6 Atlanta Falcons Who Deserve to Be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

The Pro Football Hall of Fame semifinalists list came out on November 19. While two Falcons in Morten Andersen and Mike Kenn are on the list, there are quite a few other Falcons who also deserve to be in the Hall of Fame.

The Falcons may not have the same kind of history as other franchises with multiple championships, but some of the best players of all time at their position have played for Atlanta. And some players even have other Hall of Famers saying that those players need to join them in Canton, Ohio.

WR Andre Rison, 1990-1994

Al Bello/Getty Images

Career Stats: 186 games played, 743 catches, 10,205 yards, 84 touchdowns

All-Pro Nominations: 1 (1990)

Pro Bowl Nominations: 5 (1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997)

Andre "Bad Moon" Rison was one of the best receivers of the past 30 years. He was essentially what Roddy White is today. He was consistent and efficient, playing with passion for the game.

Rison was never the best receiver in the league in any year that he played; however, during his five years in Atlanta, his consistency was unmatched. He had five straight years of 81-plus catches, 976-plus yards and eight-plus touchdowns. The only receiver to have a similar streak like that over the past decade was White and his five seasons of 80-plus catches, 1,150-plus yards and six-plus touchdowns.

Rison's consistency and talent led him to Hawaii on five separate occasions including a four-year streak from 1990 to 1993. He arguably should have also played in the 1994 game as well. Rison's biggest drawback is the position he plays. There are quite a few other wide receivers equally as deserving of the Hall. But when all is said and done, Bad Moon deserves his bust in Canton.

LB Jessie Tuggle, 1987-2000

JOHN BAZEMORE/Associated Press

Career Stats: 209 games played, 1,640 tackles, 21.0 sacks, 10 fumbles forced, 10 fumbles recovered, 6 interceptions, 6 defensive touchdowns

All-Pro Nominations: 0

Pro Bowl Nominations: 5 (1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998)

Jessie Tuggle has been the biggest snub almost his entire career. He was snubbed from a big Division I school because of his 5'11" size. So, he went to Valdosta State. He was snubbed by the NFL draft, so he signed with the Falcons as an undrafted free agent.

But the snubs stopped there. He earned his spot as the starting middle linebacker as a third-year player after seeing action as a reserve in his first two seasons. From there, he earned the nickname "The Hammer" for just how hard he would hit guys.

That's a big part of how he has 10 forced fumbles on his career. He was also jarring with his hits on receivers who tried to test him over the middle. Tuggle was also a talented blitzer whose 21 sacks through his 14-year career came at opportune times. The Hammer deserves a spot in the Hall just as much as his former teammate, Deion Sanders.

C Jeff Van Note, 1969-1986

George Rose/Getty Images

Career Stats: 246 games played, 226 games started, 4 fumbles recovered

All-Pro Nominations: 0

Pro Bowl Nominations: 5 (1974, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1982)

Jeff Van Note was one of the best centers of his era. Sadly, centers are always underrated. Van Note is in the Falcons Ring of Honor because of his longtime commitment to the team. Between him and Todd McClure, the Falcons have multiple decades of center play accounted for.

Sadly, outside of the multiple Pro Bowls, Van Note doesn't have much of an argument. But his film from the field is right up there in quality with Dwight Stephenson and Mike Webster. He's one of the most cerebral men to play the position.

The biggest drawback to Van Note getting into the Hall is the combination of the lack of talent and winning around him with the lack of center love for the Hall. If centers ever start getting more recognition, Van Note might finally stand a chance of making it past the Hall of Very Good and into the Hall of Fame.

LB Tommy Nobis, 1966-1976

John Amis/Associated Press

Career Stats: 133 games played, 12 interceptions, 13 fumbles recovered, 2 defensive touchdowns. Member of the all-1960s team for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

All-Pro Nominations: 1 (1967)

Pro Bowl Nominations: 5 (1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1972)

Tommy Nobis deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. The man affectionately known as "Mr. Falcon" was one of the fiercest linebackers of the 1960s and early 1970s. His five Pro Bowl berths during the best era of linebackers the NFL has ever seen cement his spot as one of the greatest of all time.

So why hasn't he been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Because he played for the Falcons. As tough as it sounds, Nobis would have been a Hall of Famer anywhere else, because other teams actually won games during this era. And the Falcons didn't. Atlanta was one of the worst teams in the NFL during Nobis' stretch in the NFL.

He was a great linebacker and should end up in the Hall of Fame eventually. Maybe he'll get recognized as the monster that he once was. Nobis deserves his shot, and with the new Legends Hall of Fame selection every year, he should be in soon.

OT Mike Kenn, 1978-1994

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

Career Stats: 251 games played, 251 games started, 11 fumbles recovered

All-Pro Nominations: 2 (1980, 1991)

Pro Bowl Nominations: 5 (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984)

Mike Kenn is one of the best players to have never been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was selected a Hall of Fame semifinalist and stands an outside shot of making it in for 2015. Kenn is a great player who made it to Pro Bowls despite how bad the Falcons were.

He showed great pass-blocking technique and footwork throughout his career. He's arguably the best pass-blocker since the beginning of the Falcons franchise. He rarely allowed quarterbacks like Steve Bartkowski and Jeff George to be sacked or hit. 

As a run-blocker, Kenn anchored lines that allowed some of the better runners in Falcons history to have their best seasons. William Andrews and Gerald Riggs gained more than 14,000 yards combined running behind those lines and could have had even more with additional talent on the other side.

K Morten Andersen, 1995-2000, 2006-2007

Career Stats: 388 games played, 565-of-709 on field goals (79.7%), 849-of-859 on extra points (98.8%), 2,544 points scored. Holds records for most games played, points scored, field goals made and field goals attempted. Is second all-time in both extra points made and extra points attempted. Member of both the all-1980s and all-1990s teams for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

All-Pro Nominations: 3 (1986, 1987, 1995)

Pro Bowl Nominations: 7 (1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1995)

Morten Andersen was arguably the best kicker in NFL history. His massive amount of field goals throughout his career in addition to his even more impressive amount of extra points also makes his case. The seven Pro Bowls don't really feel like enough for the former Falcon and Saint.

Andersen was selected by the most recent NFL Hall of Fame semifinal committee. He should have a shot due to his multi-decade dominance at the position. Andersen also nailed quite a few clutch kicks that allowed his teams to make it to big games.

He's most remembered for the kick he made against the Minnesota Vikings in the 1998 NFC Championship Game that sent the Atlanta Falcons to the Super Bowl. If a Falcon makes it into the Hall of Fame on this cycle, it will be Andersen.

All stats used are from Pro Football Focus' Premium Stats (subscription required), ESPN.com, CFBStats or NFL.com. All combine and pro day info is courtesy of NFLDraftScout.com. All contract information is courtesy of Spotrac and Rotoworld.

Scott Carasik is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He covers the Atlanta Falcons, college football, the NFL and the NFL draft. He also runs DraftFalcons.com.

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