POTENTIAL 2014 PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CANIDATES: WIDE RECEIVERS

In six days, the pro football hall of fame will formally induct its newest members. And while I can't wait to see these men take their steps into immortality, I'm also looking towards next year. I'll be profiling fifty modern era candidates that could wind up wearing a gold jacket in 2014. Today, we'll be looking at the wide receivers.

* indicates first year of eligibility
** indicates former hall of fame finalist

TIM BROWN**

1988-2003 Los Angeles/Oakland Raiders, 2004 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Accomplishments: 9x Pro Bowl selection (1988, 1991, 1993-1997, 1999, 2001); NFL 1990s All-Decade Team (2nd Team); 1,000 Receptions Club; 10,000 Receiving Yards Club; 100 Receiving Touchdowns Club

Pros: Tim Brown played a long time, and was productive well into his thirties. He gained 1,000 or more yards in nine straight seasons, all while catching passes from the Raiders' largely uneven set of quarterbacks at that time. Brown is ranked in the top ten in every major category for a receiver: receptions (5th), receiving yards (5th) and receiving touchdowns (7th). Brown also had a great career as a return man, ranking 5th all time in punt return yards.

Cons: Brown took a while to get going as a receiver. It wasn't until his sixth season that he started to put up big numbers you'd expect from great ball catchers. The Raiders played in only five playoff games in three outings during his first twelve seasons, and his numbers don't really leap off the page in those games for the most part. It doesn't help that he played at the same time when Jerry Rice and Michael Irvin were tearing shit up in the postseason every year.

Overall: Brown certainly has the hall of fame numbers, and he's clearly got support: he's been eligible since 2010, and has made it among the final fifteen names each time. But Brown has never pushed through to gold jacket territory. It should be noted that if you're a wide receiver who's name isn't Jerry Rice, you generally have to wait a while to get enshrined. Michael Irvin took three tries to finally be elected, and Cris Carter had to go on six ballots before getting his due. And those two are all time greats. Brown was certainly seen as a great receiver, but hall of fame worthy? He doesn't have the signature performances that Rice or Irvin had, and he wasn't as productive as Rice or Carter were at their peaks. It doesn't surprise me that he's had to wait. But the fact that he's been a regular finalist makes me think he'll get in soon enough.

HoF Projection: Pretty Good

MARVIN HARRISON*

1996-2008 Indianapolis Colts

Accomplishments: 8x Pro Bowl selection (1999-2006); 3x 1st Team All-Pro (1999, 2002, 2006); NFL 2000s All-Decade Team (1st Team); Super Bowl champion (2006); 1,000 Receptions Club; 10,000 Receiving Yards Club; 100 Receiving Touchdowns Club

Pros: Marvin Harrison was putting up good numbers for a young wide receiver in his first couple seasons. Then the Colts drafted Peyton Manning, and Harrison's production just got ridiculous. He is 3rd, 6th and 5th for receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns, respectively. During his eight straight Pro Bowl years, he gained 1,000 receiving yards every year (leading the league in 1999 and 2002) and hauled in between 10 and 15 touchdowns in that time. His 2002 season is one of the single best seasons a wide receiver has ever had; he caught more passes in a single season than anyone before or since and his 1,722 receiving yards is currently the 5th most ever over a single year. Plus, he's a Syracuse guy, which grants him a thumbs up from me.

Cons: Having Peyton Manning as your quarterback is a double edged sword; on the one hand, you're probably going to put up some incredible numbers (which he did), but most of it will usually be attributed to number 18's skills as a quarterback rather than your own as a receiver. Sadly, Harrison can't escape that either, so some have knocked him simply for having an all time great quarterback throwing balls in his direction.

Overall: Any of Harrison's drawbacks from hall of fame consideration are superficial at best. Were his numbers inflated by Manning's presence? Absolutely. He still caught 100 passes four times and is high on the all time lists in every major category for receivers. Manning is certainly an all time great, but that shouldn't be a detriment to Harrison. Hell, Jerry Rice caught passes from not one, but two all time great quarterbacks in Joe Montana and Steve Young, and Rice waltzed right into Canton, no questions asked, as he should have. That same fate should befall Harrison. But he is in a strong group of first time eligible candidates, and wide receivers generally have a tough time getting enshrined as is. I think he's got a really strong chance of going in this year, but because of my previous points, he's not the slam dunk he should be.

HoF Projection: Pretty Good

ANDRE REED**

1985-1999 Buffalo Bills, 2000 Washington Redskins

Accomplishments: 7x Pro Bowl selection (1988-1994); 10,000 Receiving Yards Club

Pros: Andre Reed was Jim Kelly's number one target on those great Bills teams of the late 80s and 90s. Reed was a key part in the teams that went to four straight Super Bowls from 1990 to 1993. Without the trio of Kelly, Reed, and Thurman Thomas, the Bills offense wouldn't have clicked as much as it did for all those years.

Cons: Reed, despite being the number one receiver on a strong offense, never really had eye-popping numbers. There are years where he was certainly great, but he never really asserted himself among the other great receivers of his day. His final career numbers ultimately fall just on the fringes of the top ten all time, further miring him in the great, not immortal category he's been saddled with.

Overall: Reed was undoubtedly one of the best players on the Bills in their dominant years, but just because you were a key contributor on championship caliber teams, doesn't immediately grant you a ticket to the hall of fame. He's made it to the finals every year since 2007, but he feels like a guy I'd vote in if there was no one better at his position and overall. He's got a shot, but he's got two receivers for competition in Tim Brown and Marvin Harrison that will make it tough to break through.

