By: Jeremy Trottier

Canton, Ohio.  The place every NFL player wants to end up someday and walk up onto the stage to accept their golden jacket.  Many players make this ascension, but significantly more do not.  The first thing that your enshrinement comes down to is legacy”¦did you leave your mark on the NFL, both individually and as a contributor to your team/s?  Jalen Ramsey, at 27 years old, has already done both of these tasks and is right in the dead center of his prime.  But, when he eventually calls it quits in the future and hangs the cleats up, is he going to be a Hall of Famer?

Has Jalen Ramsey done enough to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Let’s just knock off the major achievements first to make things easy. Ramsey is a Super Bowl champion, 5x Pro Bowler and 3x All-Pro first team in 6 seasons, highest paid defensive back in league history at the time of his contract renewal, more than halfway in interceptions to the nearest Hall of Fame DB in Steve Atwater. 

He is, without a doubt, the best defensive back to play during this current time period.  He has been targeted 169 times in the last two seasons, would you like to know how many were completed?  94.  55.6%.  In those 94 receptions, he has allowed an average of 4.75 yards after the catch, which is astronomically low as it means he makes the tackle before the next hash mark is even seen on average. 

His average depth of target (how far he is downfield when targeted) is 8.4 yards in 2021, the lowest of his career.  This is because quarterbacks know they cannot get WRs to beat him deep very often and because he is so stout along the sidelines.  So, they throw under routes where the WR is facing away from him and even has a chance of making a catch. 

Never in his career has he allowed a completion percentage against him higher than 67.4%, which alone is astronomically low, but his lowest in a season allowed?  50.7%, barely half.  This was not even like half a season or a broken season, this was 2020, where he played 15/16 games and was targeted 71 times. 

Jalen Ramsey is without a doubt the best DB currently, and easily one of the most influential in his 4 seasons so far in the NFL.  With what is going to come in the next 5-10 years of his career, I can easily say he is Canton bound provided this trajectory stays how it has been going. 

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By: Samuel Moores

The Las Vegas Raiders and Jacksonville Jaguars are in Canton, Ohio on Thursday night to play in the annual Hall of Fame game at the Tom Benson HOF Stadium. As always it serves as not only the start of the NFL pre-season but also a celebration of those inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

It’s the fourth time that the Raiders have played in the game, the last one being in 2006, as for the Jags, it’s their second time, the first since their inaugural season in 1995. Both teams were picked to play in the prestigious game because of their former players that are being inducted this year. 

Tony Boselli (JAX), Cliff Branch (LV) and Richard Seymour (NE, LV) headline this year’s class. Boselli becomes the first Jaguars player to enter the Hall of Fame, whilst the Raiders had 19 before 2022.

Five more names make up this year’s class of inductees, one that’s very heavy on defense, with Boselli being the only offensive player in the group. Former Saints and Panthers linebacker Sam Mills and ex-Packers safety LeRoy Butler join 49ers defensive lineman, Bryant Young in a strong defensive contingent. Dick Vermeil, the Rams Super Bowl XXXIV winning coach, and legendary official Art McNally make up the eight players receiving a gold jacket.

I for one cannot wait to see some live football, our first instalment in six months, even though it will be backups and practice squad candidates on the field. It’s the first game for both teams’ head coaches too, as Josh McDaniels and Doug Pederson both embark on their second spells in charge of a franchise. The latter’s time in Philadelphia was far more successful than the former’s in Denver. They’ll be hoping that their players get through the game without suffering any injuries.

If you like your bets, you may like to know that the Raiders are two-point favourites currently, as of Sunday. Expect it to be a low-scoring game too, the last five HOF games have had an average of just 31.2 total points, the line is set at 33.5 heading into the game. History suggests the under may be your best bet.

You can watch the game on NBC and Peacock in the US, and NFL Gamepass in Europe. Kickoff is at 8 ET, which is 1 AM GMT. Mike Tirico, Cris Collinsworth and Melissa Stark are on the call, whilst the full Football Night in America crew have a pre-game show from 7 ET.

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