Chicago Bears legend Devin Hester became the first return specialist to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday and in his enshrinement speech gave a tip of the cap to those who came before him including Washington great Brian Mitchell.
Mitchell spent 14 seasons playing in the NFL and 10 of those in Washington.
During those 10 years he returned a punt or kickoff more than *700 times, earned a spot on the Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro rosters once and was a Super Bowl Champion in the 1992 NFL Season.
In total, Mitchell scored nine return touchdowns for Washington, and scored four more before his career was over. Guys like Mitchell, says Hester, deserve the same honor he got this weekend.
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“I hope me being here today opens up the doors and brings some attention to other guys like Brian Mitchell and Josh Cribbs,” Hester said during his speech. “Because I’m not the only returner who deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, I’m just the first.”
It’s not just the scoring that matters in this case, because return specialists rarely score, but often times can set their team’s up for success with great field position.
Nine times in his 14 years of play Mitchell averaged over 10 yards per punt return and 20 or more yards per kickoff return in every single one.
The ability to ensure his team started just about every drive with one or two fewer first downs needed to score was as invaluable then as it is today. It’s something that has stood the test of time, and no matter what rule changes take place, every NFL team knows having a great return man is a weapon as rare as it is effective.
To this day Mitchell is the only player in NFL history to return more than 600 kickoffs and 460 punts. In fact, nobody in the history of the league has had 400 of each in a single career, and of the four who have had at least 300 or more, none was more productive than the Washington legend.
Perhaps Hester’s enshrinement is a sign of things to come, a shift in the appreciation of specialists who undoubtedly shifted games in their team’s favor.
And maybe Mitchell will get the opportunity to thank Hester for his kind words one day from the stage in Canton, Ohio with a bust of his own, and a gold jacket fitted just for him.
Because Hester may be the first, but as the man himself said, he should not be the last.
*All stats provided by Football Stathead
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