The best Cincinnati Bengals not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Cincinnati Bengals are arguably the most underrepresented when it comes to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
The Cincinnati Bengals brought themselves back to the forefront of the NFL this past season as Joe Burrow led them to the Super Bowl. Cincinnati has its fair share of football legends, but the Bengals are horribly underrepresented in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. At least three former Bengals are deserving of gold jackets. Perhaps the team’s newfound fame will shine a light on these cases.
Today we’ll examine the Hall of Fame cases for the best Bengals not in Canton, but just because I mention a player in this story doesn’t mean I’m advocating for him to be in the Hall of Fame. I’m casting a wide net to cover as many historically important Bengals as possible.
Let’s cover some rules that govern the Hall of Fame. A former player must be retired or inactive for at least five seasons to be eligible for enshrinement. Recently retired or inactive players like Geno Atkins, Carson Palmer, and Andrew Whitworth do not meet that threshold and won’t appear in this series, which will cover all 32 teams.
After 25 years on the modern-era ballot, players move to the Senior Committee, which tries to catch stars who slipped through the cracks for a quarter of a century.
The Hall of Fame usually inducts five modern-era candidates and one senior candidate each year. Unfortunately, the Hall of Fame voters don’t always afford players the respect they deserve, and they end up floating in the bloated Senior Committee pool, which is too slow and inefficient to reduce the backup of worthy senior candidates properly.
Previous editions: San Francisco 49ers
We’ll try to give these players the spotlight they deserve in this article. See you back here next week when we move to the next franchise!
*All statistics come from Pro Football Reference since NFL.com won’t load
Cincinnati Bengals Hall of Fame Candidates
Best Candidate: Ken Anderson, QB (1971-1986)
Of the three or four Bengals with Hall of Fame credentials, Anderson has the most straightforward case. The former third round pick became a full-time starter by his second season and held onto the role for 13 years. The career Bengal led the NFL in completion percentage three times, completions twice, yards twice, and passer rating four times.
The crowning moments of Anderson’s career came during the 1981 season. He led the Bengals to a 12-4 record and a first-place finish in the AFC Central Division. Cincinnati made it to Super Bowl XVI that season, and only Joe Montana’s heroics prevented Anderson from delivering the Bengals their first Lombardi Trophy. However, the Illinois native took home regular season First-Team All-Pro, Offensive Player of the Year, and MVP honors.
Anderson has a Hall of Fame résumé on par with Ken Stabler’s, except the latter has a Super Bowl ring and played for one of the league’s most iconic franchises. In his 16 seasons with the Bengals, Anderson led Cincinnati to Super Bowl XVI, went to four Pro Bowls, and was the MVP and Offensive Player of the Year in 1981. He also earned a First-Team All-Pro selection in 1981 and a Second-Team All-Pro nod in 1975.
At the time of his retirement, Anderson ranked fourth in completions (2,654), seventh in passing yards (32,838), and 12th in touchdowns (197). He had a 91-81 record as a starter, including four ten-win seasons.
History often judges quarterbacks by the number of titles they win, but Anderson lost to Montana in the Super Bowl. Had Cincinnati won, Anderson surely would’ve claimed his place in Canton by now. Dan Fouts, Jim Kelly, and Warren Moon were great quarterbacks that never won Super Bowls or MVPs. All three are in Canton.
Honorable Mention: Lemar Parrish, CB (1970-1982)
Parrish also has a bone to pick with the voting committee. In his 13-year career, the former seventh-round pick made eight Pro Bowls and two All-Pro teams. He recorded five or more interceptions five separate times, including nine interceptions in 1979 and seven in 1971 and 1980. However, Parrish failed to earn a spot on the 1970s All-Decade Team and hasn’t received the support needed to join football immortality in Canton, Ohio.
Parrish ironically sits at 47th on the all-time interception list with 47 interceptions. He’s tied with All-Pros Ronde Barber and Troy Vincent and Hall of Famer Jimmy Johnson. Parrish’s career total looked much more impressive when he retired following the 1982 season. At that time, he sat at 15th on the all-time list. Parrish’s resume also includes 13 fumble recoveries.
“Parrish, the Deion-before-Deion Bengals flashy mod cornerback who dashed to six Pro Bowls in the first eight seasons of the 1970s, isn't the only guy that knows his case for the Pro Football Hall of Fame,” wrote Bengals.com Senior Write Geoff Hobson. “So does Bengaldom. So do his Bengals teammates. So does Rick Gosselin of the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee and its senior committee. He has stated Parrish's case several times.”
Parrish was also quietly one of the better return men in league history. He led or tied for the NFL lead in punt return touchdowns three times and scored five special teams touchdowns during his career. Those dynamic skills also helped him amass seven defensive touchdowns.
Parrish averaged a whopping 18.8 yards per punt return in 1974, leading the NFL. He also exploded onto the scene as a kick returner, averaging 30.1 yards per return as a rookie on his way to tallying 482 yards. The West Palm Beach native retired with 2,709 return yards.
