Finally, Terrell Davis A Hall Of Famer

By Jordan Long

This past Saturday the NFL Hall of Fame announced the class of 2017. Among them was Denver Broncos’ running back Terrell Davis. It is about time for him to wear a gold jacket.

Terrell Davis’ career wasn’t long but it was effective. He only played 7 seasons for the Denver Broncos, rushing for 7,607 yards and 60 touchdowns. Davis’ best year was in 1998 rushing for 2,008 yards, becoming only the 4th player in league history to run for 2,000 yards in a season. He was voted MVP of the NFL that year.

In 1999, Davis appeared in 4 games. He suffered an ACL tear in week 4 against the New York Jets trying to make a tackle after a Brian Griese interception.   Davis attempted to come back, but he only appeared in 13 games after that. He was not the same runner and lacked the same speed.

Terrell Davis didn’t have the regular season stats but it was the playoffs where he excelled which made him a hall of famer. Davis ran for 1,140 yards in the playoffs which is 6^th on the all-time list. He is 4^th in rushing touchdowns in the playoffs with 12.

Davis had to keep waiting for his selection to the Hall because of his short career. The only other player in the Hall of Fame whose career was as short was Gale Sayers. Davis’ numbers are better than Sayers. Sayers rushed for 4,956 yards or 2,651 yards less than Terrell Davis.

The other knock on Davis was the zone blocking system that Denver used from 1995 to 2008 under Mike Shannahan. It paved the way for 5 other running backs who had 1,000 plus yards in a season. Those were Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis, Reuben Droughns, and Tatum Bell.

This was long overdue for Terrell Davis. The Broncos wouldn’t have won Super Bowls 32 and 33 without the running game of Davis. The Hall of Fame voters finally decided it was time for him to go in. Davis is deserving of this highest honor. The final step for him is to give his Hall of Fame speech in Canton, Ohio on August 5^th, 2017.

What do you think of Terrell Davis finally getting into the Pro Football Hall Of Fame?