Tag: Torry Holt

Torry Holt, London Fletcher named semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2024 class

Torry Holt and London Fletcher were both named semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024

Torry Holt is knocking on the door of Canton once again in 2024. Hopefully this is the year he hears a knock on his door welcoming him into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

On Tuesday, 25 semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024 were announced, with Holt and London Fletcher being among them. They’re the only two players with Rams ties who are semifinalists, which means Steven Jackson was snubbed for the fourth year in a row.

Holt is a semifinalist for the 10th time, and he’s also been a finalist in four consecutive years. It would be a surprise if that streak ends this year, but it’s a loaded class that includes Dwight Freeney, Antonio Gates, Julius Peppers and Tiki Barber.

Of all this year’s semifinalists, no player has made it to this stage more than Holt. Hines Ward and Darren Woodson are the next closest, with eight years as a semifinalist. This is Fletcher’s second time as a semifinalist, also making it to this point last year.

Holt was a member of the Rams for 10 seasons, catching 869 passes for 12,660 yards with 74 touchdowns. His 869 catches rank second in team history, as do his 12,660 receiving yards, both behind only Hall of Famer Isaac Bruce.

Holt was voted a Pro Bowler seven times and led the NFL in receiving twice (2000 and 2003), earning All-Pro honors once as a first-team selection.

Fletcher began his career with the Rams and spent four years in St. Louis, making 48 starts from 1998-2001. He had at least 100 tackles in two of those seasons and picked off six passes, all in 2000-2001. He would go on to play for Buffalo and Washington, making the Pro Bowl four times from 2009-2012 as a member of the Redskins. He led the NFL with 166 tackles in 2011 and picked off a career-high five passes in 2012.

Fletcher ranks second in NFL history with 2,039 tackles, fewer than only Ray Lewis, who had 2,059 during his Hall of Fame career.

Aaron Donald, 4 former Rams named to Senior Bowl’s 75th Anniversary Team

Aaron Donald, Torry Holt and three other former Rams were named to the Senior Bowl’s 75th Anniversary Team

The Senior Bowl has been one of the most valuable and important aspects of the pre-draft process for years, highlighting some of the best prospects in the country and propelling them up draft boards. The Rams have heavily utilized the Senior Bowl to evaluate players before the draft, landing standout prospects such as Aaron Donald, Cooper Kupp, John Johnson and Greg Gaines after watching them in Mobile.

On Tuesday, the Senior Bowl announced its 75th Anniversary Team and five former Rams were selected – headlined by Donald. The Rams’ all-world pass rusher was selected at defensive tackle, along with Bryant Young and Geno Atkins.

Torry Holt was also selected at wide receiver, alongside Terrell Owens, Reggie Wayne and Hines Ward. At outside linebacker, Von Miller – who won a Super Bowl in his half-season with the Rams – was honored. At inside linebacker, it was Bobby Wagner receiving recognition next to Derrick Brooks, Brian Urlacher and Patrick Willis. And finally, Aeneas Williams was one of three cornerbacks selected; Richard Sherman and Patrick Surtain Sr. were the other two.

The 75th Anniversary Team was selected by a public online fan vote, a poll of all 32 NFL general managers and the Senior Bowl’s selection committee, so talent evaluators from the NFL had a hand in picking these players.

Donald, Holt and Williams were all selected as All-Pros during their time with the Rams, while Miller and Wagner are each All-Pros, as well. They were just selected as members of other teams, not the Rams.

Fred Taylor, Jimmy Smith among 173 Hall of Fame nominees

A handful of former Jaguars players are on the preliminary list of nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame released its preliminary list of 173 nominees for the Class of 2024, including Jacksonville Jaguars legends Fred Taylor and Jimmy Smith.

Neither name is a surprise as Taylor has advanced to the semifinalist stage of the process in each of the last four years and Smith has been a nominee in all but one year since he became eligible in 2011.

Taylor is 17th in NFL history in rushing yards behind 15 players already in the Hall of Fame and two, Frank Gore and Adrian Peterson, who will be soon.

Smith is 25th in career receiving yards and 27th in receptions.

There are nine players on the list of nominations for the first time, including running back Jamaal Charles, who played most of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs but finished it with an exceedingly brief stint in Jacksonville.

