Warrick Dunn is eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for more than ten years, but he is still waiting for a golden jacket.
The 49-year-old spent his 11 NFL seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Atlanta Falcons.
Dunn’s 10,967 rushing yards are the 23rd most in NFL history, and that appears to be the limit.
Only two players whose careers began after 1970 and have fewer rushing yards than Dunn have gone bust in Canton: Earl Campbell and Terrell Davis.
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Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn runs with the ball out of his own end zone in the third quarter against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at the Georgia Dome. (Dale Zanine/USA Today Sports)
Dunn said the odds were against him early, and he proved he belonged.
“The era I played in, when I first got drafted, they thought I was just going to be a third-down pick,” Dunn recently told Fox News Digital. “I didn’t have as many carries as a lot of other guys because I was always sharing carries with Mike Alstott in Tampa. When I came to Atlanta, it was TJ Duckett.
“I had to prove that I was a 6-foot-4, 185-pound running back. You can say a lot of guys could do what I did. No, I had that chip on my shoulder that I was going to prove that I could be one of the best if you gave me the opportunity to do that, I think over the years, with what I’ve done, the impact I’ve brought to teams and those things watch highlights, and I’m like : ‘Oh my God, I didn’t know that I that was possible.’
Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn follows a lead block from Falcons guard PJ Alexander during a run play in the first quarter against the Cleveland Browns at the Georgia Dome. (Dale Zanine/USA Today Sports)
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“Do I think I deserve it? I think I’m one of the best. … Do I want to be in the room saying I was one of the best to ever play? Yes, of course. That’s where we play all for.” We all play to be the best we can be.”
Dunn said his induction would send a message to undersized players trying to make a name for themselves.
“I want to be an example to kids who may not be as big as me, that you can still do some things even when the odds are against you. I always went against the grain. My mentality is still like that,” he said.
Atlanta Falcons running back Warrick Dunn (28) runs with the ball in the third quarter at LP Field. (Dale Zanine/USA Today Sports)
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Dunn had more than 15,000 all-purpose yards, more than several Hall of Famers Jerome Bettis, Franco Harris and OJ Simpson. He had only 105 fewer than Eric Dickerson.
Among eligible players, it is the third-most all-purpose yards by a full-time running back not in the Hall, behind Herschel Walker and Tiki Barber.
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