Warrick Dunn has been eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for more than a decade. But he is still waiting for the gold jacket.
The 49-year-old spent 11 seasons in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons.
Dunn’s 10,967 rushing yards are the 23rd-most in NFL history and appear to be the cutoff.
There are only two players whose careers began after 1970 and had fewer rushing yards than Dunn had in Canton: Earl Campbell and Terrell Davis.
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Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn runs a pass out of his own end zone in the third quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. at the Georgia Dome (Del Zanine/USA Today Sports)
Dunn said the odds were against him early on. And he’s proven that he is.
“In the era that I played When I was first drafted They thought I was going to be the third back,” Dunn told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “I don’t backpack as much as a lot of other people because I always backpack with Mike Alstott in Tampa. When I come to Atlanta, that guy is TJ Duckett.”
“I had to prove myself as a 5-foot-8, 185-pound running back. You could say a lot of guys can do the same thing as me. No, I have that chip on my shoulder that I’m going to prove that I can do it. I believe I can be one of the best if you give me the opportunity to do so. I think over the years with what I’ve done. The impact I bring to the team and I watch the highlights and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t know I could do that.’
Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn follows Falcons guard PJ Alexander’s lead block on a run play in the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns at the Georgia Dome. (Del Zanine/USA Today Sports)
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“Do I think I deserve it? I think I’m part of one of the best players… I want to be in the hall to say if I’m one of the best players to ever play. Yes, of course. We all play for that. We all play the best we can.”
Dunn said the appointment would send a message to smaller players trying to make a name for themselves.
“I want to be an example for the children. That might not be as big a deal as I think that you can still do something even if the odds are against you. I always go against the grain. My thoughts are still like that,” he said.
Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn (28) runs with the ball in the third quarter at LP Field. (Del Zanine/USA Today Sports)
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Dunn has more than 15,000 all-purpose yards, more than Hall of Famers such as Jerome Bettis, Franco Harris and OJ Simpson, and he has only fewer than Eric Dickerson. 105
Among eligible players It was the third-most all-purpose yardage total according to full-time rushers outside of Hall. Following Herschel Walker and Tiki Barber.
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