Grading future Hall of Fame chances of AFC North stars entering 2020
By Samuel Teets
Assessing the Hall of Fame chances of the AFC North’s top players.
Enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame is the greatest individual honor available to NFL players. Short of winning a Super Bowl, it’s the sport’s crowning achievement. Several active AFC North players already have résumés worthy of gold busts in Canton, OH.
The AFC North only produced one playoff participant in 2019, but the division featured several of the NFL’s best teams earlier this decade. As recently as 2014, three teams from the division won 10 games and claimed postseason bids. The Cleveland Browns even went 7-9 that season, giving the AFC North the league’s best winning percentage.
Many players who entered the NFL around the AFC North’s golden years built intriguing Hall of Fame résumés in subsequent seasons. I’ve assigned percentages to each significant player in the AFC North that I believe has done enough to at least garner consideration for the Hall of Fame now or in the future.
The percentages derive from accolades, stats, and wins accumulated over a player’s career. They reflect a player’s chances of entering the Hall of Fame today and do not account for how a player might perform in the future. So, older players have a significant advantage in this exercise. However, the Hall of Fame works similarly. That’s why players with short careers often struggle during the voting process.
Players with a 15-55 percent chance don’t stand a shot at making the Hall of Fame at this moment. Meanwhile, players with a designation from 56 percent to 79 percent are three to five highly productive years away from solidifying their status as all-time greats. Any player with an 80 percent chance or higher already has a résumé some voters might consider Hall of Fame worthy.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is highly selective, especially compared to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Keep that in mind if the grading process seems too harsh.