Dueling Opinions: Charles Tillman is NOT a Hall of Famer

I love Charles Tillman. I was sad when he left to head to the Carolina Panthers, and it was tough to see him hang up the cleats. He’s a class act, has done so much for charity, has won the NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award, was a leader for the Chicago Bears franchise both on and off the field. He was an elite performer and helped lead the Bears to the Super Bowl in 2006.

Next: Charles Tillman Belongs in the Hall of Fame

“Peanut” Tillman is an all-time great Chicago Bear and arguably the greatest cornerback in the history of the franchise. Since his retirement, there has been a lot of chatter about Tillman and his hall of fame credentials. There is a strong contingent of Bears fans that think Peanut deserves the call to Canton when his time arrives.

Hold on now and back-up the truck. Like I said, I love Peanut, but he is not a hall of fame caliber player. There are plenty of statistics that show just how good Tillman was.

Tillman’s knack for popping the ball loose was uncanny and that statistic proves just that. Tillman also managed nine defensive touchdowns over 13 seasons as well as 38 interceptions. He was the 2013 NFL Man of the Year.

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But as impressive as some of those statistics are, they don’t add up to an NFL hall of famer. First, as great as it is to be the Man of the Year, you have to put that aside. The hall of fame is about the play on the field, so that can’t play into this decision. While 38 interceptions may seem like a lot on paper, it’s a good total, but it’s not a great total. Tillman’s career interception total puts him tied for 91st all the all-time list with the likes of Donnie Abraham and Sam Madison. Nice defensive backs but by no means elite.

Tillman’s impressive numbers are his defensive touchdowns and fumbles forced. The record for most defensive touchdowns is thirteen and only a handful of players have reached double digits in that category. As the graphic above shows, his fumbles forced are most impressive.

Forced fumbles is not an official NFL statistic and they didn’t even unofficially track it prior to 1991. However, Tillman’s totals have to be tops or close to the top in the last 25 years. The forced fumbles and defensive touchdowns show that Tillman was a phenomenal playmaker, but the problem with Tillman’s hall of fame resume is that he simply wasn’t an elite corner during his time.

Tillman only was named first team All-Pro one time and only went to two Pro Bowls. Those numbers show you that among cornerbacks, Tillman was always very good but was rarely phenomenal. Only one time in his career was he considered one of the top two corners in the league and only twice did he even earn a Pro Bowl spot, meaning he was rarely one of the top four or five corners in the NFC conference.

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Those two numbers are telling. Tillman, although very good, was never considered the top guy in the league and if you aren’t at that type of elite level, you simply don’t belong in Canton. I love Tillman as a player, and if one day the NFL writers do (incorrectly) give him a bust at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, I’ll tip my cap to him. But if it was up to me, I wouldn’t give him a spot. Peanut’s post career honor should be in the Chicago Bears ring of honor and nothing else.

Tillman is an all-time great Chicago Bear, but he’s not an all-time great NFL player.

Bill Zimmerman is an editor and featured writer for FanSided‘s BearGogglesOn. Like his Facebook page or follow him on Twitter for more news and interaction.