Kam Chancellor deserves the NFL Hall of Fame on the first ballot

FOXBORO, MA - NOVEMBER 13: Kam Chancellor #31 of the Seattle Seahawks reacts following a game against the New England Patriots during a game at Gillette Stadium on November 13, 2016 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)
FOXBORO, MA - NOVEMBER 13: Kam Chancellor #31 of the Seattle Seahawks reacts following a game against the New England Patriots during a game at Gillette Stadium on November 13, 2016 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) /
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Seahawks legend Kam Chancellor was nominated this week for the NFL Hall of Fame. While some say he doesn’t have the numbers, he absolutely deserves the honor in his first year of eligibility.

It didn’t take long for the NFL Hall of Fame to knock on Kam Chancellor‘s door. Just five years after he last crushed a Seahawks opponent to the turf, number 31 has been nominated to join the Hall.

Oh, for the record, Kam’s last tackle was on the Cardinals Andre Ellington. Kinda sad for a game that had Larry Fitzgerald and Adrian Peterson, right? But not as sad as seeing Chancellor done for not just the season, but his career.

The biggest question for Kam Chancellor entering the HOF isn’t the level of his play. The question is if he made enough of those plays to get into the Hall. But as the always brilliant Bob Condotta points out in his article for The Seattle Times, the gatekeepers of eternal fame have been looking more at the quality of play than just the quantity. And that is very good news for Mr. Chancellor and his legion of fans.

Kam Chancellor crushed the competition on his way to the HOF

Speaking of legions – okay, that was a bit of a cumbersome segue, but it’s all I got – Kam Chancellor is the first member of the Legion of Boom with a realistic chance at getting a bust in Canton Ohio. I’m not knocking Brandon Browner, Byron Maxwell, or DeShawn Shead, but they didn’t have the same impact on the Seahawks as the other two members of the LOB core. Earl Thomas last played in 2019, while Richard Sherman only hung up his cleats last season.

If you compare Chancellor’s awards to those of his teammates, Kam comes out slightly behind. He was named to the Pro Bowl just four times. Thomas got the nod seven times, along with three All-Pro awards. Sherman saw the Pro Bowl five times, with three All-Pro awards. All that tells me is that the media missed on Chancellor, a lot.

I’ll point out that Sherman was named a first-team All-Pro in his second season, but didn’t make the Pro Bowl. That makes as much sense as Chancellor’s multiple snubs. At least he made the second team for All-Pro honors three times. But all that doesn’t mean he doesn’t belong in the Hall.