Comparing this year’s running back nominees for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Unfair to compare players of different eras, so I’ve listed the backs in order of debut season.
While Herschel and Ernest Byner had similar careers, Walker’s additional return yards makes his career more HOF worthy.
Herschel had the most combined yards. Only Byner played in more games. Five had more TD’s, but they began their careers 6 years after Walker. Only three had as many receptions as Herschel. Only two as many receiving yards. Counting individual awards, Pro Bowls, Super Bowls, and All-Pro accolades, only five backs were more decorated. While I did not include Herschel’s USFL stats, I did include his accolades.
tot yd.YR.game.rush..TD..rec.rec yd.years.AP.PB
13497 14 211 08261 071 512 4605 84-97 0 2 E Byner SB
17230 13 179 02392 055 541 5572 89-02 2 3 E Metcalf
18168 12 187 08225 084 512 4859 86-97 1 2 H Walker MVP
12349 11 162 07696 058 273 1935 90-00 0 3 C Warren
14891 10 144 10643 091 467 4248 92-01 0 5 R Watters SB
12668 09 141 10441 078 268 2227 96-04 1 4 E George POY
15679 10 154 10449 067 586 5183 97-06 1 3 T Barber
13335 10 150 11241 089 244 1913 97-06 0 4 C Dillon SB
11186 10 113 08172 094 339 2962 97-07 3 3 P Holmes SB POY
14079 13 153 11695 074 290 2384 98-10 0 1 F Taylor
15610 11 148 12246 091 433 3364 99-09 1 4 E James ROY
10973 08 123 09453 112 215 1520 00-08 1 3 S Alexander SB POY BB
12885 12 180 10591 071 308 2023 00-11 0 1 Thomas Jones
11941 09 113 09923 080 247 2018 02-10 0 2 C Portis ROY
13277 09 126 08167 081 346 2944 06-14 1 3 M Jones-Drew
Eric Metcalf’s total included 9266 return yards. Herschel had 5084 return yards but 6000 more rushing yards and 30 more touchdowns, playing more games in one less season.
I’m eliminating the fullbacks, who look impressive in some areas but not in others. Herschel’s stats blow these off the charts.
09659 14 198 02188 042 827 6797 90-03 1 3 L Centers SB (FB)
07415 11 158 05088 071 305 2284 96-06 3 6 M Alstott SB (FB)
02980 11 151 00753 022 294 2227 89-99 0 2 D Johnston SBx3 (FB)
02072 16 239 00807 018 285 1086 93-08 2 4 L Neal (FB)
Later I will compare Herschel to special teams nominees Johnny Bailey, Josh Cribbs, Mel Gray, Brian Mitchell, and Steve Tasker.
I will also compare Herschel to the Hall of Fame backs of his era. This will be a true test of his worthiness. It’s just tough to compare Walker to backs so almost solely ran the ball. Herschel was one of the first backs to be used in so many ways, and excelled at so many different positions: TB, FB, WR, FL, TE, KR, PR, and special teams.
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