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Who had a HOF caliber start to their career but dropped off significantly?


Kiwibrown

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53 minutes ago, TecmoSuperJoe said:

All dumb Smith. 

I'm actually disappointed that I didn't think of this one. I don't think people appreciate how much of a monster he was on those teams. 

Nick Bosa first 4 years - 51G, 43 sacks, 8 forced fumbles, 56 TFL, 106 QB hits in 1568 pass rush snaps. 

Aldon Smith first 4 years - 50G, 44 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 46 TFL, 81 Hits in 1424 pass rush snaps. 

 

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Forge said:

I'm actually disappointed that I didn't think of this one. I don't think people appreciate how much of a monster he was on those teams. 

Nick Bosa first 4 years - 51G, 43 sacks, 8 forced fumbles, 56 TFL, 106 QB hits in 1568 pass rush snaps. 

Aldon Smith first 4 years - 50G, 44 sacks, 6 forced fumbles, 46 TFL, 81 Hits in 1424 pass rush snaps. 

 

One never knows with injuries, but he could potentially be in the league still at 34 if he wasn't a doofus. 

Edited by TecmoSuperJoe
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OBJ averaged 96 receptions, 1,374 yards and 12 TDs his first three years. And that was WITH an average of two games missed a year due to injuries. All while putting up one of the best highlight reels in NFL history. 

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Just now, HoboRocket said:

Ah, yes, the Odell Beckham, Jr thread.

Yup.

His first 3 years were unreal. They seem less impressive now after what Justin Jefferson did his first 3 years, but at the time, there was no hotter start to a career. Mike Evans, who actually is a HOFer, was getting overlooked and almost completely neglected in the public discourse because of how good OBJ was, and they came from the same draft class. Rookie year, coming off a hamstring injury that prevented him from meaningfully practicing or participating in any offseason activities, he posted 1300 yards and 10 touchdowns in 12 games. He played less than 60 games for the Giants, an organization that has been around for 100 years, and is in 2nd all-time franchise history in receiving yards. He was on track to be one of the greatest WRs of all time until that goddamn Chargers game.

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2 minutes ago, minutemancl said:

Yup.

His first 3 years were unreal. They seem less impressive now after what Justin Jefferson did his first 3 years, but at the time, there was no hotter start to a career. Mike Evans, who actually is a HOFer, was getting overlooked and almost completely neglected in the public discourse because of how good OBJ was, and they came from the same draft class. 

Oh yeah, that reminds me. Justin Jefferson. Lol. He can go on this list after last year.

But yeah, and OBJ is also responsible for some of the most memorable moments in NFL history. Everyone knows "The Catch." It opened the floodgates at the WR position. Yeah, there were plenty of famous receptions before that moment. But once that happened, guy in elementary, middle, and high school started trying to recreate that for fun. People who don't even play football. Yeah, of course your dedicated guys are toe tapping in practice, but not 8 year olds! Hell, I watched my little brother go outside and practice one handed grabs and would have me try to throw to the "sideline" of our cul-de-sac so he could practice OBJ style catches. And EVERYONE in youth football did this. 

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3 minutes ago, HoboRocket said:

Oh yeah, that reminds me. Justin Jefferson. Lol. He can go on this list after last year.

But yeah, and OBJ is also responsible for some of the most memorable moments in NFL history. Everyone knows "The Catch." It opened the floodgates at the WR position. Yeah, there were plenty of famous receptions before that moment. But once that happened, guy in elementary, middle, and high school started trying to recreate that for fun. People who don't even play football. Yeah, of course your dedicated guys are toe tapping in practice, but not 8 year olds! Hell, I watched my little brother go outside and practice one handed grabs and would have me try to throw to the "sideline" of our cul-de-sac so he could practice OBJ style catches. And EVERYONE in youth football did this. 

Yeah, he changed the culture for sure. I remember growing up, it was "Mossed". You got Mossed if someone caught a contested ball over you. That all changed after 2014, and I don't think it's even really been supplanted by anything else yet.

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4 minutes ago, HoboRocket said:

Oh yeah, that reminds me. Justin Jefferson. Lol. He can go on this list after last year.

But yeah, and OBJ is also responsible for some of the most memorable moments in NFL history. Everyone knows "The Catch." It opened the floodgates at the WR position. Yeah, there were plenty of famous receptions before that moment. But once that happened, guy in elementary, middle, and high school started trying to recreate that for fun. People who don't even play football. Yeah, of course your dedicated guys are toe tapping in practice, but not 8 year olds! Hell, I watched my little brother go outside and practice one handed grabs and would have me try to throw to the "sideline" of our cul-de-sac so he could practice OBJ style catches. And EVERYONE in youth football did this. 

If someone tabulated the percentage of one handed catches, I'd bet on almost any odds there was an inflection point right after where the rate went up. It was almost overnight you saw guys going to one hand while using the other to handfight.

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Sterling Sharpe - Injuries

Eddie George - Wear and tear over time due to over usage

Ricky Waters - “For what? For who?” interview

Fragile Fred Taylor

Greg Lloyd - Injuries

Just some that came to mind 

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Posted (edited)

He was still a good player after the fact, but you would have thought Clay Matthews was on a HOF pace after his first 4 years.  2 All-Pros and 2nd in DPOY voting in 2010.  

Jevon Kearse comes to mind too.

Edited by iknowcool
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Seems like a lot of edge rushers, RBs and WR, when I think about a list like this.  Just for some people I haven't seen mentioned:  I think Donovan McNabb looked like a future HoF'er at one point.  Vick definitely had a path that I don't think would have surprised many people.  Aldon Smith and Shawne Merriman were already mentioned.  Jevon Kearse looked like a future all-timer early on.  He had the media hype behind him, too.  Pre-Washington Dana Stubblefield and Albert Haynesworth.  Ricky Williams.  

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