New Orleans Saints: Is Safety Darren Sharper a Future Hall of Famer?

There seems to be more talk of who will someday land in the Pro Football Hall of Fame this offseason. Maybe it is the lack of football to talk outside of the NFL lockout. Anyway, there is a current New Orleans Saint (for now at least) up for discussion on ESPN’s NFC South blog this week.

Darren Sharper‘s future in the Hall is up for debate.

Sharper’s numbers on the Packers, Vikings and Saints over the years are comparable to some already in the HOF. If he can continue to stay on the field he will strengthen his argument. Some things to consider in his favor:

• 63 career INTs (ties with Ronnie Lott) has him at No. 6 on the all-time list.
• 11 INTs returned for TD.
• Super Bowl ring.

Working against him is the fact that defensive backs are not the prime picking. After the kickoff of the 2011 season, there will only be 22 in the Hall of Fame. Time missed due to injury in 2010 also does not appear pretty. Imagine the possible numbers had he been able to post another solid season in 2010.

						Def Interceptions					Fumbles				Tackles
Year	Tm	Pos	G	GS	Sk	Int	Yds	TD	Lng	PD	FF	FR	Yds	TD	Tkl	Ast
1997	GNB		14	0		2	70	2	50		1	1	34	1	12	1
1998	GNB	FS	16	16											53	20
1999	GNB	FS	16	16	1.0	3	12	0	9		0	1	9	0	84	29
2000*+	GNB	FS	16	16	1.0	9	109	0	47						72	20
2001	GNB	FS	16	16	2.0	6	78	0	23	18	1	1	17	0	71	24
2002*	GNB	FS	13	13		7	233	1	89	9					51	17
2003	GNB	FS	15	15	2.0	5	78	0	50	13	2	0	0	0	71	13
2004	GNB	FS	15	13		4	97	2	43	7	2	1	15	1	59	13
2005*	MIN	FS	14	14		9	276	2	92	16	0	1	14	0	41	10
2006	MIN	SS	16	16	1.0	4	10	0	10	9	1	0	0	0	52	16
2007*	MIN	SS	16	16		4	61	1	41	8	1	0	0	0	49	14
2008	MIN	SS	16	16		1	12	0	12	5	0	2	20	0	57	9
2009*+	NOR	FS	14	14	0.5	9	376	3	99	15					51	20
2010	NOR		8	1		0	0	0	0	1	0	1	11	0	11	5
Career			205	182	7.5	63	1412	11	99	101	8	8	120	2	734	211
8 yrs	GNB		121	105	6.0	36	677	5	89	47	6	4	75	2	473	137
4 yrs	MIN		62	62	1.0	18	359	3	92	38	2	3	34	0	199	49
2 yrs	NOR		22	15	0.5	9	376	3	99	16	0	1	11	0	62	25

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/4/2011.