Calvin Johnson reportedly has informed friends and coaches that he will retire after nine seasons in the NFL rather

Photo by Kevin810, via Wikipedia

Photo by Kevin810, via Wikipedia

than rejoin Detroit for the 2016 season.

While his quiet, low-key approach to announcing the end of his career would be fitting for the way he acted when he played, I hope this is not the case. Johnson has spent the last decade being one of the very few reasons to tune in to watch the Lions.

If he is, however, serious about stepping away, he would first become eligible for the Hall of Fame in 2021. I think it’s just short of inarguable that he gets in eventually.

I don’t think he should have to wait.

You can certainly qualify Megatron’s impact by saying it’s a passing era, no question. He’s played in the most pass-heavy era of NFL football on mostly bad teams that had to throw the ball. Did that inflate his numbers? Perhaps. But I would argue that Johnson was also part of the reason Detroit should have been throwing the ball all along.

Let’s look at some other accolades he has compiled over the years. In nine seasons, Johnson was selected for six Pro Bowls – each of the last six seasons. He’s been selected first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press three times, from 2011 through 2013 – and during that stretch, I think you’d be hard pressed to find a more dominant player in the league at any position. During that time he AVERAGED 101 catches, 1,712 yards and 11 TDs – and the average TDs was pulled down by the freakish 2012 season during when he scored just five times – despite catching 122 passes. He was tackled that season at the one-yard line five times and inside the five-yard line eight times.

It was at the time of that ridiculous 2012 season during which we looked at Johnson’s numbers and compared them favorably with the trajectories that all-time greats such as Jerry Rice and Randy Moss enjoyed during their earliest seasons.

Johnson’s numbers have dipped a bit the last three seasons as he has endured a number of injuries of varying severity. And during that time he still has averaged 81 catches and 1,261 yards, while totaling 29 TDs. He’s missed five games during that stretch and played the decoy role in a handful of others. So this guy can clearly still play at a high level.

Few have expressed that this guy does not belong in the Hall of Fame. Some have said the relatively short nine-year span of his career could force him to wait awhile. I submit that he should not have to wait at all.

It’s my belief that his career in nine years eclipses those of some of the league’s all-time greats, some of those who were just recently enshrined in Canton. A few years back when the group of Andre Reed, Cris Carter and Tim Brown kept splitting the vote, we did a comparison of the three. Our own conclusion – subjective as it was – was that all three belonged in Canton. Here are some pertinent stats:

Brown Carter Reed Megatron
Seasons 17 16 16 9
Pro Bowls 9 8 7 6
1st Team AP All-Pro 0 2 0 3
Catches 1,094 1,101 951 731
Yards 14,934 13,899 13,198 11,619
TDs 100 130 87 83
1,000 YD seasons 9 8 4 7
10 TD seasons 2 6 1 4

 

Some will argue it’s a different era. That’s true. But the Pro Bowls and All-Pro numbers are peer versus peer. Megatron went to Pro Bowls during six of his nine seasons – a 67 percent rate, compared with the other three making it a combined 50 percent. He was first-team All-Pro three times in nine years, a 33 percent rate – the peers in this comparison made that list two times combined in their grand total of 49 seasons.

Okay, so that’s just three guys. How about overall? He fares quite well in that realm of stats, as well. He ranks 27th all-time in receiving yards, sixth among players Pro Football Reference currently considers active. Each of the five ahead of him – Reggie Wayne (who recently announced that he will not play again), Andre Johnson, Steve Smith, Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin – have played at least three seasons more than Johnson. At another 1,000 yards per season, for three more years, Megatron would ascend, most likely, comfortably into the top 10.

Similarly with career TDs, Johnson ranks 22nd all-time, third active. He trails Fitzgerald and Antonio Gates. Assume a similar rate of nine TDs per season for three more years and Johnson, again, ascends comfortably into the top 10.

Three more seasons like his most recent trio of campaigns doesn’t likely catapult Johnson into the top 10 of all-time receptions, but it probably takes him into the top 20 – not bad, again, for a guy who has played for some bad-to-putrid teams during his career.

Again, I’m not thoroughly convinced Megatron is done playing. I selfishly hope he’s not because, as I said, he’s been one of my favorite players to watch during the last nine years. But if he is done, he deserves to make it into the Hall of Fame quickly – the results he put up while playing for a bad team on which he often was the only legitimate weapon are astoundingly good. Calvin Johnson takes a backseat to no one.

How long should Calvin Johnson wait before being enshrined in Canton?

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