Chicago Bears: 3 reasons why Charles Tillman is Canton-worthy

Charles Tillman’s Chicago Bears numbers highlight why he belongs in the Hall of Fame.

I realize that numbers are not everything when it comes to breaking down and comparing players’ careers, especially for defensive backs. Players like Darrelle Revis and Richard Sherman who reached higher peaks than Tillman actually have fewer career interceptions and passes defended but those don’t (and should not!) take away from their greatness.

However, for a player like Tillman who was notorious for his knack to force fumbles, I believe looking at the numbers is warranted. Charles Tillman has 44 career forced fumbles. This is tied for sixth all-time and he is the only defensive back inside the top 10. Additionally, he has 140 passes defended which are top-20 all time but unfortunately, his lackluster interception numbers (38) buffer his Hall of Fame case.

Despite his interception numbers not being on par with other Hall-of-Famers, Tillman is second in total turnovers (forced fumbles plus interceptions) forced among players who played more than half their career after 1999. Forced fumbles have only been tracked since 1999 and as a result, this metric I calculated is a measure of where Tillman ranks with respect to the peers of his era in forcing turnovers. The top four in this category are rounded out by Charles Woodson (first), Ed Reed (third), and Brian Dawkins (fourth) all of whom are Hall of Famers.

Additionally, if we look deeper at the total number of turnovers created (forced fumbles plus interceptions), Tillman’s numbers far exceed other contemporaries like Darrelle Revis, Champ Bailey, Richard Sherman, and Ronde Barber who will all likely end their careers being enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Charles Tillman’s career numbers highlight that he changed how cornerbacks could impact the game outside of defending the man in front of them. Any player who helped define an era of cornerbacks the way Tillman did forcing turnovers both through intercepting passes and his infamous peanut punch definitely has a strong case to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.