Does Sean Taylor deserve Ring of Fame Honors?

Sean Taylor was officially inducted into the Washington Redskins Ring of Fame today (November 30, 2008.) Taylor was a very good player in his three-and-a-half year NFL career with the Redskins, but had he not been tragically murdered – had he instead retired or suffered a career ending injury – would he have a Ring of Fame caliber resume?

Sean Taylor recorded 299 tackles, 2 sacks, 8 forced fumbles and 12 interceptions in 55 games from ’04-‘07. Those are good stats for a starting NFL safety, but how good?

Let’s look at how some other noteworthy safeties played during that span of time:

Brian Dawkins played in 57 games from ’04-’07. He recorded 276 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 11 forced fumbles and 12 interceptions in that span.

Ed Reed had 211 tackles, 2 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 22 interceptions in 58 games during that span of time.

John Lynch had 271 tackles, 7 sacks, 9 forced fumbles and 3 interceptions in 60 games from ’04-’07.

Bob Sanders has only played in 43 career games, but he already has 279 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and 5 interceptions.

Darren Sharper played in 61 games from ’04-’07, recording 254 tackles, 1 sack, 5 forced fumbles and 21 interceptions.

Ed Reed and Darren Sharper are running away with the interception category. Dawkins and Lynch have a substantial lead in sacks. The only stats that Taylor matches up well in are tackles - which may be inflated due to the fact that he spent the first two or three seasons playing on a poor defense – and forced fumbles.

It should also be noted that Dawkins, Lynch and Sharper all recorded better stretches of play than from’04 through ’07. If you take their best 4 consecutive seasons they look more like this:

Brian Dawkins ’99-’02: 315 tackles, 8 sacks, 14 forced fumbles and 12 interceptions.

John Lynch ’96-’99: 420 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and 9 interceptions.

Darren Sharper ’00-’03: 339 tackles, 5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and 27 interceptions.

I would take all three of those guys over Taylor during their prime. Ultimately, the ‘Skins organization can induct anyone they want into their Ring of Fame, and Taylor may be one of the best safeties to play in Washington, but if he had not been killed he would not have been honored in this way.

Sadly, we’ll never really know what Taylor was truly capable of. He was a very talented player and finally seemed to be putting everything together. Not just on the field, but in his personal life as well. Teammates credited the birth of his daughter with turning his life around. Suddenly he had something in his life that forced him to be responsible.

Taylor had the tools and potential to put together a Hall of Fame career, but thanks to a senseless act of violence fans will never get a chance to see that, friends will never get a chance to enjoy his company, and a young girl will grow up without her father. Sad.