Former Bengals RB gives explosive interview on Hall of Fame, Ring of Honor omissions

According to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic, the former running back vented on the topic during a "27-minute eruption of facts and frustration."

Dillon seems to have a good argument for inclusion in the Bengals Ring of Honor as first and foremost, the franchise's all-time leading rusher with 8,061 yards. The next closest back on the team's leaderboard is James Brooks (6,447 yards), who played in 11 more games than Dillon.

The four-time Pro Bowler also has the third-most rushing scores (45) in franchise history, his 96-yard scamper in a 2001 game against the Detroit Lions is the longest run for Cincinnati and his 75.3 rushing yards per game edges out Cedric Benson (74.6) for the highest average of any Bengals player. Add in that Dillon broke a pair of longstanding rushing marks in the late Jim Brown's rookie mark (40 years) with 246 yards in 1997 and Walter Payton's single-game rushing record (23 years) with 278 yards in 2000, and it's stunning that the now-48-year-old isn't in the Bengals Ring of Honor.

"You know the f—ery that’s going on," Dillon told Dehner Jr. "We can shoot this straight. That’s the only way I like it."

Dillon wasn't afraid to mention other former Bengals who he thought got more unnecessary love from the franchise than him.

"It’s damn-near criminal, what (Bengals Ring of Honor voters) are pulling off, to be honest with you," the 1997 second-round pick said. "Did I not play for them? I don’t know, bro. I’m curious about that. Because it looks like they are glossing over me. ... I’m pretty sure they will put f—ing Jon Kitna in there before they put me. Matter of fact, Scott Mitchell will end up in that motherf—er before I do."

While Dillon's Hall of Fame case isn't as obvious as his Ring of Honor argument, the numbers also support the University of Washington product's pursuit of Canton.

He's one of only 10 running back in the Super Bowl era with averages of 4.3 yards per carry and 70 rushing yards per game, plus 10,000 total rushing yards. Some of the eight players who are in (or will be first-ballot for) the Hall of Fame include Payton, Barry Sanders, Adrian Peterson and LaDainian Tomlinson. The non-Hall-of-Famers are Dillon and Fred Taylor.

According to the report, a host of other backs already in the Hall of Fame played their entire career in the Super Bowl era without nearing Dillon's statistics.

The three who ran for less than 10,000 career yards are Earl Campbell, Larry Csonka and Terrell Davis, while there were six at under 4.2 yards per carry.

Even later in his career, Dillon was one of the more productive backs in the league, posting 1,635 rushing yards and 109 per game to help the New England Patriots win the Super Bowl in 2004. Davis and Emmitt Smith are the only two other players to record those numbers in a championship campaign.

Per Dehner Jr., Dillon has never been a semifinalist for enshrinement.

At one point in the interview, the Seattle, WA. native alluded to his past legal issues as a possible reason why he hasn't made it to Canton yet.

According to Dehner Jr.'s report, Dillon was arrested twice in 2010, first for DUI and then for spousal abuse. Criminal charges were dropped due to lack of evidence weeks later, per the report and the DUI was reduced to a reckless driving charge.

Dillon was also charged with fourth-degree assault in 2000 after an incident with his then-wife that resulted in a diversion program and donation to a women's shelter, according to Dehner's report.

"There has been a lot of wrong that needs to be un-wronged. Nobody gets this. I don’t want to get into people’s personal business, but there are a lot of Hall of Famers that did far more worse s— than I did," he said.