Former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Fred Taylor got as close to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as he’s ever been this year when he was one of 15 modern-era finalists for the Class of 2024. It seems he wasn’t that close to being one of the five selected to be enshrined, though.
On Monday, Peter King of NBC Sports — a member of the selection committee — offered some insight into the group’s deliberations on the finalists. Thoughts on Taylor were few and far between in King’s column.
When the committee cut the list of candidates from 15 to 10, King didn’t list Taylor as one of the 10 players to get his vote. He also didn’t put the former Jaguars running back on his list of the dozen players likeliest to reach Canton in the Class of 2025. King did include Marshawn Lynch — who will be newly eligible next year — on that latter list, though.
More specific details of the discussions and votes are confidential, so it’s impossible to know how many other committee members felt the same as King. It sure seems like Taylor never stood much of a chance, though.
Just reading what Peter King had to say, then talking to a few voters, @FredTaylorMade seemed to be an afterthought in the Hall voting. That shows you that group has no idea how great he was — they just go by Pro Bowls — a joke.
— Pete Prisco (@PriscoCBS) February 13, 2024
When it came time to debate Taylor’s case, the committee evidently didn’t take much time to reach a conclusion. King listed the length of each discussion and Taylor’s was one of the shortest.
“Parker, 70 minutes, 38 seconds; *Gradishar, 15:26; *McMichael, 10:02; Powell, 15:00; *Hester, 22:22; Gates, 35:55; Holt, 13:00; *Johnson, 22:45; Wayne, 37:30; Anderson, 13:40; Evans, 11:58; Jared Allen, 14:05; *Freeney, 11:35; *Peppers, 7:50; *Willis, 12:55; Eric Allen, 10:52; Harrison, 19:18; Woodson, 13:53; Taylor, 12:08.”
King cautioned readers to not make much of the discussion lengths, but added that often “discussions for those deemed very likely to enter are short.” Julius Peppers, Steve McMichael, and Dwight Freeney, three members of the Class of 2024, were subjects of three of the four shortest discussions.
Taylor is 17th in NFL history with 11,695 career rushing yards. Only two of the players ahead of him on the list — Frank Gore and Adrian Peterson — aren’t Hall of Famers, although neither has reached eligibility yet.
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