Similarly, Torry Holt — who played 10 years with the St. Louis Rams and ended his career with one season with the Jaguars — is a nominee. He was a finalist in each of the last four years, but hasn’t yet made the cut.

Andre Rison, Hardy Nickerson, and Bryce Paul are three more former Jaguars among the nominees.

In November, the 173-player list of nominees will be trimmed to 25 semifinalists. Another 10 players will be cut in January and the 15 modern-era finalists will be presented to the selection committee just before the Super Bowl.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Torry Holt names Garrett Wilson as his favorite young WR to watch entering the 2023 season

Garrett Wilson is Torry Holt’s favorite young WR to watch and he believes the Jets’ 2nd-year WR can be special with Aaron Rodgers.

Garrett Wilson is already considered a wide receiver that had a breakout season as a rookie in 2022 with the New York Jets, and he’s caught the attention of many entering the 2023 season. With Aaron Rodgers as his quarterback now, Torry Holt mentioned Wilson as his favorite young wideout to watch on “Good Morning Football”.

Wilson hauled in 83 of his 147 targets for 1,103 yards and four touchdowns in 2022, earning him Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. The Ohio State product recorded these numbers despite having Zach Wilson, Joe Flacco, and Mike White targeting him through the air.

The Jets now have Rodgers orchestrating the offense and Wilson is expected to be the go-to target for the four-time MVP. The second-year wideout suffered an ankle injury early in training camp, but he’s since returned to practice and doesn’t appear to be dealing with anything serious.

There are a plethora of talented young pass catchers in the NFL, especially with each draft class producing a couple of potential stars in recent years. So for someone like Holt — who had 920 receptions and 13,382 receiving yards in his legendary career — to praise Wilson before his second season with the Jets, you have a feeling that the 10th overall pick from a year ago is primed for a special season in 2023.

Tyreek Hill put Torry Holt in his top 5 WRs, but not Jerry Rice

Tyreek Hill is a big Torry Holt fan

If you were to ask 20 people who the five best wide receivers in NFL history are, all of them would probably include Jerry Rice somewhere in the top five. Tyreek Hill wouldn’t, though.

The Dolphins wideout was asked on NFL Network to name his top five receivers of all time and he omitted Rice.

He did include one Rams legend, however. He picked Torry Holt.

“I’m a Torry Holt fan. A lot of people may be mad, but I love Torry Holt.

Also in Hill’s top five were Antonio Brown, Terrell Owens, Calvin Johnson and Randy Moss. Just not the game’s all-time best receiver, Jerry Rice.

“A lot of people get mad at me because I don’t put Jerry Rice in my category,” Hill said. “I love Jerry Rice — he played a long time in the NFL. He’s like the alpha of our position. He wasn’t playing in the sweet spot where I was able to watch. I was able to, in my rookie year, watch prime A.B. go out there and go for like 200.”

Rams fans will love that Hill picked one of their guys over a 49ers legend, but it’s still quite the snub by Tyreek. Hill is the best receiver of all time in most people’s eyes, leading the league in all-time receiving yards (22,895), receptions (1,549) and touchdown receptions (197).

Cooper Kupp won the triple crown in 2021 but Rice owns the all-time triple crown at the position.

Holt was an outstanding receiver in his own right, of course. He caught 920 passes, had 13,382 yards and scored 74 touchdowns, twice leading the NFL in receiving yards and once in receptions.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Justin Jefferson named global flag football ambassador

The NFL and IFAF named NFL Offensive Player of the Year Justin Jefferson their global flag football ambassador.

After winning the NFL Offensive Player of the Year award, Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson was named the global flag football ambassador by the NFL and IFAF. Both organizations announced the move with a joint press release on Thursday afternoon.

Jefferson joins former NFL players Torry Holt and Mike Rucker as ambassadors for the game.

“Flag Football is an awesome sport and a great way for kids to learn some of the fundamentals of football,” Jefferson said.  “I was able to play in the first Pro Bowl Games with Flag Football as a sport, and it was an incredible experience for me. I love the pace and the concepts of Flag, that is why I am so excited about becoming a Global Flag Football Ambassador. It is truly a sport for all, and I can’t wait to work with the NFL to help continue the growth of this great game.”

Both Holt and Rucker were announced to be at the 2023 IFAF Americas Continental Flag Football Championship in Charlotte, NC from July 5th-7th.

