If there’s a favorite among the 12 senior semifinalists for the Pro Football Hall-of-Fame’s Class of 2024, it’s Denver linebacker Randy Gradishar. He was close for the Centennial Class of 2020, and he was close again for this year’s Hall-of-Fame class. So, some figure, his time should be now.
OK, fine. But then what?
Well, then the field is wide open, though you hear wide receiver Sterling Sharpe’s name more than others. Like Gradishar, he was close this year, too. But a few words of caution: Look what happened to guard Bob Kuechenberg. He was among the top semifinalists for the Class of 2023 and didn’t make the cut to 12 one year later.
So let’s try this again: After, Gradishar, who has your attention? I know who has mine: Cornerback Albert Lewis.
No, I’m not on the seniors’ committee, nor do I know what the 12 members of that board think about next year’s candidates. What I do know is that Lewis, who starred for the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders, has a key element for election that others may not.
And that’s momentum.
This is the second time in the past seven months he’ll be considered for the Hall, and, if that sounds odd, it is. He was a modern-era finalist for the Class of 2023, with his case discussed when the Hall’s board of selectors met in mid-January. It was Lewis’ first time as a finalist, which isn’t unusual. But this is: It was his 20th – and last – year of modern-era eligibility.
He wasn’t elected. But he was close, lasting until the final cut to five inductees. OK, so it happens. But this doesn’t ... not ordinarily it doesn’t: Lewis was so popular with the seniors’ committee that it put him on its ballot in his first year of eligibility.
Extraordinary? You bet.
In 2021, linebacker Clay Matthews, Jr. was a first-time finalist in his 20th – and last – year of modern-era eligibility and, like Lewis, made the cut to 10 before bowing out. But he wasn’t a finalist the next two years and isn’t among the 12 semifinalists for the Class of 2024. Lewis is, and it tells me he has a broad base of support among the voters who convene Aug. 22.
Now, let’s get something straight: That doesn’t mean Lewis is expected to be one of the three finalists. Hardly. But it does mean he must be considered a serious candidate. Voters know all about him because … well, because they dissected his candidacy in January. And they liked it so much they couldn’t wait to try to elect him again.
Having been there in January, I understand. Had Lewis not had two Hall-of-Fame caliber cornerbacks as competition – Class of 2023 inductees Ronde Barber and Darrelle Revis – I believe he would’ve been elected. I also think others share that belief; hence his appearance as one of 12 semifinalists in his first year as a senior.
Think about it: To get there, he had to leapfrog other candidates in a seniors’ pool so deep that, according to Hall-of-Fame voter Rick Gosselin, it includes 58 all-decade players – 53 of whom haven’t been discussed. Lewis wasn't an all-decade player, but he was so accomplished that former coach Tony Dungy, a Hall-of-Fame voter, called him “one of the top-five cornerbacks” of all time.
And he didn’t stop there. Dungy, who coached Lewis when the two were together in Kansas City, said if he were starting a secondary and looking for a left cornerback, he wouldn’t choose Deion Sanders or Revis. He’d choose Albert Lewis … “and I’m going to build around that.”
Those are powerful words, and they helped launch Lewis – a special-teams marvel who blocked 12 kicks -- to near-election. Now, they have him on the ballot again next month, and here’s why that should have your attention: It means that Lewis jumped a long line of qualified candidates, some of whom waited two, three, four and even five or more decades for consideration.
And he did it in less than a year.
Granted, there’s stiff competition within this group of semifinalists. Linebacker Maxie Baughan, a nine-time Pro Bowler and seven-time All-Pro, could be a threat. Eddie Meador, the only first-team all-decade safety from the 1950s through the 2000s not enshrined, should be one, too. So should former Eagles’ tackle Al Wistert, the only pre-1960s’ choice on the ballot. He was an eight-time All-Pro, two-time NFL champ and all-decade member who hasn’t – at least to this point – moved voters.
But Albert Lewis has. That’s why I’m intrigued by what happens next. It's why you should be, too.
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