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It might be early to be considering any current members of the Detroit Lions to make it to Canton, Ohio, but when it comes to the best chance, there isn’t many on the list.
Only a pair of Lions have any hope of the Hall of Fame according to ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, and they are quarterback Matthew Stafford and rookie cornerback Jeff Okudah, each of whom land in the “work to do” category. The duo only has a 10% to 39% chance to get into the hall when all is said and done at this point according to Barnwell’s metric.
Barnwell wrote:
“Stafford posted gaudy numbers earlier in his career when the Lions had him lead the league in attempts, but he has made it to one Pro Bowl and hasn’t won a playoff game in 11 seasons. If he can stay healthy, he’s probably going to retire in the top 10 for career passing yardage, but will that really be enough to get him in without more individual awards or team success? Okudah’s presence owes to his draft status as the No. 3 pick.”
Out of most of the players, Stafford would be the one who would seem to have the best chance to crack the hall thanks to the fact that he has put up the best numbers so far. The jury is still out on Okudah considering he’s never played a game in the league, even though he comes in with great fanfare as a top draft pick. At this point, however, that shouldn’t matter.
Obviously, for Stafford to be a serious threat for the Hall of Fame, he will need to win big in the playoffs. If he’s able to get that done, he should move closer to a lock on the list. Considering few Lions quarterbacks have ever done that, though, the odds of it still seem long at this point.
Matthew Stafford Rated Top 10 NFL QB for 2020
Even though there is a measure of disrespect across the league for the Lions quarterback, the league opinion of Stafford is changing a bit. The Lions quarterback, often overlooked, is getting more than his fair share of hype this offseason and most recently, Stafford was named to another prestigious list. NFL executives were polled for an ESPN piece revealing the top 10 quarterbacks in 2020. Stafford made the cut in the No. 10 position for this coming season.
Stafford isn’t within the top 5, but it’s a mild surprise to see him rising on such lists anyhow. Typically, Stafford is a middle of the pack quarterback in the mind of most across the league. This list only points to the fact that Stafford is on the rise in several circles, and it could be due to the expectation that he will have a great season this year.
If Stafford can stack more solid seasons together and possibly win some hardware, there is a great chance he will be able to get what he needs done for Canton.
Calvin Johnson’s Hall of Fame Case Examined
A recent player who might have a much stronger Hall of Fame case is Calvin Johnson. Johnson is eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2021, and it’s interesting to see some of the hype he is getting as it relates to making it to Canton next year. Recently, John Breech of CBS Sports debated some of the candidates for Johnson’s class, and explained their chances.
When it came to Johnson, Breech explained the potential ups and downs of Johnson trying to get the call next year. Here’s a look at his conclusion:
“You can definitely make a strong argument that Calvin Johnson belongs in the Hall of Fame, but Megatron might have a tough time getting in during his first-year of eligibility, and that’s mainly because his career was so short. Johnson decided to retire after just nine seasons, and that was mainly due to two reasons: His body was beat up and he was fed up with the Lions. As a matter of fact, Johnson actually did a recent interview where he took another shot at his former team.
“First thing, I’m like, ‘Whoa, this is how you should take care of your players,'” Johnson told the Behind the Mask podcast. “I go to Miami — it ain’t like Miami’s winning, but they’re taking care of their players … I go to Oakland, I’m like, ‘Damn, we don’t have none of this in Detroit.'”
Despite his sour relationship with the Lions, he did thrive during his time with the team. During his nine-year career, Johnson led was named an All-Pro three times and he led the NFL in receiving yards twice. Megatron also led the NFL in receptions in 2012 when he caught 122 passes. The impressive thing is that he did all of this even though he was usually the focal point of every opponent’s defense. During that 2012 season, Johnson finished with 1,964 receiving yards, which is still the NFL’s single-season record. As a matter of fact, no player in the NFL has even finished a season with 1,900 yards.
The biggest knock on Johnson is that he never really played on any good Lions teams. During his time in Detroit, the Lions went just 54-90 and he went 0-2 in the playoffs. Of course, no one will be blaming those losses on Johnson, especially his first one. Back in January 2012, Johnson caught 12 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns in a 45-28 loss to the Saints.”
Johnson would seem to be a lock to make it to the Hall of Fame eventually given what he did in the NFL for years and also given the way he changed the game at wide receiver.
Will any of his Lions teammates join him anytime soon? Possibly not as this list is considered.
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