HoF Projection: Maybe

STERLING SHARPE

1988-1994 Green Bay Packers

Accomplishments: 5x Pro Bowl selection (1989-1990, 1992-1994); 3x 1st Team All-Pro (1989, 1992-1993)

Pros: Talk about what could have been. Sterling Sharpe bent the NFL over and had his way with it from the moment he stepped onto a pro field. He led the league in receptions three times (1989, 1992-1993), receiving yards once (1992), and receiving touchdowns twice (1992, 1994). Plus he gained 1,000 receiving yards five times overall, and caught 90 passes while hauling in double digit touchdowns four times each. All in his first seven seasons. He had an all time great career going for himself.

Cons: Then he got hurt. Sharpe's career was cut short by a neck injury, ending a sure fire hall of fame career after just seven seasons. Like Terrell Davis, Sharpe was truly dominant at his position for a short period of time. Unlike Davis, Sharpe wasn't a key contributor in Super Bowl victories, putting his hall of fame candidacy in serious question.

Overall: When Shannon Sharpe, Sterling's brother, was inducted into the hall of fame, he mentioned in his speech that he was the only hall of famer that was just the second best football player in his family. Shannon Sharpe was one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history, and he wasn't screwing around. At all. The fact that Sterling Sharpe hasn't received any support from hall of fame voters is an absolute crime. If he played even two more seasons, just nine overall, he'd have over 10,000 receiving yards and likely 90 or so touchdowns, plus the added bonus of a Super Bowl ring. I could play "woulda coulda shoulda" all day with him, but I can just as easily point to what he actually accomplished and marvel at it. His numbers weren't simply good, they were dominant. He was a force of nature in football pads and cleats. He should get more support than he has, but I think that he'll have to hope the veteran's committee drums up a serious campaign for him starting in 2020.

HoF Projection: Not This Year (and that's a damn shame)

JIMMY SMITH

1992-1993 Dallas Cowboys, 1995-2005 Jacksonville Jaguars

Accomplishments: 5x Pro Bowl selection (1997-2001); 2x Super Bowl champion (1992-1993); 10,000 Receiving Yards Club

Pros: Not a bad player to have on your first ever team roster. Some of you may not believe this, but the Jaguars used to be good. No really! And Smith was one of the biggest reasons for that. He went from a marginal player on the Cowboys to putting up crazy numbers for long stretches of time in north Florida. There are only three people in the hall of fame that have more receptions than him, and only five that have gained more yards through the air. Simply put, he was one of the best receivers in the late 90s and early 00s.

Cons: If Jimmy Smith gets elected to the hall of fame in the next few years, he likely won't be able to make his own induction ceremony. Smith had a serious cocaine problem during his playing days (some of that Cowboys magic rubbing off on him) and it continued into his retirement. He's currently serving under house arrest for weapons and cocaine possession. Now many hall of famers have had sordid pasts filled with drugs and other very bad things, most famously Lawrence Taylor and Michael Irvin. Smith also is in the same boat as Brown and Reed, in that he put up great numbers at a time when Jerry Rice, Cris Carter and Michael Irvin were putting up ridiculous stats.

Overall: Smith's off the field concerns are his ultimate road block into the hall. While Lawrence Taylor did and still does have numerous issues, he was an all time great player with the stats and rings to back him up. Smith had a phenomenal career, but I'm not sure it's enough for him to get in. His numbers are definitely hall worthy, and it's bogus to apply the dreaded character clause on some players while ignoring it for others. He's one of the few truly great Jaguars of all time, but that may never translate into a gold jacket.

HoF Projection: Not This Year

ROD SMITH

1994-2006 Denver Broncos

Accomplishments: 3x Pro Bowl selection (2000-2001, 2005); 2x Super Bowl champion (1997-1998); 10,000 Receiving Yards Club

Pros: I didn't expect this, but in doing a little research, Rod Smith is actually really underrated. He put up strong numbers starting in his third season in 1997 and continuing on for pretty much the entirety of the rest of his career. His playoff games are also really impressive, catching 4 or more passes in seven of his thirteen career postseason contests. He's in the top 25 all time in receptions and receiving yards.

Cons: Rod Smith is underrated for a reason; his numbers are good, even great, but not amazing. He's very comparable to Andre Reed; he contributed greatly to the Broncos passing game, but his career numbers get left in the dust by peers like Terrell Owens and Randy Moss. Not helping his cause is that the Broncos passing game was a distant second in importance after Terrell Davis running all over the place in the Super Bowl years, and John Elway generally gave precedence to Shannon Sharpe as far as throwing passes went. Smith became the clear number one in the 2000s, but by then, the Broncos days of contending were largely over, and so was his shot at a lot of eyes looking at him be great for a great team.

Overall: Smith should get more support than he does, but I feel like Reed before him, it'll be tough for him to make it in. His numbers in single games and years are better overall than Reed, and he does have two Super Bowl rings to Reed's zero, but guys like Terrell Owens, Marvin Harrison, Isaac Bruce, Torrey Holt, and Randy Moss will always get looks over him. He's likely headed to the "I'll vote for him if there's nobody else" fate, sad as it is.

HoF Projection: Not This Year

Two groups down, five more to go. Tomorrow we'll take a look at the offensive linemen.