Top 30 NFL players not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame

20. G Ed Budde

From 1960-66, the National Football League and American Football League conducted several drafts. That changed in 1967 with the start of the Common Draft, although the merger between the two would not take place on the playing field until 1970.

Like many star prospects, Michigan State guard Ed Budde was coveted by both leagues. On December 1, 1962, the AFL’s Dallas Texans made him the eighth overall pick in their 1963 draft. Two days later, the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles chose him fourth. Budde had a decision to make and he eventually turned to former Spartan teammate and Texans’ tight end Fred Arbanas.

“He said it was a new league, a more exciting league, more wide-open, more passing,” explained Budde (via Rick Gosselin back in 2015). “He talked about ‘Bambi’ (wide receiver Lance Alworth) and all these great receivers. I was impressed with what I saw when I went down there.”

The former Spartan decided to join the soon-to-be Kansas City Chiefs. He spent 14 seasons with the team, which reached Super Bowl I and won Super Bowl IV. Budde would be named to a total of seven AFL All-Star Games/Pro Bowls (6 straight from 1966-71) and earned All-Pro honors during the team’s Super Bowl years in 1966 and ’69.  Will he ever receive any Hall of Fame consideration?