Reggie Wayne Deserves to Have his Place in Canton

By now, I’m sure you have seen the news that two Indianapolis Colts legends have made the list of finalists to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Those two legends are none other than Peyton Manning and Reggie Wayne.  Two of the greatest players to not only wear the Horse Shoe but also play in the NFL.  If all goes well both of these men could be chosen to be forever enshrined in Canton, Ohio the week of the Super Bowl.

Obviously, Peyton Manning is a shoo-in.  He is no doubt one of the best NFL quarterbacks of all time.  There is no argument there.  Where there may be some disagreement is whether or not Reggie Wayne deserves to be in the Hall of Fame.  I believe he does.

The main argument that I have heard before in regards to Wayne being a Hall of Famer or not is usually this; “Well he was a good Colts player but was he really a great NFL player?”  Are you kidding me? Duh, he was a great NFL player.  First off, he played for 14 seasons.  There aren’t that many wide receivers who can pull that off.  Two, he has the 10^th most receiving yards of all time.  That in and of itself should count for a whole lot.

Another thing I love about Reggie Wayne is that you never hear anything bad about the guy.  I can’t tell you how many interviews from different coaches and players I’ve heard over the years that talk about how good a player/teammate he was.  Now, I know I’m just some young guy from small-town Indiana and have no idea what it means to be in the hall of fame of anything.  But isn’t that what you want from an inductee?  Someone who not only played lights out on the field but is also a decent person.  Yeah, I think that makes sense.

Growing up and to this day Reggie Wayne is my favorite player.  He didn’t have to say a lot or have some huge personality.  He just made big plays over and over again.  You knew as a fan that if a big play needed to happen 99 percent of the time Reggie Wayne was going to be the guy to make it.  I mean just look at his stats.  14,345 total receiving yards, 82 touchdowns, 1,070 receptions, 2 Super Bowl appearances, including the Super Bowl 41-win, 6 Pro Bowls, First Team All-Pro in 2010, and Colts Ring of Honor Inductee in 2018.  Looks like a Pro Football Hall of Fame resume to me.