Is WR Branch next in line for Raiders to make Hall of Fame?
After Tom Flores and Charles Woodson earned induction Saturday into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, wide receiver Cliff Branch could be next in line among Raiders legends, but it’s anything but a sure thing in 2022.
Branch, the classic Al Davis deep threat, died in August 2019. He was one of 20 senior finalists identified by a committee for consideration in 2020, when the Hall of Fame added 20 members for a Centennial Class in order to reduce the backlog of deserving players.
A stronger immediate possibility might be Richard Seymour, who missed out on being one of the five modern players elected to the Hall on Saturday night in favor of Woodson, Peyton Manning, Calvin Johnson, Alan Faneca and John Lynch.
Before the 2021 induction, the Hall of Fame altered its process to add
three candidates in specific categories — a senior member, a senior coach and a senior contributor. Each of those categories are identified beforehand and subject to a yes-or-no vote by a panel of 48 selectors rather than going up against modern candidates.
Those men this year were Flores as coach, Dallas wide receiver Drew Pearson as the player and former Pittsburgh Steelers scout Bill Nunn as a contributor.
Branch has had support in the past from Hall of Fame voter Ron Borges, who wrote on the subject in for Sports Illustrated in 2019 and is a Hall of Fame voter who also served as Seymour’s presenter. Borges covered the Raiders in the 1970s for the Oakland Tribune before moving on to the Boston Globe
and Boston Herald, covering the New England Patriots.
“There’s a lot of guys in the Hall of Fame, including myself, and the way Cliff played overshadowed a lot of us,” Raiders Hall of Fame wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff told Borges in January of 2020 in an article for Sports Illustrated.
Branch has better career numbers than Pearson in terms of games played (183 to 156), receptions (501 to 489), yards (8,685 to 7,822), yards per catch (17.3 to 16.0) and touchdowns (67 to 48).
Both men played in 22 playoff games, with Branch catching 73 passes for 1,289 yards, a 17.7 average and five touchdowns, and Pearson catching 68 passes for 1,131 yards and eight scores.
Branch played on three Super Bowl championship teams to one for Pearson and had two touchdown receptions in against Philadelphia and another against Washington.
But it remains to be seen whether Branch will be the lone senior member to get the nod for a yes-orno vote, which may amount to a rubber stamp in the current system. Nine players out of the original 20 who were considered for the Centennial Class, with the strongest candidates including former 49ers running back Roger Craig (who also played one season toward the end of his career with the Raiders).
Branch was a semifinalist among modern players in the voting in 2004 and 2010 but did not receive enough votes to be a finalist either time.
Other potential senior candidates for the Raiders include cornerback Lester Hayes and quarterback Jim Plunkett. Former Raiders CEO Amy Trask has received support in some media circles as a contributor.
Aside from Craig, seven senior candidates remain from the 2020 list for Centennial induction who were
not voted in — LaVern Dilweg, Ox Emerson, Cecil Isbell, Randy Gradishar, Verne Lewellen, Tommy Nobis and Al Wistert.
A subcommittee within the Hall of Fame electorate will determine the senior finalist at some point during training camp, and then that nominee will be up for a yes or no vote.
While the Class of 2021 had three players who were expected to get in on the first ballot in Manning, Woodson and Johnson, the 2022 class is less obvious.
Those players include edge rusher DeMarcus Ware, return specialist Devin Hester, wide receiver Steve Smith Sr., wide receiver Andre Johnson, nose tackle Vince Wilfork and wide receiver Anquan Boldin.
That could bode well for Seymour, who built his reputation in New England but finished his career with the Raiders from 2009 through 2012, making Pro Bowls in 2010 and 2011.