Last week, the list of first-time nominees eligible for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame was announced. While not every nominee will make it on the first ballot, one iconic running back is certain to be in the group of five who get the nod.
Marshawn Lynch is a Shoo-in for the HOF
Throughout 12 seasons, running back Marshawn Lynch thrilled fans and stunned the competition with his athletic prowess on the field. Nicknamed “Beastmode” for his take-no-prisoners scoring approach, Lynch rushed for 10,413 yards in his career and scored 85 touchdowns. He ranks 17th on the all-time NFL list for most career touchdowns. To put that into perspective, many of the current Hall of Fame running backs have fewer than 85 career touchdowns.
Fantasy Football Impact
Lynch’s success on the field also translated to his fantasy football. Earning over 2,092 career fantasy points, Lynch was a hit with fantasy managers. At the height of his career in Seattle from 2011-2014, he averaged 15.7 points per game and consistently placed as a top draft pick.
College Career
Lynch was a star athlete at UC Berkeley. A candidate for the Heisman Trophy in his sophomore season, he was the recipient of numerous awards. In 2006, he was named to the 2006 All-Pac-10 First-team, recognized as the Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year, and was voted to the College Football All-America Team. Lynch also set a school record that still stands today with 17 100-yard games to his credit. After three years, he led the Pac-10 with 1,356 rushing yards with 11 touchdowns, plus 328 receiving yards on 34 catches, and four touchdowns.
NFL Early Years – The Buffalo Bills
On January 2, 2007, Lynch announced he would enter the 2007 NFL draft. As the second running back taken, Lynch was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the first round with the 12th overall pick. Signing a six-year contract with the Bills, Lynch agreed to a lucrative rookie deal that included a $3 million signing bonus plus $10,285 million in guaranteed compensation.
He established himself in the NFL with an explosive rookie season, rushing for 1,115 yards, and seven touchdowns and was named to the NFL All-Rookie Team. In 2008, Lynch was named to the first of his five Pro Bowl Appearances. Although he played for the Bills for a total of three years, Lynch’s career took off when he was traded to the Seattle Seahawks in 2010.
Success in Seattle
Playing for Coach Pete Carroll and the Seahawks, Lynch enjoyed his most successful years from 2010-2015 when he led the league in rushing and made four more consecutive Pro Bowl appearances. During his first playoff game in 2011 against the New Orleans Saints, Lynch scored on an iconic play that will forever be remembered as the Beast Quake touchdown. Breaking free of nine different tackles and strong-arming a defender, Lynch scored on a 67-yard run that set the hometown stadium crowd into such a frenzy, that their celebration registered on the Richter scale as an earth tremor.
The following year, he was selected to the First Team All-Pro and went on to lead the league in rushing touchdowns for the next two years. Lynch was a major contributor to the 2013 Seahawks Super Bowl winning season with 301 carries for 1,257 yards, 12 touchdowns, and another 316 receiving yards on 36 receptions with two touchdowns.
Although his remaining years with the Seahawks included a second Super Bowl appearance, they were also mired in controversy and hampered by injuries, contract disputes, and holdouts. Lynch remained with the team through the 2015 season. Although he announced his retirement in February of 2016, Lynch was later persuaded to “come out of retirement” the following season following a trade offer from the Oakland Raiders.
The Oakland Years
In exchange for a fifth-round draft pick in 2018, Lynch was traded to the Raiders where he spent the next two years. But his performance didn’t match the level of his success in Seattle and after several controversial moments that resulted in NFL fines, Lynch retired for the second time after the 2018 season.
Opportunity came knocking again at the end of the Seahawks’ 2019 season when injuries devastated the Seattle running backs. Lynch again provided the spark that propelled the Seahawks into the playoffs. Although the team won their Wild Card Round, they lost in the Divisional round to Green Bay. But Lynch scored three more post-season touchdowns to bring his career total to 12 and put him in a three-way tie for fourth place on the NFL All-time post-season touchdown list.
A Quirky Personality
Although he is known to be generous and compassionate, helping the homeless and underprivileged in his community, Lynch has also had his share of legal scrapes, getting arrested for DUIs and other driving offenses. Famous for his love of Skittles candy, Lynch is renowned for his utter disdain of media interviews. Forced into a mandatory appearance at Super Bowl Media Day on January 27, Lynch proceeded to answer every single question with the stock response, “I’m just here so I won’t get fined.“
Get those Skittles ready and alert the media. It looks like Beastmode will be making an appearance in Canton.
