Individual Hall of Fame Inductees: Ranking NFL Legends' Induction Worthiness

Not all Pro Football Hall of Famers are inducted equally.

On Saturday, August 4th, at 7 p.m. ET, individual inductees who were voted on to the class of 2012 will be enshrined. While each of the six was a phenomenal player, some were more talented than others.

Here is the Hall of Fame class of 2012 ranked in order of worthiness.

6. Jack Butler

Forget for one moment that Chris Carter and Tim Brown have superior resumes to Jack Butler while we take a look at the least-worthy inductee of the 2012 class.

Butler played from 1951-1959 (if it takes you that long to get voted in, obviously something is up). He made four Pro Bowls, though, and was named to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ all-time team—which is quite a prestigious list in itself.

While Butler is a great story—an undrafted free agent turned stud cornerback—there’s no question his argument for the Hall holds less weight than the other five players on this list.

5. Dermontti Dawson

This Steeler is much more worthy.

In his rookie season, Dermontti Dawson started at guard next to Mike Webster. When he moved to center the next year, you could tell he learned from the best.

Dawson went on to make seven straight Pro Bowl teams. He was one of the most talented players on a Pittsburgh team that won five division titles over the course of six years. His consistent effectiveness earned him a spot on the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. 

4. Chris Doleman

Doleman is yet another player with a link to the city of Pittsburgh, and he won’t be the last.

The former Panther played for the Minnesota Vikings for the majority of his career and left the game as one of the greatest pass-rushers of all-time. He earned eight trips to the Pro Bowl—the same amount of years that he recorded double-digit sacks, including 21 in a single season.

Doleman is currently fourth on the NFL’s career sack list and likely won’t be leapfrogged for a while.

3. Cortez Kennedy

Kennedy helped usher in a new era of mammoth lineman.

His size at 6’3”, 300 pounds is normal nowadays, but when he was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks back in 1990, only one of the four defensive tackles that made the Pro Bowl that year would be considered heavy by today’s standards. Michael Dean Perry weighed 285, Keith Millard 260 and Greg Kraken 267.

The former Miami Hurricane lived up to his third-overall selection by earning eight trips to the Pro Bowl. Kennedy is one of the most dominant interior defensive linemen to ever live.

2. Curtis Martin

Martin defined longevity.

He didn’t make as many Pro Bowls (five) as Doleman or Kennedy, but Martin’s immense impact over the course of an entire decade is remarkable.

Straight out of Pitt, Martin won Rookie of the Year with the New England Patriots, rushing for 1,487 yards and 14 touchdowns. On the New York Jets at the age of 31, he rushed for 1,697 yards and 12 touchdowns—which made him the oldest back in NFL history to ever lead the league in rushing. If it weren’t for a knee injury, he may have tied Emmitt Smith’s record of 11-straight 1000-yard seasons.

Martin is fourth on the all-time rushing list, and his rare ability to run right through the wall that halfbacks usually hit at 30 years old separated him from the pack.

1. Willie Roaf

At 6’5”, 320 pounds, Willie Roaf was a big deal.

He made an incredible 11 Pro Bowls, and his long career of dominance led to him being voted on the NFL 1990s and 2000s All-Decade Teams.

Roaf helped pave the way for some of the league’s top rushers in Ricky Williams, Priest Holmes and Larry Johnson. The all-world offensive tackle left the New Orleans Saints to join the Kansas City Chiefs in 2002. The next two seasons, Holmes rushed for 48 touchdowns—before that, he had never rushed for more than eight in a single season.

And given that he made the Pro Bowl in his final year in the league, if Roaf wanted to, he probably could’ve dominated opposing defensive ends for a couple more seasons.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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