Devin Hester deserves to go to the Hall of Fame in 2022

The Chicago Bears were lucky to have Devin Hester on their team during his prime. He started off his NFL career as a primary kick and punt returner for the Bears and he became the best who ever lived in short order. He showed early that he has the ability to return kicks, punts, and even field goals better than anyone who ever lived.

On Thursday night, it was announced that Hester is a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame for 2022. It would be a great honor for him as making it to the Hall of Fame is the most prestigious individual honor in the NFL. He joins 14 others as finalists for the class of 2022.

There is a lot of debate surrounding Devin Hester’s Hall of Fame resume. He was a kick returner and not that great at anything else. He came into the NFL as a cornerback but made the switch to wide receiver but he wasn’t elite at either of those things.

He was, however, the best at one position on special teams. If you are the best at a position in the NFL, you deserve to go to the Hall of Fame. Hester was that. There was nobody else out there that ever returned kicks as he did for a reason. Even on plays that he didn’t score, he usually gave the Bears great field position.

In his career, he also played for the Atlanta Falcons and Baltimore Ravens following his eight years with the Bears. He also was a member of the Seattle Seahawks for a cup of coffee but he never played in a game for them. The Bears would be the team that he represents in the Hall of Fame but he wasn’t half bad with those teams either.

Devin Hester deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a kick returner.

He played in 156 NFL games where he put together the most unique resume of all time. He returned 14 punts, 5 kicks, and 1 field goal for a touchdown. He also accumulated a lot of yards on those returns which really helped the Bears’ offense. There were a couple of times where a great defense and awesome play from Devin Hester carried them to wins.

His most remembered moment came in Super Bowl XLI against the Indianapolis Colts. He returned the Opening Kickoff after two weeks of debate whether or not the Colts would kick to him. They did and he made them pay. Unfortunately, Peyton Manning and company ruined the party and came back to win but it was a phenomenal moment in team history.

With a resume like this, it is hard to argue anything other than Hester as a Hall of Fame candidate. As mentioned before, he is the greatest ever at a single position. With that, he should be headed to Canton right away.