[lawrence-related id=79342,79408,79031]

Torry Holt’s Hall of Fame bid comes up short again in 4th year as finalist

Rams legend Torry Holt once again missed the cut for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, coming up just short for the 4th straight year

Torry Holt will have to wait at least one more year to make it to Canton. The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2023 was revealed on Thursday night and Holt was left out of the group.

Holt was a four-time finalist for the Hall of Fame, coming close to being selected in each of the last four years. He retired from the NFL as one of the all-time great receivers, recording 1,000-plus yards in eight straight seasons from 2000-2007, all with the Rams. He led the NFL in receiving twice and had the most receptions (117) in 2003, which was his only All-Pro selection.

Holt also made the Pro Bowl seven times and won the Super Bowl once, never finishing a single season with fewer than 722 yards.

Currently, Holt ranks 17th all-time with 13,382 yards receiving and he’s 22nd with 920 career receptions.

Here’s the full class for 2023, which doesn’t include a single wide receiver.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby8n025panb709 player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

Torry Holt named Hall of Fame finalist for 4th straight year

Torry Holt has been voted a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist for the 4th year in a row. Is this the year he gets in?

Torry Holt is one of the best wide receivers in NFL history and he’ll once again have a chance to be recognized as such. For the fourth year in a row, Holt has been voted a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He’s one of the 15 modern-era players who were selected as finalists for the Class of 2023.

Holt played 10 seasons with the Rams, catching 869 passes for 12,660 yards and 74 touchdowns. He made the Pro Bowl seven times and was a first-team All-Pro once in 2003. Holt was the model of consistency, too.

From 2000-2007, he had at least 1,000 yards in all eight seasons, leading the NFL in receiving twice: 2000 (1,635 yards) and 2003 (1,696 yards). He also led the league with 117 yards in 2003.

As of now, his 920 career receptions are 22nd all-time and his 13,382 yards are 17th in league history. Only eight players have averaged more yards per game than Holt (77.4).

The Pro Football Hall of Fame will reveal the complete Class of 2023 the week before the Super Bowl in February.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqby8n025panb709 player_id=01eqbvhghtkmz2182d image=]

2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalists include eight former Patriots

Eight ex-Patriots made the cut as semifinalists for the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

The semifinalists for the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame class were revealed on Tuesday, and eight of the names on that list were former New England Patriots players.

Of course, the two most noteworthy names from a Patriots perspective were former defensive stars Vince Wilfork and Rodney Harrison, both of whom have already been inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame.

Darrelle Revis, one of the all-time great corners, is also on the list. He spent the brunt of his career serving as a division rival on the New York Jets, but he did sign with the Patriots for a one-and-done Super Bowl season in 2014.

The other names include linebacker James Harrison, receiver Reggie Wayne, running back Fred Taylor, receiver Torry Holt and tight end Henry Ellard.

There were a total of 28 players named as semifinalists, which means ex-Patriots make up a significant portion of the candidates left standing. The next step is whittling the list down to 15 and seeing which players are one step closer to being immortalized in Canton.

[listicle id=131318]

Fred Taylor among 28 semifinalists for Pro Football Hall of Fame

Fred Taylor is a semifinalist for the Hall of Fame for the fourth year in a row.

Jacksonville Jaguars legend Fred Taylor was one of 28 former players who made the cut Tuesday when the Pro Football Hall of Fame whittled down its list of 129 preliminary candidates to its list of semifinalists.

It’s the fourth straight year that Taylor has made it to this round of the Hall of Fame selection process, although he hasn’t yet advanced to the list of finalists.

Among the 101 candidates who didn’t make the cut was former Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith.

The only other semifinalist who played for the Jaguars is wide receiver Torry Holt, who spent 10 seasons with the St. Louis Rams before ending his career with one season in Jacksonville.

Other notable candidates are first-time semifinalists Dwight Freeney, Darrelle Revis, and Joe Thomas. The only other running back on the list is former 49ers, Eagles, and Seahawks player Ricky Watters.

Taylor finished his career with 11,695 rushing yards (over 1,000 yards more than Watters) and is 17th on the all-time rushing list. Frank Gore, Adrian Peterson, and 14 Hall of Famers are the only players above Taylor on the list.