Missing in Action – Part 3

June 6, 2023

By Noonefromtampa

This is the third of three columns about former Washington players who should be in the Hall of Fame but who have not been voted in. This week the player in focus is Brian Mitchell.

Mitchell was drafted as an unheralded running back in the fifth round of the 1990 draft from University of Southwestern Louisiana (now known as the University of Louisiana at Lafayette), where he played quarterback. He immediately got everyone’s attention by returning the opening kickoff in the first preseason game of his rookie season for a touchdown.  That was his first ever attempt at returning a kickoff in a game, including his high school and college career. During his 14-year career, Mitchell was the third down running back, punt returner and kickoff returner for Washington (10 years), Philadelphia (3 years) and New York Giants (1 year).

One of his rookie season highlights was playing quarterback in the infamous “Body Bag Game”, which was a Monday Night Football contest against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 12, 1990. Mitchell went 3 for 6 passing for 40 yards plus had two rushes for 11 yards and one touchdown. He was a member of the 1991 Super Bowl team and led the league in punt return yards and punt return touchdowns. When Mitchell retired, he held three NFL all-time records:

• Most career kickoff return yards: 14,014
• Most career punt return yards: 4,999
• Most career total return yards: 19,013

Comparisons

The comparison process for a player like Mitchell is a little tricky, so we’ll look at two different dimensions. First, comparing leaders in all-purpose yards gives a direct comparison of the impact a player had with the ball in their hands. The second comparison will look at some of the all-time great returners and how they stack up.

All-Purpose Yards Stats

Rank	Player	Position	Seasons	Total All Purpose Yards	Year Inducted into HOF
1	Jerry Rice	WR	19	23,546	2010
2	Brian Mitchell	RB/PR/KR	14	23,330	None
3	Walter Payton	RB	12	21,803	1993
4	Emmitt Smith	RB	14	21,564	2010

The top four players ranked in all-purpose yards feature some of the all-time NFL greats Jerry Rice, Walter Peyton, and Emmitt Smith. Mitchell ranks second among those four players. The other three are in the Hall of Fame; Mitchell is not.

Now, let’s look at Mitchell compared to other top returners from around the same era with players Devin Hester, Dante Hall and Eric Metcalf.

Player	PR Yards	Rank	PR Avg	PR TDs	KOR Yards	Rank	KOR Avg	KOR TDs	Total Ret TD	Rank
Brian Mitchell	4,999	1	10.8	9	14,014	1	23.1	4	13	5
Devin Hester	3,695	3	11.7	14	7,333	12	24.9	5	20	1
Dante Hall	2,261	30	10.5	6	10,136	5	23.8	6	12	11
Eric Metcalf	3,453	6	9.8	10	5,813	21	20.8	2	12	11

Mitchell was first in total return yardage for punts and kickoffs and was second overall among returners behind Devin Hester. Hester,who also has a legitimate claim to be in the Hall of Fame, also had a blocked kick that he returned for a touchdown to bring his career total to an incredible 20. While most returners like Hester and Hall used their speed and elusiveness in the return game, Mitchell would run at you and through you during his returns.

Honors

Player	Seasons	Games	Pro Bowl	All-Pro	Super Bowl Champion	HOF All Decade Team
Brian Mitchell	14	223	1	1	1991	None
Devin Hester	12	156	4	3	None	2000 & 2010
Dante Hall	9	112	2	1	None	2000
Eric Metcalf	13	179	3	2	None	None

Conclusions

There are several factors working against Brian Mitchell getting elected to the Hall of Fame. The first is that only three special team players have ever been elected to the Hall of Fame, placekickers Jan Stenerud and Morten Andersen, and punter Ray Guy. No return specialist has ever been elected. There is vocal group around the Hall of Fame who believe there is no place in for them in that august body.

Secondly, most of Mitchell’s time came after Washington’s good times under Joe Gibbs, when the team settled into mediocrity under Norv Turner. Mitchell did not get many accolades compared to other returners as seen in the Honors section above. He was durable, dependable, and played on the majority of special team units as evidenced by the number of games played and length of his career.

He also excelled in all phases of special teams play, whether it was in returning kicks, making tackles on coverage units, or blocking, other teams had to account for him. He has been included on the Hall of Fame nominating list several times but has never been a semi-finalist let alone a finalist.

 

Sources: pro-football-reference.com