Roddy White’s case for Pro Football Hall of Fame

Atlanta Falcons legend wide receiver Roddy White retired from the NFL on Friday. He’s beloved in Atlanta, but does he have a shot at making it to Canton?

For 11 years, wide receiver Roddy White was a model of consistency in the Atlanta Falcons receiving corps. He was the No. 27 pick by Atlanta in the 2005 NFL Draft out of UAB and played all 11 of his NFL seasons with the Falcons.

On Friday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that White will hang up the spikes and call it a career. White last played for the 2015 Falcons. He was a free agent for the entire 2016 NFL campaign, one where his Falcons made it to Super Bowl LI.

White had a very productive NFL career in Atlanta form 2005 to 2015. He made four trips to the Pro Bowl (2008-11) and earned an All-Pro selection in 2010 when Atlanta went 13-3 en route to the No. 1 seed in the NFC Playoffs.

Overall, White is beloved in Atlanta as one of the greatest players in Falcons franchise history. However, does he have a legitimate shot at earning Canton enshrinement as a potential member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

At best, White’s Canton candidacy is borderline. He had six straight seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards (2007-12). White finished with 808 career receptions, 10,683 receiving yards and 63 touchdown receptions as one of the most competitive possession receivers of his time.

He brought a wrestler’s mentality to the position of wide receiver. White successfully pivoted twice throughout his career. After a dismal first two years in the league, White would use leverage concepts and a strong upper body to get open on the outside. He quickly became Falcons franchise quarterback Matt Ryan’s favorite target.

Once Atlanta landed a more physically gifted wideout in Julio Jones, White became Jones’ mentor on the outside while emerging as an elite possession receiver in the slot. White and future Pro Football Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez helped Atlanta reach the NFC Playoffs three straight seasons, including the 2012 NFC Championship Game.

The last three years of White’s career weren’t great. He lost some much-needed foot speed to get open in the slot. Transitioning from Dirk Koetter’s Air Coryell to Kyle Shanahan’s West Coast wasn’t happening and was the final straw in White’s NFL career. White couldn’t get open quick enough to factor in Shanahan’s. Let’s just say their working relationship in Atlanta last for one season for a reason.

He considered his options in 2016 NFL free agency. White could have signed with Koetter’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers or play for other former Falcons coaches in Mike Mularkey and Terry Robiskie with the Tennessee Titans. White remained a free agent for the entire 2016 campaign. Once we all saw him hanging out with Michael Vick during the final of the Georgia Dome, we knew that was it for White.

White’s numbers could get him into Canton. He was one of the best wide receivers in football during a four-to-five-year window. Not getting to a Super Bowl and seeing Jones become this generation’s Jerry Rice doesn’t help. However, Ryan projects as a future Hall of Famer and his NFL legacy cannot be told without White in any capacity.

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Overall, White is one of the 10 or 12 best players in Falcons franchise history. He’s not Deion Sanders, he’s not Claude Humphrey, he’s not Morten Andersen. White falls into that Falcons realm with the likes of Mike Kenn, Tommy Nobis and Jessie Tuggle. If any of those four got into Canton, people would totally understand it.

However, White is the Tony Romo of wide receivers of his generation: close, but not cigar. He will be in the Falcons Ring of Honor at Mercedes-Benz here shortly. His career should be celebrated though. What a competitor he was for the Falcons for years.