“It’s past time for Parrish to receive Hall-of-Fame consideration for those same skills,” wrote Rick Gosselin for Sports Illustrated in 2020. “The Bengals have been around for 53 years yet have only one Hall-of-Fame player -- Anthony Munoz. It's time the Hall starts taking the candidacies of Parrish, Ken Riley and Ken Anderson seriously.”
Parrish is one of an elite group of corners to go to at least eight Pro Bowls, joining Hall of Famers Champ Bailey (12), Rod Woodson (11), Willie Brown (nine), Mike Haynes (nine), Charles Woodson (nine), Deion Sanders (eight), and Aeneas Williams (eight) and future Hall of Famer Patrick Peterson (eight). How the 74-year-old hasn’t made the Hall yet is baffling.
Honorable Mention: Ken Riley, CB (1969-1983)
Riley, Parrish’s former teammate, also deserves a bronze bust. The former sixth-round pick passed away two years ago, nearly four decades after his 15-year career came to a close. Despite earning three All-Pro selections, Riley never made the Pro Bowl. He also missed out on multiple All-Decade teams despite intercepting five or more passes seven times.
“Riley not being in, that's just glaring,” ESPN’s Jeff Legwold told Cincinnati’s official team website in July 2020. “As selectors we have to dig in what happened in those years of Pro Bowl teams. For him to have lost out to his teammate when, in my opinion, (Riley) had better seasons, I find it odd. The guy has the second most interceptions by a pure corner. The list is the list.”
Riley never making the Pro Bowl is one of the most difficult anomalies to understand. The Florida A&M product was a turnover machine from the moment he entered the league. Riley intercepted four passes in each of his first two seasons before making five interceptions in 1971, the first of four times he’d match that total.
Riley also intercepted six passes in 1975 (Second-Team All-Pro), eight in 1983 (First-Team All-Pro), and nine in 1976 (Second-Team All-Pro). He failed to intercept three or more passes just three times in his career (1973, 1977, and 1979), which he spent entirely with the Bengals. Riley also made significant contributions in the playoffs, intercepting passes during Cincinnati’s 1975, 1981, and 1982 playoff runs.
At the time of his retirement, Riley ranked fourth all-time in interceptions with 65, trailing Paul Krause (81), Emlen Tunnell (79), and Dick “Night Train” Lane (68). He still ranks fifth on that list. Rod Woodson (71) is the only defensive back in the past 40 years to surpass Riley’s interception mark. Charles Woodson tied him at 65, Ed Reed (64) fell one short, and Ronnie Lott (63) also came close.
Honorable Mention: Willie Anderson, OT (1996-2008)
Anderson spent 12 of his 13 NFL seasons with the Bengals before a lone year with the Ravens. Cincinnati recognized Anderson’s potential from the jump, selecting the Auburn product with the tenth pick in the 1996 NFL Draft. However, it took Anderson nearly a decade to earn recognition as one of the league’s elite tackles.
Anderson peaked late in his career, making three consecutive First-Team All-Pro runs (2004-2006) and four consecutive Pro Bowls. Unfortunately, a stubborn foot injury in 2007 ended Anderson’s run as the league’s dominant right tackle. He retired a year later.
The 2000s Pro Football Hall of Fame All-Decade team features a who’s who of offensive tackles. Nine-time All-Pro Jonathan Ogden, nine-time All-Pro and 1990s All-Decade Teamer Willie Roaf, six-time All-Pro Walter Jones, and Orlando Pace, the blindside blocker for the Greatest Show on Turf. However, Anderson had an argument to be on the 2000s All-Decade Team above Pace and Roaf.
Roaf made five All-Pro teams in the 2000s, but only two of them were First-Team designations. He retired midway through the decade. Two of Pace’s three First-Team All-Pro selections came in the 2000s, and injuries dragged his prime to an end by 2005.
Anderson’s Hall of Fame case would’ve benefited heavily from inclusion on a decade team. Unfortunately, three All-Pro selections are a low total for a Hall of Famer at almost any position.
However, things are trending in the right direction for Anderson. He appeared as a Hall of Fame finalist in the 2021-22 voting cycle, marking the first time a Bengal made the final cut since Ken Anderson and Anthony Muñoz were in the 1998 voting cycle.
Honorable Mention: Chad Johnson, WR (2001-2011)
Johnson struggled with drops throughout his career, and his brief time as “Chad Ochocinco” rubbed some people the wrong way. However, the flamboyant wide receiver was one of the best players at his position during the 2000s.
After a quiet rookie season, the former second round pick caught 531 passes for 8,036 yards and 48 touchdowns in the following six years. During that time, Johnson was a Second-Team All-Pro in his third season, made five of his six Pro Bowls, earned First-Team All-Pro honors twice, and led the NFL in receiving yards once (2006). His seventh and final 1,000-yard season came in 2009. Johnson is Cincinnati’s all-time leader in every significant receiving statistical category.
