It seems to me that the kind of pounding that RBs take, and the rather small careers that they generally have? That Lynch should be a no brainer HOFer, based on his decent longevity combined with the way he was a very dominant back for a pretty good stretch of time. We remember the glory days of guys like Earl Campbell, right?
Earl Campbell's career NFL stats include 9,407 rushing yards, 74 rushing touchdowns, and 1,979 carries over 8 seasons with the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints.
Marshawn Lynch's career NFL stats include 10,413 rushing yards, 85 rushing touchdowns, and 2,214 receiving yards, achieved over 12 seasons.
After eight seasons and 9,407 yards rushing, Campbell retired from football following the 1985 season. In 1991 he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
I realize at first glance it looks like Earl must have been more productive because he was only 1,006 yards behind Marshawn in 4 fewer seasons? But the yards per carry were 4.3 for Earl and 4.2 for Marshawn. Lynch also had over 2,200 receiving and Campbell only had 806. Lynch had 94 total TDs to Campbells 74. I just feel that if Campbell is in, and I agree that he should be in...then so should Lynch.