AJ Green was one of the best wide receivers during his era. A.J. Green spent all of his elite seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals; however, he spent a couple of seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. After only having 24 receptions this season, A.J. Green has announced his retirement from the NFL, but is he a Hall of Famer?
A.J. Green Resume
A.J. Green, who I just found out real name is Adriel Jeremiah, was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in 2011 with the fourth overall pick. Green was instantly successful in the NFL. He had 65 receptions, 1057 receiving yards, and 7 touchdowns in only 15 games as a rookie. A.J. went on to have 5 straight 1,000-yard seasons to start his career and hit the 1,000-yard mark in 6 out of 8 seasons with the Bengals. His only season not reaching 1,000 yards is his 6th season which he only played 10 games due to injury tallying 964 yards.
During his 9 year career with the Bengals, Green made the Pro Bowl 7 times. The only seasons that Green did not make the Pro Bowl were seasons he was out due to injury. A.J. was also a second-team All-Pro selection two times over his 9-year career with the Bengals. His prime years were cut short due to several major injuries.
All in All, A.J. Green was able to end his career with 727 receptions, 10,514 receiving yards, and 70 touchdown receptions. Will that be enough to get A.J. into the hall of fame though?
Is He a Hall of Famer?
The short answer to this question is no but there is a long reason why. A.J. Green was one of the best receivers of his time but during his prime, he only played 16 games twice. He spent a lot of his good years banged up which is something I doubt the committee will take into account. If we look at a player such as Chad Johnson, the committee has not even thought of adding him to the hall of fame discussion and I am sure most will say he was the better Bengals wide receiver.
Another player who did not make the final round of the hall of fame this year is Steve Smith. Smith has better stats in every statistical metric that matters and also was a 5-time All-Pro player. Despite A.J. Green being one of my favorite players all time, I expect him to be left out of the hall of fame I hope that the Cincinnati Bengals find a way to honor A.J. Green because he was definitely a great player.