The NFL Hall Of Really Good
There is always a group of players that aren’t necessarily top-tier, Hall of Fame players, but they are still outstanding players who deserve some love, too. Many guys could qualify for the NFL Hall Of Really Good. You know, you will name those guys when you’re sitting around just naming random players with the boys. “Damn, that guy was really good”
Arian Foster
Arian Foster was kind of that dude in the early 2010s. He put together a solid eight-year career, mostly in Houston, with one season in Miami. Over Foster’s career, he had 1,476 carries for 6,527 yards and 54 touchdowns, averaging 4.4 yards per attempt and 81.6 rushing yards per game. Oh yeah, and he caught 255 passes for 2,346 receiving yards and 14 receiving touchdowns, averaging 29.3 receiving yards per game.
2010 was the year that Foster left his mark, a year that he received First Team All-Pro honors along with a Pro Bowl selection. He posted 1,616 rushing yards for 16 touchdowns on 327 attempts. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry and 101 rushing yards a game. He also caught 66 passes for 604 yards and two more touchdowns. Good enough to finish third in the Offensive Player of the Year voting.
Foster’s numbers were good enough to lead the NFL in rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, rushing yards per game, total touches, and yards from scrimmage. Foster went on to lead the NFL in touchdowns again in 2012. He was a four-time Pro Bowler and went over 1,200 yards four times throughout his career. Nowadays, you can hear Foster behind the microphone on Barstool's Macrodosing Podcast with PFT Commenter.
Brandon Marshall
Brandon Marshall is another guy who put together a solid career that likely isn’t good enough to make the Hall of Fame. He put in 13 solid NFL seasons, even holding the record for most receptions in an NFL game when he was a member of the Broncos. He posted 21 catches in a game against the Colts.
Marshall is a six-time Pro Bowler who has played for the Broncos, Bears, Dolphins, Jets, Giants, and Seahawks. He was even given First Team All-Pro honors in 2012 when he was a member of the Bears. For his career, Marshall caught 970 passes for 12,351 yards and 83 touchdowns, averaging 12.7 yards per reception and 69 yards per game on 5.4 receptions.
In 2012, when Marshall went All-Pro, he put up 1,508 yards and 11 touchdowns on 118 catches, averaging 94.3 yards per game. He finished the year second in the NFL in receptions. In 2015, with the Jets, he led the NFL in receiving touchdowns with 14 yards per touch with 13.8 yards. Marshall currently sits at 24th all-time in receiving yards and 26th in receiving touchdowns.
Chad Ochocinco
Formerly known as Chad Johnson, Ochocinco was quietly very good for years. He put together a solid 11-year NFL career, including six Pro Bowl appearances and two First-Team All-Pro selections in 2005 and 2006. In 2006, Ochocinco led the league in receiving yards with 1,369 and yards per game with 85.6.
Over his career, Ochocinco spent 10 seasons with the Bengals and one season with the Patriots. He played 166 games, catching 766 passes for 11,059 yards and 67 touchdowns. Ochocinco averaged 14.4 yards per reception on just 4.6 receptions per game.
Ochocinco is 40th on the all-time list for receiving yards, 57th in receiving touchdowns, 43rd in receptions per game, and 16th in yards per touch. He likely won’t have canton in his future, but he is a first-ballot Hall of That Boy Nice inductee.
Philip Rivers
Philip Rivers will be one of the oddest quarterbacks of all time. He was a very good quarterback but, unfortunately, lived in the shadows of guys like Tom Brady, Peyton and Eli Manning, and Ben Roethlisberger. His numbers go toe to toe with Eli and Big Ben; he just doesn’t have the rings to sit at the table with those guys.
Rivers put together a stout 17-year NFL career. He made the Pro Bowl eight times, but unfortunately, he never found his way to First-Team All-Pro status. He led the Chargers to a 13-3 record in 2009, the same season he finished third in the MVP vote. He led the NFL a year prior in passing touchdowns and passer rating. The season after, in 2010, Rivers led the NFL in passing yards, too. The bad news is that he also led the league in interceptions in 2014 and 2016.
Over his career, he threw for 63,440 yards, 421 touchdowns, and 209 interceptions. The one piece of hardware he does have is his 2013 Comeback Player of the Year award. After his 16 seasons between San Diego and Los Angeles came to an end, Rivers spent one season with the Colts before calling it quits. His name still occasionally pops up as a replacement option for a hurt quarterback.
Golden Tate
A journeyman in the NFL, Golden Tate spent time with the Seahawks, Lions, Eagles, and Giants before retiring. He only made one Pro Bowl throughout his 11-year career, but there were a few seasons that Tate was a dawg. He went over 1,000 receiving yards three times.
Tate played in 160 career games and caught 695 passes for 8,278 yards and 46 touchdowns. 2014 was when he popped off, the year of his lone Pro Bowl appearance. Tate hauled in 99 receptions for 1,331 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 83.2 yards per game. Standing at just five foot ten and 197 pounds, Tate put together a solid career that won’t sniff Canton, unfortunately, but he was solid.
Matt Forte
Running back and wide receiver seem to have many guys in this category; they’re just talented groups. Matt Forte sits at 30th all-time in yards from scrimmage and has hit double-digit touchdowns three times in his career, including his rookie seasons in 2008, 2013, and 2014. He was the fantasy RB3 in 2008 and 2013 and RB4 in 2014.
Forte played 146 games over his 10-year career, carrying the ball for 9,796 yards and 54 touchdowns and catching 554 passes for 4,672 yards and 21 more touchdowns. Good enough for 14,468 yards from scrimmage and 75 rural touchdowns.
Marques Colston
The fact that Marques Colston never made a Pro Bowl throughout his 10-year career is a straight-up crime. The Saints receiver went over 1,000 yards in five out of his ten seasons. In 2008, Colston finished eighth in the NFL in receptions and receiving yards with 1,202 yards on 98 receptions.
In 146 career games, all with the Saints, Colston posted 711 receptions for 9,759 yards and 72 touchdowns. He averaged 13.7 yards per reception and 66.8 yards per game on 4.9 receptions.
Colston is the Saints all-time receiving leader by roughly 2,000 yards and 25 touchdowns. He was Drew Brees's favorite target for a long time. How didn't he make a Pro Bowl? His one accolade? Making the NFL’s All-Rookie Team in 2006.
Jamaal Charles
Another running back, shocker. Jamaal Charles spent his most notable time with the Chiefs and one year a piece with the Broncos and Jaguars. Most remember him for his nine seasons in Kansas City, where he was a four-time Pro Bowler and First Team All-Pro in 2010 and 2013.
Charles went over 1,000 rushing yards five times in his career. He even led the NFL in yards per rush attempt in 2009 with 5.9. Not bad for a third-round pick. Over his 11-year career, Charles put up 7,563 rushing yards and 44 rushing touchdowns. He also caught 310 passes for 2,593 yards and 20 touchdowns. Altogether, he posted 10,156 yards from scrimmage and 64 touchdowns.
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