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With Jared Allen heading to the Hall of Fame, the committee can right a major wrong in 2026 by inducting Jim Marshall

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Tyler Forness | Last updated Feb 8, 2025 9:59 PM ET

The Minnesota Vikings now have their 23rd inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the induction of Jared Allen in the 2025 class.

Allen had to wait an astounding five years to get his call into the Hall of Fame, which feels absurd on the surface. He sacked the quarterback 136.0 times in his career, including 22.0 sacks in 2011, which is tied for second all-time in a single season. Allen also holds the National Football League record with four safeties in his career.

Allen getting in is a long time coming, but it's not even the biggest Hall of Fame injustice with the Vikings.

Jim Marshall should be a Pro Football Hall of Famer

The Vikings deserve to have a 24th player inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame: defensive end Jim Marshall.

The Vikings didn't draft Marshall, but did trade for him ahead of their inaugural season in 1961. He ended up setting National Football League records with consecutive games played (282) and started (270) when he retired in 1979. Considering he played in the 1970's, it's a really impressive number.

What makes the case difficult for a player like Marshall is hte era he played in. They didn't start calculating sacks as a statistic until the 1980s, but Marshall had multiple great seasons when it came to sacks. Pro Football Reference has estimated sacks for everyone who played before sacks were registered as an official stat. Marshall was great in that realm

4 seasons over 10.0 sacks
130.5 sacks in his career

While he does have impressive stats, it's not all sunshine and rainbows for Marshall. His Hall of Fame monitor, which is a metric from Pro Football Reference, is relatively low at just 54.0. He ranks 34th among defensive ends with the average Hall of Famer at the position being at 104.09.

Marshall also made just two Pro Bowls and had one second-team AP All-Pro selection during his career. He suffered from playing next to Hall of Famers Carl Eller and Alan Page. It was hard to stand out in that defense, but that will be held against him because this is the Hall of Fame, not the Hall of Very Good.

The other element is how Marshall is remembered. He isn't remembered by many for his consecutive games played and started streaks, but rather his brutal gaffe in 1968 when he picked up a fumble and thought he was running for a touchdown. Instead, Marshall ran the wrong way, and it resulted in a safety.

There are plenty of reasons why Marshall shouldn't be in the Hall of Fame, but he was one of the best players on a legendary defense with stats to back it up. It's time to right the wrong and put Marshall in the Hall of Fame.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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