Dominant Minnesota Vikings defender takes next steps to making the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and it’s obvious why he should be
Kevin Williams deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Minnesota Vikings just had one of their own in edge rusher Jared Allen enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, becoming the 22nd player and 27th overall individual to earn that honor. They are loaded on the defensive line as well, with five players on the defensive line already enshrined.
- Carl Eller
- Alan Page
- Chris Doleman
- John Randle
- Jared Allen
Even so, there should be at least one or two more that earn their way to Canton, Ohio.
Kevin Williams takes next step to Pro Football Hall of Fame
We know that Jim Marshall should be in the Hall of Fame, but that still isn’t going to happen this year. It’s a real travesty, but there is nothing we can do right now. There is one other defensive lineman who has taken the next step, as Kevin Williams made the list of semifinalists for the 2026 class.
Williams was quietly one of the best players in the 2010s at defensive tackle. He didn’t have a lot of publicity during his career, and it didn’t help that the Vikings were relatively quiet in that era. Even so, Williams made six Pro Bowls and five All-Pro teams, including the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s All-2000s team. In fact, he’s one of just five players to have these kinds of accolades and not be enshrined.
Williams was the ninth overall pick in the 2003 NFL Draft, which was the famed draft where the Vikings let the Jacksonville Jaguars select quarterback Byron Leftwich and the Carolina Panthers select left tackle Jordan Gross. You can make a real argument that Williams had the best career of the three of them.
In his career, Williams compiled 63.0 sacks and 113 tackles for loss. However, his case becomes a bit more murky, because 22.0 of those sacks came in his first two seasons, and he only had one other season above 6.0 sacks in 2008 (8.5).
Williams deserves to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and it’s time to make that happen.
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