For the second straight year, despite being nominated in his first year of eligibility, former Chicago Bears’ great Devin Hester has been left out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
From a glance, it’s understandable why Hester still has to wait before getting enshrined in Canton, Ohio. Players like him — almost entirely exclusive kick/punt returners — typically don’t walk into the Hall. Voters tend to veer towards non-specialists in guys who participated in more than a handful of plays a game.
(Deep breath)
But there is arguably no one in NFL history who has ever maximized their handful of plays better than Devin Hester. I’d go as far as to say that he went above and beyond by striking fear into the hearts of special teams coordinators and kickers for over a decade.
Think about how hard it is to score on a punt or kick return. How often do you actually see someone take it to the house on a play that maybe happens a dozen times in a single game… at most?
Well, Hester recorded 14 punt return touchdowns. Fourteen! Eric Metcalf is the only other player in NFL history with double-digit punt return TDs (10). Throw in Hester’s five kick return scores, and his 19 combined kick/punt return scores are the most in league history. Hester truly made one of the most challenging plays to score on an art form.
Lest I forget, Hester is a member of the NFL’s 100th Anniversary All-Time team, a member of both the 2000s and 2010s All-Decade teams, and is a three-time First-Team All-Pro and four-time Pro Bowler.
He also did this to open a Super Bowl:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HN_d09Ivd8
Ho-hum, I guess!
There is no more chaotic or fun play than a kick or punt return, and Hester made it a show every time he touched the ball. We’ve never seen someone like him, and we might never see someone like him again.
If that’s not Hall-worthy, I don’t know what is.
When you get the chance, you should check out Jack Silverstein’s Hall of Fame case for Hester based on voting, over with SB Nation’s Windy City Gridiron.