1-Day into the Hall of Fame

There is no doubt in my mind that Frank Gore is a Hall of Famer. The running back will sign a 1-day contract to retire as a 49er. With an amazing career, ending up 3rd on the all-time leading rusher list. Gore reached 16,000 yards exactly. Which puts him behind Walter Payton (2nd with 16,726 yards) and Emmit Smith (1st with 18,355 yards). Not only did he reach this feat, but he was also extremely durable. The rule usually is, once a running back hits 28-30 years old, it’s time to hang up the cleats. Gore had 7 straight seasons, from ages 28 to 34, where he played in all 16 games. 6 of those 7 seasons he started all 16 games. Not to mention Gore rushed over 1,000 yards 5 times in that same span. Fell short by 33 and 39 yards in the 2 times he couldn’t reach 1,000. He was never the flashiest players but he ran hard. I will never forget seeing him for the first time. His rookie year he was backing up Kevan Barlow, every time Gore got the ball he would seem to always get 5 yards. He seemed really special from the jump. He ended up rushing for 608 yards with a 4.8 yards per attempt. All of this in a backup role. Gore only started one game. Then he explodes and rushes over 1,000 yards more his second year. He was never fortunate to play on good teams. It took until his 7th NFL season to be a part of a winning team. He only played in 9 playoff games in his entire career. I do not believe that his lack of playoff games should hurt his case for the Hall of Fame. Unlike quarterback, a team’s success isn’t dependent on a running back’s production. With what Gore was able to do on bad teams, is impressive. There were a lot of games lost, so usually when teams are down they tend to throw more. Even with this Gore was one of the most dominant rushers during his long career. His last snap was in 2020 at the age of 37. Played in 15 games and started 14, finishing with 653 yards. At the age of 37 years old, that is almost unfathomable. 16 years in the NFL and he finished with a 4.3 yards per attempt average. He may not have been as talented as Adrian Peterson, but he seemed to be a little more dependable. Although Peterson was still productive in the last half of his career, Peterson also bounced around the league a lot after leaving Minnesota. Frank Gore will easily go down as the best running back to play for the San Francisco 49ers. If there is any opinion out there stating Frank Gore is not a Hall of Famer, then I would just have to disagree with it. It will be hard to match what he did, especially in today’s NFL. As far as productivity and longevity, I would put Frank Gore in the class with Tom Brady. Not saying Frank Gore is the GOAT at the running back position, I am saying that he has prolonged his career and didn’t totally nosedive in production. I understand that he may not be a first ballot Hall of Famer with Adrian Peterson potentially retiring at the same time. But he will definitely get in the year after Peterson. Frank Gore, Canton is waiting for you.