Gary Collins Deserves to be in NFL Hall of Fame

With three games to play, Braylon Edwards will likely surpass the Cleveland Browns team record 13 touchdown passes hauled in by Gary Collins. Edwards, of course is tied the mark yesterday, but maybe bringing up Collins name once again will prompt a decades old debate. Does the receiver, who doubled as the Browns punter, deserve to be enshrined in Canton?

Collins was widely heralded when he was drafted out of Maryland in 1962. The Browns quickly used installed him as the starting punter. In 1963, he had his shot to start at wide receiver. The 2nd year star took advantage breaking NFL Hall of Famer's Dante Lavelli's record of 7 in the 1947 season.

Paul Warfield would be drafted in 1964 making Collins the number 2 receiver. His numbers took a slight dip, but he still managed to collect 8 touchdowns that season. Always known for his clutch play, Collins put an exclamation point on the season when Collins won the NFL Championship game MVP for his 3 touchdown performance in the Browns 27-0 victory over the heavily favored Baltimore Colts. Having a 5 catch 130 yard performance with 3 touchdowns in the biggest of games is how legends are made.

Collins would continue to star throughout the decade. The standout wide receiver would make the 1966 and 1967 Pro Bowls. He was named as to the 1960's all decade team alongside offensive notable stars including Jim Brown, Leroy Kelly, Paul Hornung, Bart Starr, and Johnny Unitas. In all, 10 of the 14 offensive skill players have been elected to the highest honor in professional sports with Collins, John David Crow, Del Shofner, and Boyd Dowler being the players snubbed.

It took 2 decades for the veterans committee to elect the deserving Gene Hickerson into the Hall of Fame when they voted him last year. Its time to get another standout from those 1960's era Browns teams into Canton and elect Gary Collins.

Here are how Collins statistics measure up against Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Famer Lynn Swan:

Collins: 331 Receptions 5299 Yards 16.0 Yards per catch 70 Touchdowns

Swan: 336 Receptions 5462 Yards 16.3 Yards per catch 51 touchdowns