10 Super Bowl XLVI Names That Should Clinch a Hall of Fame Nod with a Win

If legends are made in the postseason, then Hall of Famers are made in the Super Bowl.

In most cases—at least for the modern era players—the first line on the resume for Canton applicants is Super Bowl titles.

That's the best way to explain all the 1960s Packers in the Hall, all the 1970s Steelers, Cowboys and Dolphins, and all the 1980s 49ers.

It's just a fact that players with multiple Super Bowl rings get special consideration. Of course, that's not the only criteria—otherwise, Marv Flemming, Mike Wagner, and Kevin Faulk would be shoo-ins.

Super Bowl XLVI will be another shot for a handful of people to essentially clinch a spot in the Hall...provided they pull out a win.

Inside are the 10 best candidates, but before you read the list, consider this:

I'm not talking about potential, here. I'm suggesting that if these players win a ring on February 5, then retire permanently the next morning, they'll still be Hall of Fame worthy. So as great as Rob Gronkowski, Victor Cruz and Jason Pierre-Paul have been in their short careers, it's still not enough to earn a spot on this list. Maybe if we have Pats-Giants Part III sometime in 2016, the case will be different. 

Naturally, since the Pats are a far more veteran team, they'll dominate this list...so I await complaints from Giants fans!

No. 10: Chad Ochocinco, WR

Career Stats: 766 catches, 11,069 yards receiving, 67 receiving TD

Achievements: 6 pro bowls, 3 All Pro selections

I'm well aware of the problematic nature of this entry, but hear me out.

I know that Ochocinco wasn't even active on Sunday against Baltimore, so if that's the case in Indianapolis and the Pats win, that Super Bowl ring will mean next to nothing for his ultimate legacy....who knows what it will mean to Ochocinco.

But let's say he does play and make a contribution to the victory. That, coupled with what he was able to achieve during his decade in Cincinnati is not irrelevant to the Hall of Fame voters. After all, he is the Bengals' leading receiver and went to six pro bowls in an era where receivers dominated the game.

Still, I don't think Ochocinco is holding his breath. 

No. 9: Matt Light, OT

Achievements: 3 pro bowls, 1 All Pro, 3 Super Bowl rings

Granted, here's another tough sell: Light has never been considered one of the NFL's elite tackles. 

But if the Patriots win Super Bowl XLVI, against that awesome Giants pass rush, Light will have a huge hand in the victory.

The last time these teams met in a Super Bowl, New York repeatedly pressured Brady, and that was the difference in the game. 

Besides, a decade as Tom Brady's blind side protector? That should earn some serious attention from Hall of Fame voters...well, that and the four rings. 

QUICK NOTE: I agree that taking Ochocinco and Light ahead of Justin Tuck or Osi Umenyiora is open to interpretation. But again, if we're talking complete careers here, you have to take the player with much more longevity.

Besides, both Ochocinco and Light have more pro bowl berths than Tuck and Umenyiora and both had far more consistent careers. So...debate away!

No. 8: Robert Kraft, Owner

Achievements: 3 Super Bowl rings

After Dan Rooney, Kraft is probably the game's most respected owner. 

He bought the woeful Pats in 1994 and since they've become the model NFL franchise: six Super Bowl berths, three victories and perhaps a fourth. 

Owners do have a place in Canton: Ralph Wilson, Wellington Mara, George Preston Marshall, Lamar Hunt, etc.

And, as it happens, Eddie DeBartolo Jr., the 49ers owner whose legacy of buying a franchise and promptly building a dynasty parallels Kraft's, is a finalist for Canton. He also brought four Super Bowls championships to his club. 

No. 7: Brian Waters, G

Achievements: 6 pro bowls, 2 All Pro selections

Unlike Ochocinco, Waters came to New England—relatively last minute—and started every game, becoming a major contributor to the Pats' awesome offense.

That and a Super Bowl ring would be the final piece of the puzzle for Waters, who has routinely been one of the AFC's best guards. 

Especially when you consider his versatility.

Waters was one of the key components to that record-setting running game in Kansas City (Priest Holmes, Larry Johnson), and now he's a key component of Tom Brady and that awesome passing attack. 

That ability to adjust and his longevity won't be lost on Hall of Fame voters. 

