Patrick Willis should already be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. For eight seasons, he was the henchman of the San Francisco 49ers. He was recruited by a proud franchise that had fallen into disarray and was instrumental in its return to prominence. Willis did all of this while holding a position of honor and glory in the NFL – middle linebacker – as well as in league history.
Semifinalists for the 2024 Pro Football Hall of Fame class were announced Tuesday, and Willis is in that group for the fifth time. He also has twice finalistand for four years the voters have been wrong not to put him in the room.
Modern era players who were inducted before Willis include LeRoy Butler, Steve Atwater, John Lynch and Zach Thomas. Troy Polamalu absolutely deserved to enter the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, but he was by no means a more impactful player than Willis.
It’s very likely that Willis will retire after just eight seasons, which is why it’s taking him so long to get the gold jacket he deserves. Combine that with the fact that he never won Defensive Player of the Year, some might argue that his consistent excellence over a relatively short period of time hasn’t yet had enough pop to get him in in the hall.
I guess being mentioned in the same breath with freshman Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher as a rookie is something voters have forgotten. Lewis played in 14 games in 2007 and Urlacher was in the lineup for all 16. When the votes were cast for first-team All-Pro middle linebacker, the honor went to Willis. In fact, the former Chicago Bear The billboard-turned-MAGA model on hair restoration was only voted All-Pro four times for the first time. Lewis played for 17 years and received the honor seven times.
Willis was a first-team All-Pro five times, four years in a row from 2009 to 2012. For most of his NFL career, there was no debate as to who was the better linebacker NFL middleman. With these accolades, even though Willis only played five seasons, he should still be in Canton.
The goal of the Pro Football Hall of Fame is to be a museum that honors the absolute best players in the history of professional football, the players who need to be mentioned when discussing the history of the game.
Of the names that came before Willis, Deion Sanders was right. few years ago when he said his bust didn’t belong in the same room as them. Being a very good player, or even just a dominant player, should not be enough to get someone into the Hall. The players entered should be among the best of their era. Their names should be mentioned when discussing the best players to ever play their position.
Willis was that kind of awesome. He was a safe and punishing tackler who gave blockers fits. He was the anchor of a defense that would eventually become one of the best units in the NFL. Not only did he cause pain, but he also possessed the level of athleticism necessary to play in the middle of a defense in the 21st century. Getting rid of lead blockers and cracking running backs will always be important, but playing middle linebacker requires an ability to play in pass coverage. Willis has eight interceptions in his career and has had two seasons with 10 or more passes defended.
In any conversation about the best middle linebacker of all time, his name deserves to be mentioned. Dick Butkus, Jack Lambert, Mike Singletary, Lewis and Urlacher, we can legitimately say that Willis is better than all of them.
This is the type of player the Pro Football Hall of Fame was built to honor. For whatever reason, voters just didn’t have time to put him in that position.
