Three Texas Tech Legends Deserving Of Pro Football Hall Of Fame

Wes Welker

The Texas Tech football program has become synonymous with the slot receiver position over the past two decades. Of course, the most famous and successful of the Red Raider slot receivers is Wes Welker whose career ushered in a new era of professional football.

Prior to Welker’s success in the NFL, teams looked at slot receivers as a luxury with most teams preferring to give extra snaps to a fullback over an extra receiver.  But 903 receptions, 9,924 yards and 50 touchdowns later, every team in the league carries at least one slot receiver with most teams trying to build their offenses around the quick passing game.

Welker not only made the slot position a necessity in the NFL, he proved that receivers did not have to possess prototypical size and speed to be effective.  At just 5-foot-9 and 185-pounds, Welker was able to find a new way to get open against NFL defenses.  Relying on the elite footwork he developed as a youth soccer player, Welker made a living over the middle of the field as he created mismatches against linebackers and safeties.

But life in between the hashes is treacherous in the NFL.  Unfortunately, injuries cost Welker significant time during his career and could ultimately cost him a place in Canton.  During his nine-year career, Welker missed 33 of a possible 208 games due mostly to a knee injury and multiple concussions.

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Welker’s career was shorter than that of most Hall of Fame receivers which will undoubtedly hurt his candidacy.  But what he did over those nine years was nothing short of remarkable.

Welker averaged 5.16 receptions per game, more than Jerry Rice (5.11), Terrell Owens (4.96), Tony Gonzalez (4.90) and Tim Brown (4.29).  He also averaged 100.3 receptions per year which was better than the career averages of Rice (77.4), Owens (71.8) and Randy Moss (68.7).

Wes Welker has caught more passes in the NFL than all but 21 receivers but detractors say that is because he played with two of the greatest quarterbacks in history, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning.  Yet, no receiver in the illustrious career of either of those QBs ever put up numbers even close to Welker’s further illustrating his greatness.

Plus, a generation of NFL slot receivers owe their careers in part to the first player to make the position essential in the modern NFL.  Current stars such as Cole Beasley, Randall Cobb, Danny Amendola, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Jarvis Landry and Doug Baldwin can point to the trail blazed by Wes Welker and trace their success back to the former Red Raider.

While Welker’s stats are not as astronomical as some receivers and were likely inflated by the era in which he played, there is no denying his significance to the game.  Hall of Fame players are those whose careers helped define the game of football and few players in the modern era have been as influential as Wes Welker.