Pittsburgh Steelers’ fans may have been warming up to Colin Cowherd after the nice things he said about the Steelers this offseason (though he also played his greatest hits against them) but the honeymoon might be over. On his Monday show, Cowherd revealed a list of top ten future first-ballot Hall of Famers, a list that left off OLB T.J. Watt and DT Cam Heyward but included…Cleveland Browns’ DE Myles Garrett?
Off the top, here’s his list of ten slam-dunk first ballot Hall of Famers.
In fairness, much of the list is agreeable. Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, Trent Williams, Aaron Donald, and Von Miller are all easy choices, though OG Zach Martin needs to be in here. To be even more charitable, this list is largely made up of older players closer to the end of their career than the beginning, players with larger resumes that makes their Hall of Fame projection easier to make.
Still. Myles Garrett? As fantastic of a player as he is, it’s hard to put his resume overtop of Watt’s. Watt has:
– More Pro Bowls (five vs four)
– More All-Pros (three vs two)
– Defensive Player Of The Year Award (Garrett has zero)
– More career sacks (77.5 vs 74.5)
– More career TFL (88 vs 77)
– More career FFs (23 vs 13)
And they were drafted in the same year, meaning Watt hasn’t been in the league number to boost his resume. There’s an argument to Garrett being the more gifted “planet theory” athlete, though Watt’s athleticism is underrated, but gold jackets don’t get put on for “looks.” They’re awarded for accolades. And Watt’s are better, plain and simple.
Watt is included on Cowherd’s “honorable mention” list with the likes of QB Joe Burrow, WR Justin Jefferson, and LB Micah Parsons. But he should at least be in the same category as Garrett, if not above him.
It’s fair to leave Heyward off the top ten. Though he’s played in the league for longer, he’s still a borderline Hall of Famer and not in first ballot status. To make it to Canton, Heyward will likely need to make 2-3 more Pro Bowls and 1-2 more Pro Bowl teams. If he could flirt with 100 career sacks, it would strengthen his resume, though he still may only be a second or third ballot Canton inductee.
