Back in the early 2000s, you would've been hard-pressed to find a running back as consistent as Fred Taylor was with the Jacksonville Jaguars. LaDainian Tomlinson, Edgarrin James, and Jamal Lewis were better than him, but that's arguably where the list ends. But despite his success, Taylor hasn't gotten nearly as much recognition as he deserves.
Even worse, the 1999 first-round pick consistently put on the number throughout his career to deserve consideration for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. However, voters don't think his production is good enough, and they made it clear when they announced their 2026 class of pending inductees.
Jaguars legend Fred Taylor was snubbed from the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame class
Fred Taylor seemingly had a chance to make the Hall of Fame after advancing to the semifinalist stage of voting. However, he didn't make it to the final round. Below is the list of the players who did make it, along with the team where they spent most of their NFL careers:
- Drew Brees, quarterback (New Orleans Saints)
- Willie Anderson, offensive tackle (Cincinnati Bengals, Baltimore Ravens)
- Larry Fitzgerald, wide receiver (Arizona Cardinals)
- Frank Gore, running back (Indianapolis Colts, San Francisco 49ers)
- Jahri Evans, offensive guard (New Orleans)
- Luke Kuechly, linebacker (Carolina Panthers)
- Terrell Suggs, outside linebacker (Baltimore Ravens)
- Eli Manning, quarterback (New York Jets)
- Torry Holt, wide receiver (St. Louis Rams)
- Adam Vinatieri, kicker (Patriots, Colts)
- Marshal Yanda, guard (Ravens)
- Darren Woodson, safety (Dallas Cowboys)
- Kevin Williams, defensive tackle (Minnesota Vikings)
- Jason Witten, tight end (Cowboys)
- Reggie Wayne, wide receiver (Colts)
You could make the case that all those players warrant HOF consideration, but so does Taylor. In 153 games (140 with the Jags) with 137 starts, he racked up 11,695 yards with 66 touchdowns on 2,534 carries.
Of course, Larry Fitzgerald and Drew Brees will be first-year ballots, but can you confidently say that Marshal Yanda or Frank Gore deserved to advance to the finalist stage over Taylor? It would at least make for an interesting debate, one that HOF isn't seemingly willing to entertain.
Why Jaguars legend deserves to make the Hall of Fame over Frank Gore
One of the biggest arguments against inducting Fred Taylor is that he only made the Pro Bowl once in his career. If that's the case, neither did Frank Gore deserve consideration. Yet, he advanced to the final stage. Sure, he had a long and productive career but never was among the top running backs in the NFL.
Longevity should definitely count when deciding who makes and who doesn't, but that should be just one of many factors. At this point, aside from the lack of accolades, the only reasons HOF voters are keeping Taylor out are that he didn't play in a big market and lacks the name recognition of Gore and his peers.
And that's the thing, if you were to ask an average NFL fan who do they recognize, many of them would probably pick Gore over Taylor, but just because he played in a small market should not be used against him.
Ultimately, Hall-of-Fame voters can't keep Taylor out forever. At some point, they'll need to let him in. Unfortunately, it won't be this year.