Not only have the Ravens been blessed with plenty of Hall of Fame talent over their three-decade existence, but it’s included some of the very best to ever land in Canton.
Jonathan Ogden is arguably one of the top five left tackles in NFL history.
Ray Lewis and Ed Reed are among the greatest defensive players of all time and quite possibly the very best at their respective positions.
In other words, there was never any doubting their status as first-ballot inductees. They weren’t going to wait behind anyone.
But we forget how exclusive that group really is with just 42 men being elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility since 2000. That’s why Terrell Suggs and Marshal Yanda falling short in their first year of eligibility is neither surprising nor worthy of outrage, especially with the Hall of Fame tightening the screws on its voting process this year. Being first-year finalists bodes well for their eventual induction at the very least.
Both Suggs and Yanda have credentials making them worthy, but they don’t match those of Ogden, Lewis, and Reed or the very best of the best at their respective positions.
In other words, they’ll have to wait, which is what most Hall of Famers have to do.
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Suggs wasn’t about to jump Jared Allen, who was elected in his fifth straight year as a finalist on Thursday night. Even if you view Suggs as the better player — like I do — overall, the difference wasn’t so wide to expect the 2011 AP Defensive Player of the Year to move ahead of someone with four first-team All-Pro selections. Suggs had only one despite making more Pro Bowls (seven) than Allen (five).
Ranking eighth on the all-time sacks list and tracked by Pro Football Reference with the most tackles for a loss in NFL history, Suggs will have his place in Canton eventually. But Julius Peppers, Jason Taylor, Bruce Smith, and Reggie White being the only defensive ends/edge rushers to be first-ballot inductees dating back to 2000 provides some perspective.
Yanda’s Hall of Fame path is complicated by the reality that guard isn’t a glamour position of stats nor one that’s always been appropriately represented in Canton over the years. Larry Allen and Bruce Matthews are the only guards to be elected on the first try in over 30 years with even 12-time Pro Bowl and seven-time first-team All-Pro selection Randall McDaniel having to wait until his third year of eligibility. Other deserving guards have waited longer.
Playing in a era in which publications like Pro Football Focus have attempted to quantify play that depended mostly on narratives in the past, Yanda gained more notoriety in the process of making eight Pro Bowls, twice being a first-team All-Pro, and being voted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame all-decade team for the 2010s. His ability to move out to play right tackle at a high level on multiple occasions only enhanced his legacy.
Like Suggs with Jared Allen, Yanda may have to wait behind Jahri Evans, who also fell short as a finalist for the second time in his third year of eligibility. Evans was a six-time Pro Bowl selection, four-time first-team All-Pro, and a member of the All-2010s team with Yanda.
Ultimately, no case needed to be made for Ogden, Lewis, and Reed to make the Hall of Fame, but Suggs and Yanda are in a different category. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t — or won’t — get in, but time will tell how long they’ll have to wait for their gold jackets.
