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Is Steelers former wide receiver Hines Ward a Hall of Fame snub?

By Michelle Kotts

PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 4: Wide receiver Hines Ward #86 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs with the football against safety Reggie Nelson #20 of the Cincinnati Bengals after catching a pass during a game at Heinz Field on December 4, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Bengals 35-7. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images)
PITTSBURGH, PA - DECEMBER 4: Wide receiver Hines Ward #86 of the Pittsburgh Steelers runs with the football against safety Reggie Nelson #20 of the Cincinnati Bengals after catching a pass during a game at Heinz Field on December 4, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Steelers defeated the Bengals 35-7. (Photo by George Gojkovich/Getty Images) /
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Hines Ward #86  Steelers  (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

1st Downs

Ok for this category, you can not compare Ward to Reed, Monk, Carter, Brown, or Michael Irvin. More than nearly all of Monk’s career and half of Reed’s and a quarter of Carter Brown and Irvin’s career, the NFL did not record the statistic. So it’s hard to figure how they accurately compare to Ward. However, you can compare him to Bruce, Harrison, Johnson, Moss, and Owens.

Ward had 620 receptions for a first down. His total exceeds only Calvin Johnson, who had 552. Moss does exceed Ward, however, only by 64. Owens and Harrison eclipse Ward’s mark by at least 127. So he is well behind there. When it comes to Art Monk, possibly Ward may have had more only because Monk played in an era where Washington ran the ball heavily behind John Riggens. So it’s likely Ward could have exceeded his mark.

Catch Percentage

Another tough category to accurately compare all of the receivers. As with first downs, they did not record that stat for most of Art Monk’s career and parts of Reed, Irvin, Carter, and Brown. However, against the other five on the list, how does Ward stack up? Ward had a 64.2% catch ratio. That exceeds Moss 56.4%, Owens 57.7%, Johnson 55.7%, Harrison 61.9%, and Issac Bruce 57.9%.

In the years they did record that stat for Irvin, Reed Carter, and Brown, they failed to surpass Ward marks. Though in fairness, there is a likely chance Reed could have exceeded Ward’s mark, as the Bills passed the ball quite a bit in the years, the NFL did not record the stat, and Reed was one of Jim Kelly’s primary targets.  It would be fascinating to compare Monk to Ward accurately. In this instance, we can not though Monk was a phenomenal receiver for his era and certainly could have exceeded Wards pass catch ratio.

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