I recently stated to a group of friends that receivers like Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Andre Johnson and Reggie Wayne may not ever make the Hall of Fame. They called me the “village idiot” to put it nicely. But here are my reasons…
Art Monk retired as the leading pass catcher in NFL history in receptions (940) and most consecutive games with a reception (164). Yet and still, it took him eight years of eligibility to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame. What a shame! Cris Carter retired second all-time in receptions (1,101) and receiving touchdowns (130) and it took him six years of eligibility to get that call to The Hall. 
Seriously?And now, Andre Reed is finally set to be inducted in 2014 but it took him eight years as a finalist and he was third on the NFL’s all-time receptions list when he hung up his uniform.
But Reed’s enshrinement comes with little controversy. Tim Brown finished with 143 more catches and 1,736 more receiving yards than Reed and he will have to wait another year for his yellow jacket. Marvin Harrison is also ahead of Reed in the stats category but he missed out on his first ballot. Harrison is the perfect example of my premise, the passing era is bad for future Hall of Famers. Will he ever reach Canton? Eventually. Maybe. One day.
The point of all these examples is to illustrate how these iconic receivers waited forever to get in the Hall of Fame, when it should have taken them no more than 2-3 years to reach Canton and wear this jacket.
So how does this trend bode for current NFL receivers who have dreams of wearing that yellow jacket one day? I think it’s a bad sign and upon retirement these players could be waiting even longer to reach the Hall of Fame thanks to the Passing Era.
Below is a list of some of the current players on the all-time NFL receiving yards.
11. Reggie Wayne (13,566)
17. Andre Johnson (12,661)
19. Steve Smith (12,197)
28. Larry Fitzgerald (11,367)
29. Anquan Boldin (11,344)
45. Roddy White (9,436)
47. Wes Welker (9,358)
48. Calvin Johnson (9,328)
It’s also worth noting Hines Ward is 21st on the list for all time receptions with 12,083. But is Hines a Hall of Famer? 2007 Hall of Fame inductee Michael Irvin is 23rd on that same list, so obviously numbers isn’t everything.
What Irvin does have is Super Bowl rings, three to be exact. The above receivers have two combined Super Bowl victories (1 from Wayne and 1 from Boldin). So they can’t lean on their rings like Irvin can. Especially Welker who is 0-3 in Super Bowls.
You also have to consider politics, hence the reason Reed (beloved Bills) got in and Tim Brown (hated Raider) is not in. That’s one thing these current players have going for themselves, but it’s not enough in my mind. When the Johnsons and Fitzgerald retire they could have better numbers than these Hall of Famers. But does that mean they are better than Monk, Carter, Marvin Harrison, Tim Brown or Reed? That’s debatable. The stats are simply too inflated for my liking.
Sorry but when I see iconic receivers take forever to get the Call into the Hall, I just don’t see how passing era receivers Fitzgerald, Calvin and Andre Johnson, Reggie Wayne and Ward deserve to get in as it stands right now. I repeat the stats are simply too inflated. I think the voters held out on Carter, Monk, and Reed to prove a point to these current day pass catchers that making the Hall won’t be easy.
I stand by my point that the passing era receivers have a Hail Mary’s chance to wear that yellow jacket! Time will tell. 
