Looking ahead to Zach Thomas’ chances for HOF in 2021
By Brian Miller
The 2020 Pro Football Hall of Fame will not see Zach Thomas inducted and if you were hoping for 2021, you may want to think a little further out.
If there is one thing that we learned from Saturday’s Pro Football Hall of Fame vote it is that Zach Thomas not only belongs in the Hall of Fame, but he will, eventually, get there. Thomas came close but not close enough. The problem with 2021 is that the group is going to be a stacked one with first time eligible players.
Armando Salguero laid out a near-perfect, flawless, presentation. Still, it wasn’t enough to get Thomas’ name called. The odds were a little stacked against him this year. Salguero laid out the reasons in an article on Saturday evening, you can read that here. The nutshell is this, the finalists that were voted in this year, have all simply been waiting longer. They have made the finalists voting before, they have had to wait, they continued to wait, they are waiting no more.
Zach Thomas’ credentials are HOF worthy, there is no doubt but on Saturday, Salguero with help from the Dolphins made a big impression on the voters. An impression that will not be forgotten in the next few years when Thomas will get his election.
In 2021, the class may be a little tight for Thomas who this year appeared as a finalist for the first time. Next year, it could be all about the first-year eligibles.
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In 2021, Peyton Manning will be a first-ballot HOF inductee. He will likely be joined by Charles Woodson. Both are very deserving as first-time eligible players. Then comes DT Jared Allen who may get in on his first shot but that will be debatable as will standout WR Calvin Johnson.
This is where the 2021 vote for Thomas will come down. If Allen and Johnson get in then it will be tough for Thomas to make that fifth spot. In 2022 more names will come up for election but only one stands out as unquestioned first-time eligible electee and that is Anquan Boldin, who in reality may also have to wait a year or two given the way the NFL sometimes treats receivers.
What we learned from Saturday is that Thomas will eventually get in. It may not be ideal from a fan’s standpoint and it sucks for him to have to wait but until the NFL figures out how to get over the backlog of eligible players that have yet to get in, players like him will to have to wait.
The NFL should have inducted 20 modern-era players this year instead of the 15 Senior Centennial Class. It would have cleared up a lot of players waiting.