Jaguars' Legend Fred Taylor Named Semifinalist for Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 2023 Class
Jacksonville Jaguars legend Fred Taylor is getting another chance at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A semifinalist for the last three years, Taylor was announced as a fourth-time finalist on Tuesday. The Jaguars selected with the No. 9 overall pick out of the University of Florida in the 1998 NFL Draft and went on to shatter franchise records in a career that spanned over a decade.
The Jaguars had their first-ever player inducted into the Hall of Fame this past year in former offensive tackle Tony Boselli, turning the full attention for the next Jaguars campaign to Taylor.
Taylor recorded 13,632 total yards and 70 touchdowns in his career, with the vast majority of those coming with Jacksonville. He is the all-time leading rusher in franchise history with 11,271 yards, more than 3,000 more than the back behind him. He ranks No. 17 in rushing yards all-time.
When it comes to his production during his career, which spanned from 1998 to 2010, Taylor marked most of the boxes. He ran for at least 1,000 yards in seven of his 13 seasons and scored 32 rushing touchdowns in his first three seasons alone.
Only 11 Running backs have been inducted into Canton since 2000, and only one other running back is a semifinalist along with Taylor (Ricky Watters). Taylor is one of 28 modern-era semifinalists.
The list of Semifinalists, which was announced live Tuesday on NFL Network,(Opens in a new window) was reduced from an initial group of 129 nominees announced in September. It marks the largest number of Semifinalists since the Hall adopted the process of reducing the list of nominees to 25 (plus ties) in 2004.
The 28 Semifinalists will be reduced again — to 15 Finalists — before the final voting process for the Class of 2023.
"Taylor has been eligible for seven years now. He's been a semifinalist for three straight years but has yet to be named a finalist. He's been snubbed often, and it's a real shame that he's not a finalist this year. Taylor ranks 17th all-time in rushing yards (11,695), and every non-active running back above him in that list is already in the Hall," former Jaguars running back and Taylor's former teammate Maurice Jones-Drew wrote this spring.
"He had seven seasons with at least 1,100 rushing yards (T-sixth in NFL history) and led the league in rush yards per game (107.6) in 2000. He was an absolute force out of the backfield, and I witnessed Taylor's greatness firsthand in Jacksonville over my first three seasons in the league (2006-08). Taylor was an extraordinary teammate who exemplified everything it meant to be a professional. On the field, he had speed, vision and the ability to shred through defenses. His relentless work ethic -- both physically and in the film room -- allowed him to be one of the best of his era."
