Terrell Owens believes former Cowboys star should be in Hall of Fame

Former Dallas Cowboys safety Darren Woodson was a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame this year but is still waiting to get his call to Canton.

Terrell Owens, who was inducted as part of the 2018 class, believes that Woodson should already be in ahead of at least one other prominent safety from that era.

Owens made the argument with Andre Reed, who was appearing as a guest on the Fubo Sports show Getcha Popcorn Ready and could not grasp how John Lynch, a longtime member of the Denver Broncos and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was already in ahead of Woodson.

The primary point of Owens' argument is that during his playing days his team's game plan was always designed around knowing where Woodson was on the field and identifying him, while also adding that for as good as Lynch was he was not really scared of him going into the game.

Woodson and Lynch had careers that overlapped, with Woodson playing between 1992 and 2003, while Lynch played from 1993 until 2007.

Lynch played in four more Pro Bowls than Woodson did during his career, but Woodson had an edge by being named a first-team All-Pro three different times (compared to only two for Lynch). 

The perspective of players like Owens is definitely an interesting one to get an understanding of how players are viewed among their peers. Owens clearly respected Lynch's accomplishments but it is telling that he did not "fear" him or have to take into account where he was on every snap. One of the best signs of an impactful player is hearing an opponent talk about always needing to know where they are and how to account for them.

But the Hall of Fame still comes down to numbers and on-field performance. Lynch ended up playing more years, tallying bigger numbers and playing in more Pro Bowls. That is always going to stand out to voters.

It took Lynch nearly a decade of eligibility before he got in. It might take Woodson quite a while as well.