2023 Hall of Fame Class Announced; Zach Thomas Finally Gets In

We now know the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class. Among the highlights of the class include Miami Dolphins legendary linebacker Zach Thomas. Defense leads the way with 7 of the 9 members playing on that side of the ball. Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Ronde Barber gets in after a 16 year career with the Bucs. A pair of Jets players get in with cornerback Darrell Revis and defensive tackle Joe Klecko. Adam Schefter tweeted that the Jets having 2 players being inducted makes them a prime candidate for the Hall of Fame Game that will kick off the 2023 preseason. DeMarcus Ware, Chuck Howley, and Ken Riley round out the 7 defensive payers that will be inducted. Just one offensive player punched his ticket; Brown tackle Joe Thomas. And coach Don Coryell gets in after 14 season coaching the Cardinals and the Chargers.

Miami Dolphins fans have been banging the drum from Zach Thomas to get in for years. The cry for Thomas only got louder when former Bears LB Brian Urlacher go in over Thomas in 2018. Thomas finished his career with more tackles, forced fumbles, and All-Pro awards than Urlacher. I am not here saying Thomas should get in over Urlacher. They are both on the list of some of the greatest middle linebackers off all-time. What doesn't make sense to me is why Urlacher got in on his first year of eligibility while Zach had to wait 9 years to get in. In a very classy move by Urlacher, he seemingly made it a point to talk about Zach Thomas. The former Bears player went on the Pat McAfee Show and said that it is a travesty that Zach is not it.

So Miami Dolphins fans finally got their guy into Canton. So here in the 2023 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class as it has been announced and Zach Thomas finally gets in. Here is a look at

Barber finished his career with 47 interceptions- tied for 47th most all-time. Barber joins Derrick Brooks, Warren Sapp, and John Lynch as hall of famers fro mthe 2022 Super Bowl winning defense.

The mind behind the "Air Coryell" offense. The Chargers under Coryell did something very few other football teams in the world were doing; pass to set up the run. He was well ahead of his time even though he never won the Super Bowl.

Howley's career was basically over after a knee injury while with the Bears in 1959. Howley returned to West Virginia to run a gas station before coming back to the game with the Dallas Cowboys. Legendary Cowboys coach Tom Landry once said of Howley, "I don't know that I've seen anybody better at linebacker".

A member of the "New York Sack Exchange", Klecko lead one of the fiercest defensive fronts in NFL history. in 1981 Klecko accounted for 20.5 sacks. However sacks would not become an official stat until the following season.

Arguably the best corner the NFL has seen since Deion Sanders, Revis Island was where receivers would go to die (in a football sense). His stats are not gaudy, but that's because for a majority of his career quarterbacks simply looked the other way.

Riley never played cornerback before his time with the Bengals. He was a quarterback at Florida A&M, but at the time black quarterbacks were non existent in the NFL. Riley has the th most interceptions in league history with 65. Ken Riley passed away in 2020 after suffering a heart attack.

Joe Thomas getting in on his first year of eligibility was a no brainer. Thomas is the only offensive lineman in league history to be voted to 10 consecutive Pro Bowls to begin his career. His streak of 10,363 consecutive snaps is believed to be the longest streak in league history. He allowed 30 sacks in 6,680 pass-blocking snaps. That is .004% sack rate. He was selected to the 2010s All-Decade Team and was 1st team All-Pro 6 times.

Zach Thomas has some great "tackling fuel" as Bobby Boucher would say. He topped 150 tackles in a season six times, and led the NFL in tackles twice. He averaged 9.7 tackles per game in his 168 games with the Dolphins. He ended his career with 17 interceptions, 16 forced fumbles, and 20.5 sacks. Thomas is long overdue.

When you're the all-time sack leader for the Dallas Cowboys, you're a sure fire hall of famer. Ware narrowly missed out on getting into the Hall last year, but punched his ticket in his second year on the ballot. Ware got his lone Super Bowl with the Broncos when they beat the Panthers in Super Bowl 50.