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

6. DE Jared Allen

It didn’t take NFL offensive lines long to figure out just what defensive end Jared Allen excelled at. A fourth-round draft choice by the Kansas City Chiefs in 2004, he appeared in 15 games and made 10 starts. The Idaho State product finished with 31 tackles and led the team with nine sacks.

Allen was just getting warmed up. Over the next three seasons, the 6’6”, 270-pound specimen played in 46 regular-season contests and amassed a combined 34.0 quarterback traps. He led the NFL with 15.5 sacks in 2007. There were also 14 forced fumbles, eight fumble recoveries, one interception while Allen was credited with 26 passes defensed.

The Chiefs wound up giving Allen the franchise tag in 2008 but the parties couldn’t come to terms and he was dealt to Minnesota. The Vikings gave up plenty to get the 2007 Pro Bowler and All-Pro and weren’t disappointed. In six seasons with the Purple Gang, he was named to four more Pro Bowls and earned All-Pro accolades three more times.

He never missed a game with the club, and totaled an impressive 85.5 sacks, 16 forced fumbles, 13 takeaways (two returned for scores) and 25 more passes defensed. Allen was also credited with four safeties. He finished with at least 11.0 sacks in each of his six seasons in the Twin Cities.

There would be stints with the Bears and Panthers in his final two years in the NFL. It all added up to 136.0 sacks, 32 forced fumbles, six interceptions and 19 fumble recoveries. Allen has been a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist each of the last three years. It seems like just a matter of time before he makes the trip to Canton.