10 Best NFL Players Not in the Hall of Fame

Jimmy Smith, Wide Receiver

Some people will look at this and go “Who?”, but former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Jimmy Smith has gone woefully unnoticed in the discussion of legendary careers.

Smith was originally a second-round pick of the Dallas Cowboys in the 1992 NFL Draft, but never recorded a catch for his first team and missed the entirety of the 1993 and 1994 seasons with serious internal injuries that could have cost him his career (if not worse). In ’95, however, Smith latched on with the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars and became instrumental in their early franchise success.

In terms of career numbers, Smith’s 12,287 receiving yards are a top-20 all-time mark, his 14.25 yards per reception are 10th-most among the 29 players to top 800 catches in their careers, and his 135 PFR AV is tied for 12th among wide receivers. Smith’s peak by numberFire’s advanced metrics was in 2005, when he earned 0.77 Reception NEP per target (166th wide receiver season among 646 with at least 100 targets). His career 0.71 Reception NEP per target is about equal to Adam Thielen's 2017 season.

Why did I nominate Smith over contemporary Isaac Bruce for this list, despite Bruce having more production across the board? Bruce played four years more than Smith, but earned just 8.56 AV per season compared to Smith’s 11.25.

Smith’s potential was sky-high, and he could have been in the conversation with the greats had a few things gone differently in his career. He’ll probably never make the Hall, but there’s a reasonable argument that he should.