Reggie Wayne's recent Hall of Fame snub was the most disrespectful yet

2024 was Wayne's fifth time being a finalist, and now is his fifth time being left off the list. Each time has been disappointing, but this time felt even worse; it felt disrespectful. 

Two WRs made the cut this time around, with Chicago Bears WR Devin Hester and Houston Texans Andre Johnson. I think deciding between these three was probably really difficult for voters. Wayne and Johnson are seen by many to be in the same tier of WR; both played 14 seasons in the NFL and ended with very similar regular season numbers. While the two ended with similar numbers, Wayne ended with more catches, yards, and touchdowns. Hester is a unique case for the Hall of Fame because he isn't getting in as a WR alone, but due to his stellar career as a return man, he is seen by many as the greatest of all time.

While I personally disagree, I can see the argument for Hester getting a spot in this year's class over Wayne because of him having the claim to be the greatest to ever be a returner in the history of the NFL. That brings me to Wayne vs. Johnson and why I believe Johnson getting the spot over Wayne isn't just wrong but flat-out disrespectful. 

Wayne Vs. Johnson

As I said above, Wayne and Johnson both played 14 seasons in the NFL and were both former first-round picks, making them very comparable players. To make Hall of Fame voter's jobs even harder, their regular-season stats are very similar. 

Wayne's Career Stats: 

Games	Catches	Yards	TDs
211	1,070	14,345	82

Johnson's Career Stats: 

Games	Catches	Yards	TDs
193	1,062	14,185	70

Wayne's Career Accolades:

All Pros	Pro Bowls	Super Bowls
3	6	1

Johnson's Career Accolades: 

All Pros	Pro Bowls	Super Bowls
4	7	0

Wayne ended with eight more catches, 160 more yards, and 12 more touchdowns than Johnson in 18 more games. Johnson ended with one more All-Pro and one more Pro Bowl, with Wayne winning the only Super Bowl between the two players. Some have shared that Johnson ending so close to Wayne with the large talent gap between their QB play is a testament to how good Johnson was. To an extent, I understand this argument; Wayne played with a Hall of Famer in Peyton Manning and a QB who, if he hadn't retired early, was on a Hall of Fame trajectory. The best QB Johnson played with during the prime of his career was probably Matt Schaub. But I think people focusing on that fact aren't looking at the full picture. 

Johnson spent nearly his entire career as the Texans' top WR and number-one option in the passing game. That wasn't the reality for Wayne, with him being teammates with Hall of Fame WR Marvin Harrison for the first seven years of his career. If you ask me, Wayne having to play second fiddle to Harrison hurt his numbers just as much, if not more, than Johnson not playing with a Hall of Fame QB. 

And don't let my personal opinion sway you. Let's look at the facts: Johnson led the Texans in targets in 11 of his 12 seasons there. The one season he didn't was in 2011 when he only appeared in seven games due to injury. Wayne, on the other hand, was teammates with Harrison for the first eight years of his career, and he didn't lead the Colts in targets until his seventh year in the NFL when he was 29 years old in 2007 because Harrison only played in five games due to injury. In his first season leading the Colts in targets, Wayne had 104 catches, ten touchdowns, and a league-leading 1,510 yards. 

Wayne ended his career with more yards, catches, and touchdowns than Johnson, even with Johnson ending his career with 127 more targets than Wayne. That's an entire season of targets that Johnson has over Wayne. Imagine what Wayne's career numbers would have looked like if he was the number one option from the jump with a QB like Manning. But instead, Wayne had to wait till he was 29 years old for his production to be increased dramatically. 

That's not even including Wayne's playoff stats, where he is one of the best playoff WRs of all time. 

Wayne's Playoff Stats: 

Games	Catches	Yards	TDs
21	93	1,254	9

Johnson's Playoff Stats: 

Games	Catches	Yards	TDs
4	25	358	1

We don't have to compare Wayne and Johnson's numbers because it wouldn't be fair to Johnson, who only appeared in four playoff games in his entire career. But it has to be included when discussing Wayne's Hall of Fame resume because he is one of the best playoff WRs of all time. In the playoffs, Wayne has the sixth-most catches, seventh-most receiving yards, and is tied for seventh-most receiving touchdowns. 

NFL Playoff Receiving Yards:

1. Jerry Rice (2,245) 
2. Travis Kelce (1,810)
3. Julian Edelman (1,442)
4. Rob Gronkowski (1,389)
5. Michael Irvin (1,315)
6. Cliff Branch (1,289) 
7. Reggie Wayne (1,254) 

NFL Playoff Receptions:  

1. Travis Kelce (156) 
2. Jerry Rice (151) 
3. Julian Edelman (118)
4. Rob Gronkowski (98) 
5. Tyreek Hill (96)
6. Reggie Wayne (93) 

NFL Playoff Receiving TDs

1. Jerry Rice (22) 
2. Travis Kelce (19)
3. Rob Gronkowski (15) 
4. John Stallworth (12) 
5. Five-way tie (10)
6. Reggie Wayne tied with three others (9) 

The list of WRs who have had a larger impact in the history of the NFL playoffs than Reggie Wayne is short. And the majority on that list are either already in the Hall of Fame or just waiting to become eligible to receive the prestigious honor. 

I think it's only a matter of time until Reggie Wayne enters the Hall of Fame because he simply deserves it. But to see Wayne looking at next year as his sixth chance to make it into the Hall of Famer and see Johnson get in during his third is flat-out disrespectful.