Earlier this year, Jared Allen became the latest former member of the Minnesota Vikings to be immortalized with an induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But now that Allen has finally earned his spot in Canton, he wants one of his former teammates to become the next ex-Vikings player to receive a gold jacket.
During a recent appearance on "The Viking Age Podcast," Allen told me why former Minnesota defensive lineman Kevin Williams is more than deserving of a Pro Football Hall of Fame induction.
"The dude's a five-time All-Pro. There's not many five-time All-Pros in the league, period, at any position, right? So for that dude to be a five-time All-Pro, it's insane.
And the culture he built [in Minnesota] from a defensive line standpoint, the history that
that carries with the defensive line. I mean, he measures up [to] any yardstick you want to put up.
He measures up.
So I think the [Hall of Fame] voters need to get their heads out of their keisters and get it right, to be honest with you. Whatever the issue is, whatever I can do, I'm going to fight like heck to get [him] in because the dude is more than deserving."
Jared Allen makes the case for former Minnesota Vikings DL Kevin Williams to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Considering it took Allen multiple years after his Hall of Fame eligibility began to eventually get his spot in Canton, he knows there are multiple factors that could be preventing Williams from getting his own Hall of Fame nod.
"I think part of the problem with [former] Vikings getting in [the Hall of Fame], you know, as it takes us longer to get in sometimes, I think it's because we're in a small market.
I think media obviously plays a hand in that. It also comes down to presentations and voters and who's got the power in the room that year.
To be honest, I think that's what I've learned through my own process is that, [in] a given year, there's a lot of this going on."
It's a fair argument from Allen, and the former Vikings pass rusher also pointed out that during his playing days, Williams being "a quiet guy" and not overly emotional could also be reasons why his dominance doesn't stand out to voters as much as it should.
Selected by Minnesota with the ninth overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft, Williams went on to accumulate 60 sacks and 104 tackles for loss in 171 appearances with the Vikings.
His performances on the field resulted in five First-Team All-Pro selections and six trips to the Pro Bowl between 2004 and 2010. He was inducted into Minnesota's Ring of Honor in 2021, and John Randle is the only former Vikings defensive player to earn more All-Pro selections in their career with the franchise than Williams.
What's baffling is that Williams hasn't even been voted as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Since his eligibility began in 2021, there are former NFL players who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame who haven't even come close to achieving what the former Minnesota defensive lineman was able to do during his time in the league.
Hopefully, something changes soon, and Williams' impressive career is recognized in the way that it should be with a spot in Canton, or else Allen is probably going to have a whole lot more to say to the voters who keep passing over his former teammate.