Edgerrin James’ Hall of Fame Case

Today’s post is brought to you by Blue Blood. It’s the best history of the Indianapolis Colts ever written.  It’s also the only one.

Yesterday, I examined Marvin Harrison’s Hall of Fame case, which wasn’t particularly challenging.  Edgerrin James, however, is a tougher case. James is one of the great Colts ever, but does he have enough on the resume to make Canton?  Let’s look at his case:

  • 2 rushing titles
  • 11th all time in rushing yards
  • 18th in rushing TDs
  • 4 Pro Bowls
  • 1 All Pro

James’ career was altered by a severe knee injury after just two full seasons. Amazing as they were, Edge was never a spectacular player again.  He crossed from the category of dominant to steady.  My suspicion is that right now, he’ll be viewed as more of a ‘compiler’ than a dominant running back.  James’ ‘similarity score’ lines up against six other Hall of Fame running backs, but I don’t think most people ‘feel’ he is a Hall of Famer.

The best way to judge James is to place him in context.  Currently, 11 of the top 20 runners on the all time yards list are in the Hall of Fame.  Two more are finalists this year (Faulk and Bettis).  Six are not eligible.  One, Ricky Watters, has not (and will not) be inducted.  Let’s compare Edge to the other guys in the top 20, and other contemporary players.

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