No Hall for Megatron. Only a few great years.
What is the standard for "great" years?
>= 1,200 yards = 5 seasons
>= 9 touchdowns = 5 seasons
Not many players in the HoF match/exceed the number of "great" years with these numbers.
Over a 9 year career Johnson averaged 1,291 yards per season, 81 receptions, and 9 touchdowns.
So his 9 year "average" is "great" every season. A lot of HoF started slow and puttered at the end dropping their averages below 1,200yards / 9TDs averages.
And you cannot ding him for only 731 receptions because he isn't a volume slot receiver averaging 9 yards a catch. Johnson has a career average of 15.9 yards per reception.
That is a great "average" career with at least 5 spectacular seasons. Johnson also holds at least one major NFL record:
* Most receiving yards in a single season: 1,964 yards
He also holds a number of records that show how "bright" he burned:
* Seasons with 1,600 yards receiving (2, tied with Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, and Antonio Brown)
* Most 100 receiving yard games in a single season (11, tied with Michael Irvin)
* Fastest to 10,000 NFL receiving yards (115 games)
In Johnsons 9 year career, he had 7 of 9 seasons with over 1,000 yards, 6 consecutive seasons with > 1,000 yards. He was only 16 yards short in 2009 for 1,000 yards, but was also out 2 games; had he reached 1,000 yards in 2009 (only 16 more yards) it would be 8 consecutive seasons with > 1,000 yards in a 9 year career.
I do think longevity is a factor for the Hall of Fame, but 9 years averaging over 9 TDs and 1,200 yards is a very large window. It isn't a 13 or 14 year career--or nearly 20 like Rice--but that isn't the "standard." It may be the standard for GOAT, but for the HoF?
He also gets some bonus points for:
+ Lions
+ Matt Stafford
For his 9 seasons Johnson was always one of the best after his rookie season, stopped in the last 2 years more by injuries than opponents (yet still producing at a high level) and from 2008-2013 before injuries hit in 2014 and 2015 he was a dominant force. His last 2 seasons totals were almost over 150 catches, over 2,200 yards, and 17 TDs. It wasn't like he was a scrub his last couple injury riddled seasons.
Easy 1st ballot for me. Burned as hot as a GOAT in his prime and had a 9 year stretch that averaged "great" seasons.