Jason Taylor was a first ballot Hall of Famer, which was pretty surprising to a lot of folks. Let’s start with defensive ends: Andy Robustelli, Howie Long, and Michael Strahan were clear choices, but all had to wait one year before making it to Canton. Jack Youngblood, Carl Eller, and Willie Davis each made 5 Associated Press first-team All Pro teams, but all wait at least 7 years. Chris Doleman and Doug Atkins made 8 Pro Bowls, but both had to wait 8 years.
In the last 30 years, there have been 36 non-quarterbacks who have made the Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Among those players, Taylor is one of only 12 with 3 or fewer 1APs. Half of those 12 were running backs, which isn’t too surprising. Like quarterbacks, running back is a position with a lot of statistics, so reputation matters less when selecting All Pros. As a result, it’s much harder for a running back to rack up a high number of 1AP teams.
The other six? Placekicker Jan Stenerud (1), wide receiver Steve Largent (1), tackle Jackie Slater (0), Taylor (3), and defensive backs Darrell Green (1) and Mel Blount (2). Taylor is also one of just 8 of the last 36 first ballot Hall of Famers with 6 or fewer Pro Bowls. Five of those 8 were running backs; the other three are Taylor (6), Blount (5), and Stenerud (6).
Here’s another way to think of it: There used to be a Mount Rushmore of defensive ends, with only four first ballot HOF defensive ends: Bruce Smith, Reggie White, Deacon Jones, and Gino Marchetti. Taylor is without question a worthy Hall of Famer, but his selection on the first ballot was surprising, particularly given that Strahan had to wait a year (and I think most would view Strahan as the better player against the run and the more accomplished defensive end).
My best guess for why Taylor joined that list? The way the voting process works, all the members of the committee list vote for their top 10 among the 15 finalists; those votes are tallied, and the top 10 advance. Then, the committee votes for their top 5 among the remaining top, those votes are tallied, and the top 5 advance and are voted on with a simple yes/no vote.
The final 10 this year were:
- Morten Andersen, Terrell Davis, LaDainian Tomlinson, Kurt Warner, and of course Taylor;
- Tony Boselli, Brian Dawkins, Ty Law, John Lynch, and Kevin Mawae
So Taylor was the only defensive player in that group of five that made it. He was competing against three other defensive players, all of whom were defensive backs. It’s easy to envision a scenario where those three defensive backs split the ballot among voters, who surely wanted at least one defensive player in there. Given that Law and Lynch had been waiting, I am sure some voters who wanted to vote for Dawkins decided he should wait his turn until Law or Lynch went in. That would help depress those votes, making it easier for Taylor to slide in. Also unclear: whether or not the presence of safety Kenny Easley as the seniors’ choice impacted voters, who maybe didn’t want to have another safety join him.
To be clear, Taylor is a very worthy choice for the Hall of Fame, but it’s surprising to see him vault similar players — particularly Law — to get in on the first ballot. That’s an honor usually reserved for players better than Taylor. And while it’s just a hunch, my guess is the way the final 10 broke down — only 4 defensive players, with 3 at one position — played a big part in why Taylor made it in this year.