There is always a backlog of hugely talented players waiting to be enshrined, and each year the lengthy queue gets longer and longer with the eligibility of players who have been retired for the required five year period.
In the 94-year history of the NFL, only 287 players have been enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Considering that, on average, the NFL sees around 2,000 players take to the field each season, you have to be something special to receive a golden jacket. To be a member of this exclusive group is to be someone held up as an integral figure when recounting the history of football, and the voting committee - despite their flaws - tend to place importance on areas such as Super Bowl wins, individual accolades, iconic moments and records.
The phrase 'First-Ballot Hall of Famer' is thrown around all-too often, but in 2015 there are three legitimate candidates who could enter the hall on their first attempt.
Kurt Warner
Teams: St Louis Rams (1998-2003), New York Giants (2004), Arizona Cardinals (2005-2009)
Why should he be in the Hall of Fame?
Very few NFL players can be described as having a 'unique' career, and Kurt Warner is one of the very few to whom the word applies. Everyone knows the story of how a Green Bay Packers reject turned to working a supermarket job to make ends meet, who enjoyed success in the Arena Football League and NFL Europe before unexpectedly emerging as the linchpin of the most potent offense in the history of football. He took a 4-12 St. Louis Rams team to a 13-3 record and a Super Bowl title in 1999, of which Warner was the MVP. In his first three seasons, Warner was named league MVP twice, led the NFL in completion percentage, passing yards, touchdowns (twice), yards per attempt (three times) and passer rating (twice).
This period of dominance was followed by a dry spell of mediocrity, and a one-year stint in New York supporting Eli Manning, but it is his time with the Arizona Cardinals that makes him a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Between 2005 and 2009, Warner was back to his early-career best.
It is rare for a quarterback to have a three-year stretch as good as Warner had in St. Louis. It is even rarer for someone to do it twice. He took another lifeless franchise to the Super Bowl, and it is a testament to Warner that neither franchise has scaled the same heights they did when he was under centre.
He retired a four-time pro bowler and two-time all-pro, the holder of the top three Super Bowl passing records, and the only NFL quarterback to throw for over 400 yards in a Super Bowl. He ticks all of the success-based and statistical boxes that Hall of Fame voters look for, and - seeing as he will be the first eligible quarterback in a decade - it is highly likely we'll see him get his gold jacket a year from now.
Junior Seau
Teams: San Diego Chargers (1990 - 2002), Miami Dolphins (2003 - 2005), New England Patriots (2006 - 2009)
Why should he be in the Hall of Fame?
It's a tragedy that we will never get to see Junior Seau stand atop the podium at Canton, surrounded by his peers and looking out over swathes of grateful fans of all teams. Because, of course, Seau possessed a talent that could be appreciated by more than the San Diego Chargers faithful. Seau spent thirteen of his twenty NFL seasons in San Diego - being named to the Pro Bowl in twelve - and in many ways was the franchise. He later enjoyed stints with the Miami Dolphins and New England Patriots, and remained the cerebral, passionate, relentless and hard-hitting linebacker he had been in San Diego.
A Super Bowl ring may have escaped him, but statistically there can be no doubting his place among the greats of the game; in 268 regular season games, Seau amassed 1,396 tackles, 45.5 sacks and 14 interceptions. He led the Chargers in tackles in eight seasons, was named on the All-Pro team eight times, the Pro Football Hall of Fame named him to the All-Decade 1990's team, and was commended multiple times for his generosity away from the football field. Seau tragically took his own life in 2012, placing the spotlight firmly on the debate surrounding concussions in football. But while that dark and murky chapter of NFL history continues, you can be assured that 2015 Hall of Fame ceremony will be a celebration of one of the league's brightest figures.
Orlando Pace
Teams: St. Louis Rams (1997-2008), Chicago Bears (2009)
Why should he be in the Hall of Fame?
If the Hall of Fame recognises Walter Jones and Jonathan Ogden as first-ballot Hall of Famers, then they must too recognise Orlando Pace. All three men enjoyed careers of similar length, and all three simultaneously dominated the competition as three of the greatest offensive linemen of both their generation and of all time.
Between 1968 and 1989, eight of twenty-two first overall draft picks ended up in the Hall of Fame. Between 1990 and 2000, only two top picks could be considered first-ballot Hall of Famers - one is Peyton Manning (1998), and the other is Orlando Pace.
Drafted in 1997, Pace quickly emerged as one of the key members of the Rams teams that dominated the late 1990's and early 2000's - his uncanny speed and frightening strength paved the way for Marshall Faulk's dominant stretch between 1999 and 2002, and allowed Kurt Warner time to make the big throws that enabled the Rams to bring home Super Bowl XXXIV. Not everyone from that team can make it on the first attempt, but if both Faulk and Warner (and potentially Tory Holt and Isaac Bruce) are to be enshrined, then arguably the biggest catalyst for their success should join them also.
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