coming into the league in 2011. Sherman's dominance has been obvious throughout his career, but never more than his 2014 tipped ball in the NFC Championship game that got his Seahawks to the Super Bowl.
10. Earl Thomas - SAFETY
The Legion of Boom will forever stay in the minds of Seahawk fans and many around the league. Earl Thomas may have been it's most important piece. Playing the shutdown safety role was instrumental to Seattle's Super Bowl success, with Thomas being named first-team All-Pro the three seasons building up to the win. A leader on the field, Thomas was considered for the Defensive Player of the Year title in 2013 from a position that rarely gets any votes.
Mark Hogan
Комментарии