Stanley Morgan played in the NFL for 14 seasons. He spent 13 seasons with the New England Patriots and one season with the Indianapolis Colts. In his career, Morgan caught 557 passes for 10,716 yards and 72 touchdowns and was a four time Pro Bowler. So it begs the question. Why is he not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

It is a good question that has been asked for years. It could be because Morgan played for the Patriots and didn’t get the attention nationally that some of his contemporaries did. It could also be because he played in run first offenses. Morgan played for Chuck Fairbanks, Ron Meyer and Raymond Berry. All three coaches believed in running the football and playing good defense.

Despite those factors, Morgan’s numbers speak for themselves. He has more receiving yards than 14 of the 29 wide receivers currently enshrined in Canton including his former coach the aforementioned Raymond Berry. That alone tells you he deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Perhaps the one statistic that validates Morgan’s candidacy more than any other is his yards per catch average. Morgan averaged 19.2 yards per catch in his career with the Patriots. That is the highest per catch total in NFL history for any receiver who has caught 500 or more passes.

When you breakdown the numbers, Morgan had his fair share of pedestrian statistical seasons as well. By today’s standards, he put up third and fourth receiver numbers. It is one of the reasons many voters have shied away from voting for him. Morgan only had three one thousand yard seasons in his career.

In 1986 however, Morgan had an MVP caliber season. He caught 84 passes for 1,491 yards and 10 touchdown receptions. He was the number one receiver on that team despite playing opposite Irving Fryer who was becoming a young star. It was the best season of Morgan’s career.

It was announced last week that Morgan is once again a semi-finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Seniors Committee will meet on August 16th to select as many as three Seniors for final consideration as members of the Class of 2023.

The Hall of Fame approved expansion of the Seniors pool for election to the Hall earlier this year for the Classes of 2023, 2024 and 2025. That certainly enhances Morgan’s chances of getting in.

Hopefully Morgan has enough support this time around and he gets in. There are a lot of former greats on that Senior list that deserve to get enshrined. Morgan belongs in the conversation. Hopefully the Senior Committee and the voters see it that way.