Dolphins Q&A: Is this the year Zach Thomas gets into the Hall of Fame?

Here’s the latest installment of our Miami Dolphins Q&A, where South Florida Sun Sentinel writers David Furones and Omar Kelly answer questions from readers.

Q: Is this the year Zach Thomas finally gets in the hall?!? — Luis Estrada on Twitter

A: Could Dolphins great Zach Thomas’ third time (as a finalist) be the charm?

Breaking things down, he could have a decent shot after a few years of giving way to either generational talents getting in on their first year on the ballot or other similarly deserving players who had to wait longer for their enshrinement.

First, to recap the other modern-era finalists: DE Jared Allen, OT Willie Anderson, CB Ronde Barber, OT Tony Boselli, S LeRoy Butler, WR/KR/PR Devin Hester, WR Torry Holt, WR Andre Johnson, LB Sam Mills, DL Richard Seymour, OLB DeMarcus Ware, WR Reggie Wayne, LB Patrick Willis and DL Bryant Young.

The selection committee may elect up to five modern-era players for the 2022 class. Each must receive a minimum positive vote of 80 percent for election. So, Thomas essentially has to be deemed in the top third of this group.

The other middle linebacker finalist that’s most in Thomas’ class is Willis.

Willis, the anchor for the San Francisco 49ers’ stellar defenses of the early 2010s, matches Thomas with seven Pro Bowls and five first-team All-Pro selections. He got his in fewer years played as he retired after eight seasons, but Thomas has the edge in longevity, tackles per season and interceptions. Willis also has the 2007 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year to his name.

Both Thomas and Willis led the NFL in tackles in two different seasons. Thomas did it with a large overlap in his career with that of iconic middle linebackers Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher. Interestingly, Thomas matches up well, if not favorably, over his career compared to Urlacher, and the Bears’ great was enshrined in 2018.

Thomas and Willis both led top defenses of their eras, but the greater success the 49ers had during Willis’ time could play a role in voters’ minds. San Francisco went to three consecutive NFC Championship Games in the early 2010s, reaching one Super Bowl, while Thomas’ Dolphins never got that far in the AFC.

Mills, who is in his final year of eligibility, had a standout career in the 1980s and 90s with the New Orleans Saints and Carolina Panthers where he made five Pro Bowls and one All-Pro, but Thomas and Willis were another echelon above.

Establishing that the two top middle linebacker candidates are at the very least comparable with certain factors that favor Thomas and vice-versa, I figure a good tiebreaker could be time served waiting. If Thomas has had to wait his turn with equal career accolades, Willis can too.

But it’s not just about being the best middle linebacker candidate. The 2022 finalist group, on top of being a loaded wide receiver class, has a pair of elite pass rushers and two of the top-12 all-time career sack leaders.

Ware had 138 1/2 sacks and Allen notched 136. All eligible pass rushers that have had more than them have made the Hall of Fame, including Thomas’ great teammate, Jason Taylor, who got in his first year.

That does not mean one or both won’t be asked to wait, but at least Ware, as a nine-time Pro Bowl selection who won a Super Bowl, has to be considered a favorite to get in with the way he consistently dominated and impacted games during his career with the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos.

Last year, wide receiver Calvin Johnson got in as a first-ballot selection. Two Miami Hurricanes alumni, Andre Johnson and Reggie Wayne, may not have had a high of a ceiling to their careers as Calvin Johnson, despite playing much longer, but both hover around the top 10 all time in career receptions and receiving yards.

Wideouts have been made to wait historically, and Wayne has for a couple of go-arounds while Andre Johnson is in his first year of eligibility. Although Holt was on the Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf,” I’m considering Johnson and Wayne a notch above.

A huge wild card is how the committee views the other first-year-eligible Hurricane, return specialist Devin Hester. He arguably is the greatest all time at what he did and had an immense impact on opponents’ game plans given their propensity to kick out of bounds when Hester was back there for the Bears, but will the committee give someone who largely made his name on special teams the nod so early in his eligibility?

There’s a good chance one of the tackles get in between Boselli and Anderson. Boselli, the Jacksonville Jaguars great, has had a much longer wait than Thomas after a career that was cut short.

As far as other defenders among finalists, I’d have to view Thomas’ career favorably to most if not all of Barber, Butler, Seymour and Young. Seymour may receive a boost for the Patriots teams he was on, winning multiple Super Bowls while playing in the same division as Thomas’ Dolphins. Barber’s Buccaneers won it all in 2002, sandwiched between a run of three of four for New England, but Thomas was asked to do so much more for his Miami defenses than either of them.

All in all, I’d say there’s a good shot Thomas becomes the 14th former Dolphins player to make it to Canton, Ohio. Thomas finished his career with 1,734 total tackles, and his 1,107 solo tackles are more than any other Hall of Fame linebacker besides Ray Lewis and Derrick Brooks. He added 17 interceptions, four for touchdowns, 16 forced fumbles, eight fumbles recovered and 20 1/2 sacks.

The class will be announced live on the “NFL Honors” telecast scheduled to air at 9 p.m. on Feb. 10, three days before the Super Bowl.

Have a question?

Email David Furones, or tag @OmarKelly or @DavidFurones_ on Twitter.