Darren Woodson is Unfortunately Not Likely to be a Hall-of-Famer

Darren Woodson

Rick Gosselin wrote an article yesterday noting that few safeties have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I made the same argument a month ago here (sixth post from the top).

Gosselin notes:

The committee has an obvious distaste for safeties. Paul Krause set a record that likely will never be broken with his 81 career interceptions, yet the committee made him wait 14 years before voting him in. And he was one of the lucky ones.

This was my take:

If you look at the list of Hall of Famers, corners are more likely to make it than safeties. Twelve of the nineteen defensive backs currently in the Hall were primarily corners during their careers. And consider these safeties who were members of various All-Decade teams but who are not members of the Hall of Fame:

Eddie Meador (Rams): 1960s- 6 Pro Bowls

Dick Anderson (Dolphins): 1970s- 3 Pro Bowls

Cliff Harris (Cowboys): 1970s- 6 Pro Bowls

Kenny Easley (Seahawks): 1980s- 5 Pro Bowls

Deron Cherry (Chiefs): 1980s- 6 Pro Bowls

Joey Browner (Vikings) 1980s- 6 Pro Bowls

Nolan Cromwell (Rams): 1980s- 4 Pro Bowls

LeRoy Butler (Packers): 1990s- 4 Pro Bowls

Steve Atwater (Broncos): 1990s- 8 Pro Bowls

Carnell Lake (Steelers): 1990s- 5 Pro Bowls

Woodson made five Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams, so he deserves to be mentioned along with all of these players. But I think a few of these players have better arguments than Woodson, and none of them are likely to get in. Of the players most comparable to Woodson, I think of Atwater, who had more accolades and who was also an important part of Super Bowl teams, just like Woodson.

The problem with the safeties, I think, is that they are probably grouped stat-wise with the corners, and the corners are more likely to have much greater numbers of interceptions. Just an educated guess, really. What Woodson would have going for him is that he was the prototype for the converted linebacker playing safety in the NFL, and several have followed in his path. Then again, being a game changer certainly hasn’t helped Bob Hayes…

Mind you, this is not a matter of my not wanting Woodson to make the Hall of Fame, but I do not think he will get in there. I would even go so far as to say that Woodson is a bit less deserving than Steve Atwater. Atwater had more accolades than Woodson, and the Broncos accomplished quite a bit with him leading the defense, yet Atwater isn’t and won’t be in the Hall of Fame. As much as I admired him on the Cowboys, I can’t honestly say that Woodson deserves the honor as much as Atwater does, and so I have a hard time believing that Woodson will get in.