POLL: Does Marshawn Lynch belong in the Hall of Fame?

After Marshawn signed his extension last year, I had hoped he would have two more healthy seasons, eclipse 10,000 rushing yards, and perhaps add another Super Bowl ring to his resume. As is life, things don't always work out as planned.

Marshawn has concluded his career with 9,112 regular season rushing yards, 74 rushing TDs, 1,979 receiving yards, and 9 receiving TDs. Including the playoffs, Marshawn rushed for 10,049 yards and 83 TDs for his career.

Hall of Fame RB Earl Campbell had a similar resume: 9,827 combined rushing yards in the regular season and playoffs and 85 TDs for his career. Like Marshawn, Campbell averaged 4.3 yard per carry. He saw a precipitous decline after age 28. Like Marshawn, Campbell is considered one of the best power backs in NFL history. Both Campbell and Marshawn were elected to five Pro Bowls. However, unlike Marshawn, Campbell never led his team to a Super Bowl.

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Does he deserve it....Yes

Will he get in.....no

kidhawk":3ei8auth said:

Does he deserve it....Yes

Will he get in.....no

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Yeah, probably. However, the 'Hawks have been getting more respect. Perhaps with a few more years of team relevance, Marsh could get in, not as a first ballot player, of course but in. I think his biggest knock is who he's played for.

Comparing him to Campbell makes me agree that he should be in there. I was on the fence, but that tipped the scales for me.

HawkFan72":uieesvgk said:

Comparing him to Campbell makes me agree that he should be in there. I was on the fence, but that tipped the scales for me.

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There are certainly similarities in their style and level of intensity.

sutz":37i6b9n7 said:

kidhawk":37i6b9n7 said:

Does he deserve it....Yes

Will he get in.....no

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Yeah, probably. However, the 'Hawks have been getting more respect. Perhaps with a few more years of team relevance, Marsh could get in, not as a first ballot player, of course but in. I think his biggest knock is who he's played for.

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I think the big knock is he doesn't get along with the media who do the voting

kidhawk":18w52v23 said:

Does he deserve it....Yes

Will he get in.....no

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Sometimes those revelatory figures who are the most combative -- and therefore disdained -- by the media end up becoming the most revered by the media as time marches on. I guess we will find out in 2021 and beyond.

kidhawk":zqj55jxs said:

sutz":zqj55jxs said:

kidhawk":zqj55jxs said:

Does he deserve it....Yes

Will he get in.....no

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Yeah, probably. However, the 'Hawks have been getting more respect. Perhaps with a few more years of team relevance, Marsh could get in, not as a first ballot player, of course but in. I think his biggest knock is who he's played for.

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I think the big knock is he doesn't get along with the media who do the voting

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Too true. Happens in baseball, too. I'm hoping they look back on a lot of that with an eye for Marsh just having fun, but I get what you're saying.

He needs a champion in the media, maybe.

I would love to see Lynch make it in. He deserves it IMO. The problem is the game has changed and the RB position has been minimized in favor of the passing attacks of today.

So the numbers that backs today get don't quite add up to many of the great Hall of Fame RB's from the past.


He may have to wait several years past his starting eligibility to get high enough on the list for consideration. We all hope he makes it, but hard to say.

HawkFan72":2oz2wdd6 said:

Comparing him to Campbell makes me agree that he should be in there. I was on the fence, but that tipped the scales for me.

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Good comparison.

Marshawn Lynch was one of the greatest yards after contact runner EVER.

And he did this in an NFL where defenders are bigger & faster than they were just 10 years ago.

I don't think it matters if he gets voted in or not.

He doesn't have the yards or longevity but ...

He affected an entire generation of football players because his signature runs because a part of lore/legacy of the NFL. People will still mention the BeastQuake and BeastMode runs 10 years from now. And many of those people will be fans that never followed and don't care about the Seahawks. He became universally recognized across all lines of football fandom as having produced some of the greatest runs in the NFL for this generation.

Whether he gets the votes or not, he will be remembered as one of the greats by a lot of fans, many of whom aren't even Seahawk fans.

While Seahawk fans will always remember that he was pretty much the horse they rode all the way to the SB. In the SB, he did get shut down and Wilson took over - but he carried that team in a way that kept our defense fresh, let Wilson grow but not have as much pressure on him & Lynch took the focus of every defense we played on his shoulders.

It shouldn't matter because we know how great he was, the #s he put up in context are outstanding, and he got this city its first SB ring.

I saw the comparison on ESPN a little while ago.

Based on play alone i say he belongs.
I'm worried that his relationship with the media and general public will hurt his chances.

The shameless homer in me stood up and voted Yes.

Love, love, love Marshawn Lynch. Seriously one of my favorite players and he's from where I'm from and reps it so hard.

But, sadly, no, I don't think so.

Thinks working against Lynch:

1) He just doesn't have the full career numbers to make a strong case (one can make a weak case by picking off the HoF guys down toward the bottom, but not really a strong case)

2) You just can't point to any season in which he was the best player at his position.

3) Campell isn't in because of his longevity, but instead because he had four really amazing years before his career stalled out.

In those four years Campbell was a total monster, and had 6,500 yards and 55 TDs

Lynch too really only had four really strong years, but was just really, really good, with 5,357 yards and 48 TDs.

Basically in the four years that both of them we're really good Cambell put up an additional pretty good season over Lynch (1,150 yards and 7 TDs).

If you want to argue Lynch should get in for those four years, you gotta put Terrell Davis in first, as he actually matches Campbell's output (6500 yards and 56 TDs), and like Campbell was also the best back in the NFL for his four year run too.

kidhawk":2a3tjzbg said:

Does he deserve it....Yes

Will he get in.....no

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Correct. Shaun Alexander won't make it, and he has better numbers.

I don't think so because of two reasons;

1. Stats: #32 all time rushing and #52 all time TD's, the two biggest stats for RB's for HOF credentials.

2. Lynch being an ass to the press, of which comprise part of the selection committee.

It's why Tony Dungy got in, and not Mike Holgren who has more career wins. Dungy's been a kiss ass media friendly coach and player forever. Which scored him brownie points.

He absolutely deserves it, but I don't really like his chances because of his career numbers. The shelf life for RBs is too short, but unfortunately there are enough RBs that have lasted well into their 30s to set the career standards too high. The HOF rewards longevity over peak value, which is why Jerome Bettis made it.

I think a really well made highlight video of his career, if circulated in the media, may sway some voters. The video in the OP is a start but not good enough, IMO. The music will turn off a lot of the voters. I think it should be overlaid with Raible highlights to give a feel for the magnitude of some those runs, and has to end with Marshawn walking into the end zone against the 49ers and dropping the ball, sort of like a mic drop.

The press thing will hurt him, guys like Clayton who seemed to take it all so personal.

But at the same time, I think I saw Mike Sando say something like he hopes he can be the one leading the charge for Lynch. That's a positive.

Our Man in Chicago":3ifzqe1w said:

kidhawk":3ifzqe1w said:

Does he deserve it....Yes

Will he get in.....no

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Correct. Shaun Alexander won't make it, and he has better numbers.

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ooh, that's a really good point. He also had that run where he was unquestionably the most dominate RB in the NFL too.

The good news is Lynch couldn't give a rat's ass.