In the modern passing era, Johnson lacks the career totals (766 receptions for 11,059 yards and 67 touchdowns) to challenge for the Hall of Fame. However, he was just as productive as fellow 2001 draft selection Reggie Wayne during the 2010s and significantly more productive than other 2001 draftees Santana Moss and Steve Smith Sr.
Honorable Mention: Boomer Esiason, QB (1984-1997)
It’s rare to see a franchise with two MVP quarterbacks, neither of which are in the Hall of Fame. Esiason made four Pro Bowls during his 14-year career, which included a decade spent in Cincinnati. The former second round pick was a First-Team All-Pro and the league MVP in 1988 when the Bengals went 12-4, and Esiason led all quarterbacks in passer rating.
From a production standpoint, Esiason was never the same following a league-leading 22 interception season in 1990. The first seven seasons of his career were far more productive than the final seven, which saw him spend brief stints with the Jets and Cardinals before returning to Cincinnati in 1997.
Esiason retired with the ninth-most passing yards (37,930) and tenth-most passing touchdowns (247) in league history to accompany his 184 interceptions and an 80-93 record as a starter.
Honorable Mention: Max Montoya, G (1979-1994)
Montoya doesn’t have nearly enough accolades to earn a spot among the finalists for the Hall of Fame. In his 16-year career, Montoya went to four Pro Bowls and was a Second-Team All-Pro in 1989. Pro Football Reference selected the former seventh round pick to its 1980s All-Decade team, but the Pro Football Hall of Fame felt differently.
The Hall of Fame prioritized Falcons guard Bill Fralic over Montoya and San Francisco’s Randy Cross on the 1980s All-Decade Team. Montoya's Hall of Fame case won't get off the ground without that accolade on his resume.
Montoya started in both of Cincinnati’s Super Bowl losses to the San Francisco 49ers.
Honorable Mention: Running Backs
James Brooks, RB (1981-1992) & Corey Dillon, RB (1997-2006)
Brooks was a first round pick for the Chargers in 1981. Chuck Muncie, another former first round pick and forgotten star, overshadowed him. Annoyed with his usage, Brooks wanted out of San Diego after three seasons, and Cincinnati sent Pete Johnson to the Chargers in a backfield swap.
Brooks spent the eight most productive years of his 12-year career with the Bengals, amassing 9,459 yards from scrimmage and 64 total touchdowns. Cincinnati knew how to maximize Brooks’ value as a receiver, which ultimately led to the Auburn product making four Pro Bowls.
Brooks retired with 11,583 yards from scrimmage, then 17th-most in league history.
The Bengals selected Dillon with the 43rd pick in the 1997 draft. The Washington product opened his NFL career with six consecutive seasons of 1,100 rushing yards or more. After a disappointing 2003 season, Dillon joined the Patriots and had the most productive season of his career, amassing 1,635 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns.
Dillon totaled 2,210 rushing attempts for 9,696 yards and 57 touchdowns during the first eight years of his ten-year career. He went to four Pro Bowls and averaged 97.3 rushing yards per game during the 2004-05 playoffs when the Patriots won Super Bowl XXXIX.
At the time of his retirement, Dillon ranked 14th in career rushing yards. Every player above him at that time is in the Hall of Fame.
Honorable Mention: Wide Receivers
Isaac Curtis, WR (1973-1984) & Cris Collinsworth, WR (1981-1988)
The Bengals made Curtis the 15th pick in the 1973 draft, and he became the first of the franchise’s great wide receivers. The California native spent his entire 12-year career in Cincinnati, setting what were at the time franchise records in every significant receiving category. He still ranks third in receiving yards, trailing A.J. Green and Chad Johnson.
Curtis opened his career with four consecutive Pro Bowls. He also earned Second-Team All-Pro selections in 1974, 1975, and 1976. Unfortunately, a shortened 1977 campaign interrupted that stretch, and Curtis never earned another Pro Bowl or All-Pro selection. He finished his career with 7,101 receiving yards.
Collinsworth arrived during Curtis’ decline as a receiving threat and took the baton. The second round pick made three consecutive Pro Bowls to start his career, earning Second-Team All-Pro honors to accompany each trip to Hawaii. Despite maintaining his production for six seasons, Collinsworth only received recognition for his first three years.
During his six-year prime, Collinsworth totaled 373 receptions for 5,977 yards and 35 touchdowns before injuries led to his rapid decline. He retired after eight seasons, all spent with the Bengals.
Bengals Legends also Considered
Louis Breeden, CB (1978-1987)
David Fulcher, S (1986-1993)
Tim Krumrie, DT/NT (1983-1994)
Carl Pickens, WR (1992-2000)
Bob Trumpy, TE (1968-1977)