The Miami Dolphins’ all-time leader in touchdowns and receptions, Mark Clayton, redefined what it meant to be a dominant, go-to wide receiver in the 1980s. Breaking records and bringing a style unseen in the NFL before, his 1984 season marked the beginning of a decade of dominance. That year, Clayton’s 18 touchdown receptions set a new NFL record, breaking a mark that had stood for more than four decades.
Despite his accomplishments, Clayton has been left out of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He clearly has a case for Canton, and Seth Levit, co-host of the popular The Fish Tank podcast, recently made a compelling case on YouTube.
Clayton finished his career with 84 touchdowns on 582 receptions, an elite ratio of one touchdown for every 6.9 catches. As Levit noted, the only Hall of Famers to have 75 or more touchdowns with a better ratio are Paul Warfield, Randy Moss, and Lance Alworth.
In the 1980s, “only two players caught more touchdown passes than Mark Clayton; and they were Steve Largent and the GOAT: Jerry Rice,” Levit added.
Clayton, who stood just 5’9, defied the long-standing belief that a wide receiver needed to be at least six feet tall to excel in the NFL.
“One could argue that Hall of Fame selectors still share similar beliefs, given that Tommy McDonald, who played his last game 57 years ago, is the only one out of 35 Gold Jacket wideouts who was shorter than 5’11,” Levit noted. “The other 34 bronze-busted receivers are 5’11 or taller, and actually, only five of them are 5’11 — four if you remove Devin Hester from the receiver category.”
Clayton’s success at less-than-prototypical size helped open the door for receivers such as DeSean Jackson, Steve Smith Sr., Wes Welker, Santana Moss, Antonio Brown, and current Dolphins stars Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle.
So why isn’t Clayton already in the Hall of Fame? It seems that voters discount his production as merely a product of Dan Marino’s prolific success. Yet, other skill-position players haven’t been punished for posting big numbers with all-time greats at quarterback.
Marino is one of the only Hall of Fame quarterbacks without a skill-position teammate enshrined alongside him.
“[Joe] Montana had Jerry Rice,” Levit said. “[Steve] Young had Rice and Terrell Owens. [Peyton] Manning had Marvin Harrison, not to mention Edgerrin James in the backfield. [John] Elway had Shannon Sharpe and Terrell Davis. [Brett] Favre had Sterling Sharpe. [Johnny] Unitas had Raymond Berry. Jim Kelly had [Andre] Reed and Thurman Thomas. [Bob] Griese had Warfield. [Kurt] Warner had [Isaac] Bruce and [Marshall] Faulk. [Troy] Aikman had [Michael] Irvin and Emmitt [Smith]. [Terry] Bradshaw had [Lynn] Swann and [John] Stallworth.”
Now eligible in the senior category, there is every reason to believe Clayton deserves a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
This article originally appeared on Dolphins Wire: The case for Dolphins legend Mark Clayton to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Reporting by Jason Sarney, Dolphins Wire / Dolphins Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
