State Your Case: Was Welker a Hall of Fame creator of the slot receiver position?
Wes Welker may not have changed the game of professional football but he certainly redefine the modern-day slot receiver position during his dominant seasons with the New England Patriots. Whether that will eventually make him a Hall of Famer will depend on voters coming to an affirmative answer to a hard question: if you are arguably one of the greatest players at a niche position, do you deserve a gold jacket and a bust in Canton?
Welker was one of the most productive receivers in football for much of his 12-year NFL career, retiring with 903 receptions good for 9,971 yards and 50 receiving touchdowns. More significantly, he led the NFL in receptions three times, finished second once and was the first receiver in NFL history to have three 110-reception seasons and first to have five 100-reception seasons.
That production took him to five Pro Bowls and garnered him two first-team All-Pro selections and two second team All-Pro designations. For most of his career, Welker was the essence of production and in the end isn’t that what defines a Hall of Famer? If not production, what then?
Prior to arriving in New England in 2007, Welker had begun to make his mark in Miami after being originally signed by San Diego as an undrafted free agent in 2004. Welker made the Chargers’ roster but was released after only one game, a decision then Chargers’ head coach Marty Schottenheimer later said was the biggest roster move mistake he ever made.
Only Gale Sayers produced more all-purpose yards in his first three seasons in the NFL than Welker did with Miami, where he racked up 6,216 yards as a receiver and a kickoff and punt return specialist. Although still under the radar despite being Miami’s leading receiver in 2006, Welker caught the eye of Patriots’ coach
On March 1, 2007, Belichick traded a second- and seventh-round pick to acquire him after flirting with possibly signing the restricted free agent to an offer sheet that would have contained a poison pill that would have made it all but impossible for Miami to exercise its right to match. In the end, Belichick declined to take that step and acquired a player in more traditional fashion who would bring the slot receiver position to unheard of heights the very next year.
In his first season in New England, Welker tied for the NFL lead in receptions with 112 and racked up 1,175 receiving yards and eight touchdowns, numbers that earned him both his first All-Pro selection and one vote for Offensive Player of the Year.
Undefeated in the regular season, the Patriots were the most prolific offense in league history at the time and entered Super Bowl XLII 18-0 and heavily favored to beat the New York Giants. In one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, the Giants won the game 17-14 but no one could blame Welker, who had 11 catches on 14 targets for 103 yards.
During his six seasons in New England between 2007 and 2012, Welker caught more passes than any receiver in the league (672) and became a first-down producing machine. In 2009, Welker had seven double-digit catch games, breaking Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison’s record of six, on his way to a career high 123 receptions. That tied Herman Moore for the all-time single-season high, a record that has since been broken several times.
Welker went to five consecutive Pro Bowls during those years and it is baffling that it was not six because the only year he was NOT selected came in 2007, when he led the league in receptions and had the first of his five 1,000 yard receiving seasons.
As an aside, Welker was also the victim of one of the most benign fines in NFL history when the league assessed him a $10,000 penalty in 2008 for lying down in a pile of snow and making a snow angel after a touchdown catch in a late December game against the Arizona Cardinals. He will not be remembered for that snow angel but what will be interesting to watch now that he has become eligible for Hall of Fame consideration is whether the voters will assess his credentials against the flashier deep threat receivers of his era or as a man who created a new and highly productive position in the slot.
Had Welker’s Patriots won either of the two Super Bowls they played in during his six seasons in Foxborough history says it likely would have enhanced his resume further. But even without a ring Wes Welker retired with eye-popping statistics. He is ranked 20th all-time in all-purpose yards, 22nd all-time in receptions and 50th in touchdowns. More significantly, he was in the top 10 in receptions six times during his career, meaning half the years he played he was among the most productive receivers in football.
In the end, a player must be judged by what he did among his peers in his day and Wes Welker not only did a lot statistically he created a high-production position – the slot receiver. One can debate if that is enough to get him into the Hall of Fame but no one would argue that his case doesn’t deserve to be debated before his 20 years of eligibility are up.