Only one Jacksonville Jaguar has ever been inducted into the Hall of Fame — Tony Boselli — but another underrated icon is one step closer to football immortality. Running back Fred Taylor has been nominated to the Pro Football Hall of Fame again, and for the seventh time, made it to the semifinals.
Taylor, along with other Jaguars legends, has been snubbed in Hall of Fame votes multiple times, but fans undoubtedly will be hoping this is his lucky year. He made it to the final round of voting twice before, but this might finally be his year.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced that Taylor is among the 26 semifinalists moving on to the next round of voting. Earlier this year, 128 modern-era nominees were named, and that list was narrowed down to 52 in October. After the semifinals, voters will choose 15 finalists, with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 chosen shortly before the Super Bowl.
Could one of the Jaguars’ all-time greats finally get the recognition he deserves?
Taylor was the No. 9 overall selection in the 1998 NFL Draft. During his 13 seasons in the NFL, he rushed for 11,695 yards and 66 touchdowns. Yet, he's consistently been overlooked, and likely for several reasons.
The running back position has, in recent years, become underappreciated in and of itself. On top of that, Taylor played for a team in a small market and doesn't have many individual awards to his name. However, that doesn't make his career any less impressive or less worthy of the Hall of Fame.
Taylor is 18th on the NFL's all-time rushing list with 11,695 yards; every player ahead of him who is eligible is already in the Hall of Fame. He spent most of his career with the Jaguars, where he appeared in 153 games with 137 starts, and had 2,534 carries for 11,695 yards and 66 touchdowns. He has more 60+ yard touchdowns than any other running back, with just Barry Sanders having more.
It's worth noting that he's one of two running backs to be named a semifinalist, and the only Jacksonville alum to move on to the next round. Wide receiver Jimmy Smith was also nominated, but not named a semifinalist; head coach Tom Coughlin is still in contention among semifinalists in his category, though with only one coach chosen, Coughlin's road to Canton will be difficult indeed.
Fred Taylor, though, has a good shot of finally getting the long-overdue recognition he deserves.