Jaguars Legends One Step Closer to Pro Hall of Fame

Jacksonville Jaguars legends Fred Taylor and Jimmy Smith just got a step closer to Canton. Is this their year?

Fred Taylor / Bob Self/The Florida Times-Union via Imagn Content Services, LLC

As a young franchise, the Jacksonville Jaguars have little representation in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

That could change with this upcoming draft class. Two Jaguars legends, running back Fred Taylor and wide receiver Jimmy Smith, just advanced to the semi-finalist round of the Hall of Fame selection process. They are among 50 modern-era candidates. Taylor has gotten the closest, as he was a finalist last year.

Taylor was ninth-overall selection in the 1998 NFL Draft, out of Florida. He rushed for 11,695 yards and 66 touchdowns in 13 seasons. Taylor rushed for 11,271 yards and 62 touchdowns with Jacksonville from 1998 to 2008.

Smith signed with the Jaguars as a free agent in 1995, their inaugural season. He preceded to catch 862 passes for 12,287 yards and 67 touchdowns from 1995 to 2005. He made five Pro Bowl appearances.

Taylor has a good chance to get enshrined in Canton. He rushed for 1,000 yards in seven seasons. He rushed for 32 touchdowns in his first three seasons. Smith was no slouch when it came to production -- from 1997 to 2001, he led the NFL with 479 receptions, 6,728 yards, and 34 touchdown receptions.

Former offensive tackle Tony Boselli was the first-ever Jaguar inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the class of 2022.

The path for Taylor and Smith has been a tough one as players for a young expansion franchise. Hall of Fame selection committee member and legendary NFL writer Rick Gosselin once described the biggest criteria for enshrinement into the Hall. He took issue with it.

"The problem I have with the selection process -- we don't cycle enough people through the room. For whatever reason. I know two of the factors. I know two of the factors. 75 percent of all players in the Hall of Fame made All-Decade. 64 percent won championships," Gosselin said.

Smith was a Super Bowl champion with the Dallas Cowboys, though his role was practically non-existent. He did not make an All-Decade team. Taylor did not win a championship, nor make All-Decade.

Counting stats might prove to be enough for the legendary Jaguar, who is one of just 32 rushers with 10,000 or more yards. He has more rushing yards than the likes of OJ Simpson, John Riggins, and Earl Campbell -- all of which are Hall-of-Famers.

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