I know Maurkice Pouncey retired only hours ago. But there’s one more chapter of his NFL career that must be talked about.
Is Maurkice Pouncey a Hall of Famer?
History says yes.
Pouncey’s resume reads as follows: 11 years in the league, 134 starts, nine Pro Bowls, and two All-Pro selections.
According to Pro Football Reference, of the 37 Hall of Fame eligible players in NFL history with exactly nine Pro Bowls, a whopping 34 of them are enshrined in Canton, Ohio. There’s only three exceptions: the Chargers’ Walt Sweeney, Chiefs’ Jim Tyrer, and Eagles/Rams Maxie Baughan. All three of which who played most of their career prior to the 1970 merger and have been lost to time.
Some will say Pouncey’s nine Pro Bowl bids aren’t earned. That he wasn’t worthy of his 2020 selection. I wouldn’t have sent Pouncey to virtual Hawaii either.
But it doesn’t matter.
Five, six, ten years from now, no one will remember a PFF grade that ranked him as one of the bottom-third centers in football. All those memories fade. What people will remember is how good Pouncey was for the majority of his career. And the resume that’s sitting in front of them.
Don’t mistake a Hall of Fame resume for him getting a gold jacket on the first ballot. I’m confident in saying if Pouncey makes it into the Hall, he’s going to have to wait. Just as many of the other nine-time Pro Bowlers did. Alan Faneca, more deserving than Pouncey, got in after an agonizing wait. Bucs’ fans are surely saying the same about John Lynch. Tim Brown got caught up in a logjam and had to wait over a decade for David Baker to knock on his door. Pouncey’s will be waiting awhile. It’s hard for interior linemen to separate themselves in the eyes of voters. It’ll be increasingly difficult over time as more skill players become eligible with video-game numbers.
But Pouncey passes the Kozora “Hall of Fame” test (I’m sure that carries a lot of weight in voters’ minds). He was one of the best at his position for an extended period of time. He’s not a first-ballot, slam dunk induction. But he isn’t in the vaunted, Hines Ward Hall of Very Good either. He’s a Hall of Famer. And one day, I think he hears his name called.
