Jake Long, Richmond Webb, Troy Vincent, Wes Welker and of course Zach Thomas.
Of these guys, I would enshrine Thomas and Webb. Both were Dolphin stalwarts with longevity and outstanding stats. Most of the NFL agreed that Thomas should have been selected last year, but he didn’t get enough votes.
Jake Long’s career wasn’t HOF-worthy, mostly because of bad luck and bad leg injuries. He coulda been a great one. We Welker’s best years were with the Pats, where he was a nice slot guy, but I don’t see that much to put him in the HOF. Troy Vincent is interesting, because of his off-the-field career as an NFL executive. That, combined with a decent pro career, might get him some votes.
The “old-timers” vote is separate from the modern-era vote. It’s still a travesty that the late Bob Kuechenberg isn’t in the HOF. Hopefully his family will see it one day. There would be no heroism from Larry Csonka or Mercury Morris if not for Kooch blowing opponents out of the water on every snap.
110% agree…. it’s a travesty that Richmond Webb is not in the HOF. He was dominant right from his rookie year until he left the Dolphins. 7x pro bowler, 4x 1st or 2nd team all pro, 1990’s all decade team…. what I wouldn’t give to have a Richmond Webb again. Zach Thomas was just as dominant but was always overshadowed by Ray Lewis in the same era. Yet, look at his stats and accolades…. they compare very favorably to a Brian Urlacher who is already in the hall. For whatever reason these two guys never seemed to get the national attention they deserved but both were incredible players for very long periods of time (by NFL standards at least).
Can’t disagree with anything that has been said here. Webb and Thomas should be in there for sure. Thomas did everything that Urlacher did but with a smaller frame…truly special.