20 member Hall of Fame class in 2020? Zach Thomas better get in
By Brian Miller
There is a push to have 20 new members inducted into the 2020 Pro-Football Hall of Fame to celebrate the NFL’s 100th season and Zach Thomas better be in it.
Zach Thomas has the credentials to be in the Hall of Fame. He is hotly debated among the football analysts because he was not a first ballot inductee like Brian Urlacher who has almost identical statistics from top to bottom.
According to the HOF’s CEO a David Baker said on SiriusXM NFL Radio earlier this week that the HOF board has approved a 20 man induction for next year but that it will need to be approved by the full board of the HOF.
Baker cites the fact that there is a backlog of worthy entrants to the Hall of Fame and while that is true, the NFL also spends way too much time giving some who are not first ballot worthy, the opportunity to be first time honorees because of their work in the media.
As to the Miami Dolphins and specifically Zach Thomas, a 20 person Hall of Fame class should absolutely bring Thomas into the fold. It would be a complete slap in Thomas’ face if he were not and frankly would make the Pro-Football Hall of Fame a complete joke.
Currently eight members are inducted each year with five of those being current retirees. The induction class may consist of contributors, coaches, and senior representatives.
The Dolphins would love to see Thomas, Richmond Webb, and even Bob Kuechenberg who probably got the biggest shaft of any former Miami Dolphins player, inducted but the powers that be have their own excuses as to why they are not.
Backlog or no backlog, Thomas is deserving of a Hall of Fame bust, as are the other two. At this point perhaps the HOF should just consider inducting one person from every team and make it a 32 man class and be done with it. Somehow I get the feeling that a 20 man class is going to be made up of Patriots, Steelers, and Broncos.