On Nov. 20, the Pro Football Hall of Fame announced its semifinalists for the 2025 inductees. Colts legendary wide receiver Reggie Wayne was included in the list of 25.
A 14-year pro from 2001-14 , this is Wayne’s sixth consecutive year being named as a semi-finalist for Canton —dating back to his first year of eligibility in 2020.
The question remains, does Wayne deserve to be immortalized forever in Canton — or does he just miss the cut?
Reggie Wayne: By The Stats
In terms of career stats, Wayne currently ranks 10th all-time for both receptions and yards with 1,070 and 14,345, respectively. Additionally, the Miami product is 29th all-time in receiving touchdowns with 82.
Now, there is much more to a Hall of Fame resume than just yards and catches. However, it is hard to refute a player who is statistically top-10 in two of the most important receiving categories to date.
Hall of Fame receivers that rank behind Wayne in yards include Andre Johnson, James Lofton, Cris Carter, Andre Reed and Art Monk. Of receivers ahead of Wayne in the rankings — Steve Smith and Larry Fitzgerald are the only other non-Hall of Famers in the top-10. Fitzgerald does not qualify until next-years ballot and Smith is among this alongside Wayne in this year’s batch of semi-finalists.
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The one knock on Wayne is that he boasts just one first-team AP All-Pro selection to pair with two additional second-team All-Pro selections. Although true, it is more telling on the imperfect process of AP voting rather than negatively impacting Wayne’s success.
In his lone first-team nod in 2010, Wayne hauled in a career-high 111 catches resulting in 1,355 yards and just six touchdowns. A phenomenal year that warrants recognition; however, in 2004 Wayne took 77 catches for 1,210 yards and a career-best 12 touchdowns for not even a Pro Bowl nod. In 2007, he hauled in 104 catches for a career-high and league-best 1,510 yards and 10 touchdowns just to land on the AP’s second-team — not first.
Even in 2012 when Wayne benefited from a rookie quarterback named Andrew Luck — the then 34-year old put up nearly identical numbers to what he did in 2010 as he grabbed 106 catches for 1,355 yards and five touchdowns. The reward? A Pro-Bowl nod, but nothing else.
The Hall of Fame committee cannot fault him for one All Pro when there are several seasons he had had equal or better production than the lone season they credit him for.
Needed Context for Reggie Wayne
Wayne’s career is not a prototypical one. He’s not like Jerry Rice or teammate Marvin Harrison who came in and immediately had an impactful role in a humming offense.
Also read: NFL Icon Jerry Rice Was Furious His Son Fell To The Last Round Of 2024 Draft
When Wayne got drafted in 2001, he was low on the depth chart despite being a first-round selection. Garnering just 49 targets throughout the season, Wayne started his career with a 345-yard campaign while appearing in 13 games.
A year-later, the volume increased, but Wayne started just seven games as he a prime Harrison gathered majority of Peyton Manning’s targets. It was not until that aforementioned 2004 season that Wayne first broke the 1,000 yard mark. From that season on he would break the 1,000-yard plateau in eight of the next nine season — with 2011 being the lone season he failed to reach the mark.
Despite all of that, at the end of the day it is malpractice to not enrich Wayne’s legacy to live on for generations.
Amazing receivers from the era such as Muhsin Muhammad, Brandon Marshall, Derrick Mason and Joey Galloway will soon start to fade out from the memories of football fans everywhere because they are trapped in the the ‘Hall of Very Good.’
Wayne is a step above those players and it is time to give him his flowers and immortalize his career in Canton.
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