The Case for Todd Christensen in the Hall of Fame, Pt. 3

Todd Christensen was one of the best tight ends in the 1980s when he played for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders. He has failed to make it on the Hall of Fame ballot as a finalist or semi-finalist. At what point does it hurt Canton's validity?

Dec 27, 1987; Los Angeles, CA, USA; FILE PHOTO; Los Angeles Raiders tight end Todd Christensen (46) in action against Chicago Bears defensive back James Davis (45) at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Peter Brouillet-USA TODAY NETWORK / Peter Brouillet-USA TODAY Sports

Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders tight end Todd Christensen is criminally overlooked by the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He has not made it on the semi-finalist or finalist ballot.

NFL writer and Hall of Fame selection committee member Rick Gosselin once told my boss, Hondo Carpenter Sr., that 75 percent of all Hall of Fame members made All-Decade. I already wrote about why Christensen was comparable to the premier tight ends of his era -- Kellen Winslow and Ozzie Newsome, both first- and second-team All-Decade selections, respectively.

Christensen had a case to, at minimum, earn second-team honors.

Forget about the fact that Christensen has been passed by thanks to the modern, "basketball-player" tight end with inflated stats and a less prominent role in blocking. Christensen is also overlooked by his own team, the Raiders.

Tight end Dave Casper is widely regarded as one of the best tight ends of the 1970s (he did make first-team All-Decade, after all). Casper is in the Hall of Fame, inducted in 2002. He is also considered by many to be the best Raiders tight end. But is that truly the case?

Casper played from 1974 to 1984. Christensen played from 1979-1988. They played in the same era. This is not the equivalent of comparing Christensen to Antonio Gates. Christensen and Casper are peers.

Casper played 147 games at tight end, 23 games more than Christensen's 124 at the position. That's around a season and a half. Yet Christensen leads Casper in career receiving yards with 5,872 to 5,216. Christensen also had more receptions, 461 to 378. Casper only has more touchdowns, 52 to Christensen's 41.

Outside of touchdowns, Christensen is superior. Casper never reached the 1,000-yard receiving mark. Christensen did it three times. Casper had five 40-catch seasons. Christensen had six. Casper never had a single 80 reception season. Christensen had four consecutive ones, the first-ever player in NFL history to do so. Any position.

Of course, Christensen was a trailblazer, becoming the first-ever 90-reception tight end by snagging a league-leading 92 passes in 1983. He would do it again in 1986, with another league-leading 95 receptions. Casper never led the league in receptions.

Casper and Christensen were both selected to four All-Pro teams.

Casper had Hall of Fame quarterback Ken Stabler. Christensen never so much as had a Pro Bowl quarterback.

So why is Casper so often placed above Christensen? Casper's playoff numbers were superior, sure, but he was asked to do more than Christensen. It certainly helps that Casper was a part of two infamous plays in both Raiders and NFL history -- "The Ghost to the Post" and "The Holy Roller."

Both moments are enshrined in football memory, thanks to the late Steve Sabol's NFL Films capturing the immortal plays.

What is the real case against Christensen in the Hall of Fame? Longevity? Safety Ken Easley (who also played in the 1980s) was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2017. Easley played just 89 games. He led the league in interceptions just once over seven short seasons. He was a Defensive Player of the Year winner, but made the same amount of All-Pro teams as Christensen. Four times.

You might wonder -- were Easley's contributions to the safety position trailblazing or revolutionary? No. He wasn't even the best safety of his era (that title belongs to Ronnie Lott). He wasn't the first safety to record double-digit interceptions. Has no championships. Is in Canton.

Tony Boselli, offensive tackle and 2021 Hall of Fame inductee, played just 91 games in his career. He made the same number of Pro Bowls as Christensen, five, and was named to one less All-Pro team than Christensen.

Longevity is not, and should not, be the issue here.

As I have laid out in this series, there is more than enough of a case for Christensen to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. He was dominant, a trailblazer, and one of the best to play his position. Yet he hasn't even gotten as far as a semi-finalist.

Gosselin once wrote, "The Hall of Fame bylaws state that all candidates must be judged strictly on their on-the-field merits."

At what point does Christensen's exclusion hurt Canton's credibility?

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