As it is, Jan Stenerud of the Kansas City Chiefs is the only pure place kicker in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Is Stenerud the greatest place kicker ever? Not by a long shot. Oh, I’m old enough to have seen him play, and he probably WAS the best place kicker in the NFL in the late Sixties and early Seventies. But EVERY kicker in the NFL today is much better than Stenerud. In fact, just off the top of my head, I could probably name 50 kickers from the past 30 years who were much better than Stenerud.
Just to pick one semi-random example… Jason Hanson, longtime kicker of the Detroit Lions, was waaaay better than Stenerud in every way. Better distance, better accuracy on both field goals and extra points. But is there any chance Hanson will be elected to the Hall of Fame? I’d say no. Morten Andersen won’t get in, either. Neither will Mike Vanderjagt or Jason Elam or John Kasay, all of whom were much better than Stenerud.
Part of the problem is that, nowadays, MOST pro kickers are damn good! Modern kickers hit 51 yarders routinely! Local boy Justin Tucker (I used to see him at Mass here in Austin) is absurdly good, and most of his colleagues today are almost as good as he is. When EVERYBODY is great, nobody stands out, and nobody gets into the Hall of Fame.
After a long wait, Ray Guy is in the Hall of Fame. Now that the door has been broken down, will there be loads of punters elected? Somehow, I doubt it. Even though there are dozens of punters whose numbers are FAR better than Guy’s, I don’t think Rich Camarillo or Rohn Stark or Shane Lechler will ever get in. There are just too many great punters, too many guys with numbers much better than Guy’s.
Hence, we’re in an odd spot. Twenty years from now, people will notice there’s only one place kicker in the Hall, and ask, “This Stenerud, was he the best ever?” The answer will be, “Nope. He may be about the 300th best kicker ever.” It will be similar when kids ask, “Wow, Ray Guy is the only punter in the Hall of Fame? Hey Dad, he must be the best ever, huh?”