Inside The Vikings

Jared Allen Named One of 15 Finalists For 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class

The former Vikings star pass rusher has a chance to get into Canton in his first year eligible.
Will Ragatz|
Jared Allen Named One of 15 Finalists For 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class
Jared Allen Named One of 15 Finalists For 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame Class

Former Vikings defensive end Jared Allen has been named one of the 15 finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2021. If Allen receives at least 80 percent of the vote, he'll be inducted in his first year eligible and would become the 23rd former Viking enshrined in Canton in August.

Allen is part of a loaded class that also includes Peyton Manning, Calvin Johnson, Reggie Wayne, Torry Holt, Charles Woodson, and Ronde Barber, to name a few. Here's the full list of 15 finalists:

Up to five players in the modern-era class can be inducted per year. Allen has a legitimate case to make it based on his stats and his consistent production for the first decade of his career. His 136 sacks rank 12th all-time since the NFL officially began tracking the stat in 1982. 

Allen was drafted by the Chiefs in 2004 and racked up 43 sacks in four years in Kansas City before being traded to the Vikings in 2008. He averaged over 14 sacks per year during six seasons in Minnesota, including a team-record 22 in 2011 (which was 0.5 shy of Michael Strahan's NFL single-season record). Allen made stints in Chicago and Carolina in the final two years of his career before signing a one-day contact to retire as a Viking in 2016.

If selected, Allen would join 22 other former Vikings in the Hall of Fame, including 2020 inductee Steve Hutchinson.

“I think my career speaks for itself,” Allen told the Pioneer Press last September. “I think the writing’s on the wall and absolutely I think I competed at a level that’s Hall-of-Fame caliber. I think my stats are my stats. When I played, no one had more sacks than me. I got a text the other day that I was one of the top five for fastest sacks to 100. Everybody that’s above me or [just] below me on the list is in the Hall of Fame, so I think the body of work speaks for itself.”

We'll find out in a few weeks, during the NFL Honors show the night before the Super Bowl, if Allen makes it. If not, there's always next year. 

Make sure to bookmark this site and check back daily for the latest Vikings news and analysis. Also, click the follow button in the upper right-hand corner of this page (mobile users, tap the bell icon – you may have to click ‘News’ first) and follow me on Twitter. 

Published
Will Ragatz
WILL RAGATZ

Will Ragatz is a senior writer for Vikings On SI, who also covers the Twins, Timberwolves, Gophers, and other Minnesota teams. He is a credentialed Minnesota Vikings beat reporter, covering the team extensively at practices, games and throughout the NFL draft and free agency period. Ragatz attended Northwestern University, where he studied at the prestigious Medill School of Journalism. During his time as a student, he covered Northwestern Wildcats football and basketball for SB Nation’s Inside NU, eventually serving as co-editor-in-chief in his junior year. In the fall of 2018, Will interned in Sports Illustrated’s newsroom in New York City, where he wrote articles on Major League Baseball, college football, and college basketball for SI.com.

Share on XFollow WillRagatz
Home/News