No. 6: Wes Welker, WR

Career Stats: 650 catches, 7,226 receiving yards, 32 receiving TD

Achievements: 

All sports reserve that occasional Hall of Fame selection for players who don't have overwhelming, top-10 ranking career stats, but were clearly one of the two or three best players at their position for an extended period of time: Gale Sayers, Sandy Koufax, Pete Maravich, for example. And Welker might very well fit that mold. 

Since 2007, Welker has been the best slot receiver in the game, leading the NFL in receptions three times, and averaging well over 100 catches per season. 

And because he is as good a candidate as any to win the Super Bowl MVP in Indianapolis, that could be the clincher. 

No. 5: Vince Wilfork, DT

Career Stats: 13 sacks, 294 solo tackles

Achievements: 4 pro bowls, 4 All Pro selections

Wilfork already has one Super Bowl ring, from his rookie season in 2004, but since then he's become arguably the most versatile and, therefore, best interior defensive lineman in the game.

And if he plays the way he did on Sunday against Baltimore—when he was almost impossible to block with one player—he'll harass Eli Manning and company enough to slow down that incredible Giants passing attack. 

That will greatly increase his Hall of Fame credentials. 

No. 4: Tom Coughlin, Head Coach

Career Stats: 142-114

Achievements: 1 Super Bowl title, 6 division titles, 11 playoff wins, 9 playoff berths

Finally, a Giant! 

Although he's basically been on the hot seat ever since he took over the job—except for right now and that year or so following Super Bowl XLII—you can't deny what Coughlin's been able to achieve in New York, where the spotlight is brighter than anywhere in the NFL.

He also turned the expansion Jaguars into a playoff team in two years, reaching the postseason four straight years and the AFC Title Game twice. 

In all he's won an incredible seven road playoff games, as many as the great Tom Landry, who was in the NFL nearly twice as long as Coughlin.  

Those achievements and two Super Bowl titles would easily be the equal of John Madden, Hank Stram, Marv Levy or Bud Grant, all enshrined in Canton. 

No. 3: Eli Manning, QB

Career Stats: 69-50 record, 7 playoff wins, 27,579 yards, 185 TD 

Achievements: 1 Super Bowl title, 1 Super Bowl MVP, 2 pro bowls

Anyone who laughed when Eli Manning said he believed he was an elite quarterback now is eating their words.

In 2011-12, he's been as clutch a quarterback as any every before him, completing seemingly every third down pass and throwing fourth quarter touchdowns at will.

Sure, his overall stats pale in comparison to his big brother and his Super Bowl XLVI counterpart, but if the Giants win a second NFL title in four years—with him as the clear-cut centerpiece—it will be impossible to deny him a spot in Canton.

And it's worth pointing out that the trio of receivers he relies on this year, Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, and Mario Manningham, were all in college when he won the last Super Bowl and Super Bowl MVP. That points to the greatness of the quarterback more than any single stat. 

No. 2: Tom Brady, QB

Career Stats: 124-35 record, 16 playoff wins, 39,979 yards, 300 TD 

Achievements: 3 Super Bowl titles, 2 Super Bowl MVPs, 7 pro bowls, 2 All Pro selections

Splitting hairs here, but since a Super Bowl win will put Brady in a class of three (Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana) while the next entry will join a class of two with a title (see next slide). So at least for the purposes of this list, Brady takes a back seat to his head coach.

Nevertheless, Brady is a first-ballot Hall of Famer as is. The better legacy-related question regarding Brady and Super Bowl XLVI is what would a fourth Super Bowl title do for Brady in the race for Greatest Ever quarterback?

There's a case to be made that another ring for Brady will surpass Montana, Unitas, Elway and anyone else on the list. Four wins and five appearances trumps any quarterback in the Super Bowl era. 

No. 1: Bill Belichick, Head Coach

Career Stats: 175-97

Achievements: 3 Super Bowl titles, 9 division titles, 17 playoff wins, 10 playoff berths

Only one man in NFL history has four Super Bowl titles: Chuck Noll.

So a victory in Indianapolis will pull Belichick even with Emperor Chaz, but in many ways it will push him beyond the architect of the Steel Curtain.

He'll have six Super Bowl rings in all (the other two he won as a Giants assistant), and his dynasty will have spanned longer than Noll's: 11 years between first and fourth Super Bowl for the Hoodie compared to just six years between first and fourth for Noll. 

If Belichick's Pats win the Super Bowl—given all the turnover on the roster and the coaching staff—it very well may be the greatest dynasty in NFL history.