Bill Belichick shockingly didn’t make the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
And now Robert Kraft, the owner of those New England Patriots teams that Belichick coached, has reportedly been left out as well, according to Adam Schefter.
Both events work in favor of Ken Anderson, the former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback who has been on the cusp of entering the Hall for decades.
Remember, the Hall of Fame voters can elect up to three people from the senior nominees, which include Anderson, Kraft, Belichick, former San Francisco 49ers running back Roger Craig, and former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end L.C. Greenwood.
There is now a very real chance that Anderson will be part of the Class of 2026.
If so, there will be a big sigh of relief not just in Cincinnati, but also across the NFL landscape.
Anderson, of course, won the MVP award in 1981 and led the Bengals to a Super Bowl. Most notably, he was well ahead of his time in terms of efficiency and accuracy.
Here is a quick rundown of some of the lesser-known things that make Anderson a worthy member of the HOF:
- Was picked by Bill Walsh to be the first person to run his West Coast offense, which would change NFL offenses forever
- Produced an average of 1,894 yards above average in his peak seasons and, according to Bryn Swartz, is the only QB with three of the top 25 yards above average seasons
- Was approximately 1.03 standard deviations above average in his career, third most behind Steve Young and Joe Montana
We were fortunate enough to have Anderson on our show right before the Bengals drafted Joe Burrow. Watch the clip below:
And the legendary QB was kind enough to tweet about the experience afterwards:
The Class of 2026 will be revealed on Thursday. Let’s hope Anderson finally gets in.
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