Jerod Mayo makes Hall of Fame case for Vince Wilfork, reacts to Robert Kraft’s snub
"He was a dominant player for a very long time."
The Patriots received some bittersweet Hall of Fame news this week.
First, it was announced Wednesday that former Patriots safety Rodney Harrison, nose tackle Vince Wilfork, and kicker Adam Vinatieri were named semifinalists to be inducted as part of the Class of 2025.
However, it was reported a day later that Patriots owner Robert Kraft was passed over for induction in 2025 as a contributor. NFL co-founder Ralph Hay will, instead, advance to the final round of voting following the vote by the contributor committee.
Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo stood up for his owner when asked about Kraft’s snub at his press conference on Friday.
“I don’t know how that process works, but I don’t think there’s anyone more deserving than Robert Kraft to be in the Hall of Fame,” Mayo said.
Kraft’s Hall of Fame quest has turned more into a storyline in recent years. An ESPN story in September detailed Kraft’s campaign to get into the Hall of Fame, which included sending voters copies of the book “The Dynasty,” among other things.
For now, Kraft will have to wait at least another year before possibly getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. So, Mayo made his case for one of his former teammates to make the Hall of Fame on Friday, saying that he thinks Wilfork should be enshrined in Canton.
“When I came into the league in 2008 and I was Rookie of the Year, it was all because of those guys up front,” Mayo said of his experience of playing with Wilfork. “It started with Vince at the nose. Honestly, for a defensive lineman, he was a dominant player. Sometimes the stats don’t do it justice, but he was a dominant player for a very long time.
“I hope he gets in. I don’t have a vote, but I hope he gets in.”
Wilfork was one of the many decorated players to play for the Patriots in the dynasty era. He was named an All-Pro and a Pro Bowler five times over his 11 seasons with the Patriots (2004-14). He’s been named to several variations of All-Patriots teams, including the 50th-anniversary All-Patriots team in 2009.
More importantly, Wilfork played a role in two of the Patriots’ six Super Bowl titles. That helped him get voted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2022.
Even though Wilfork only recorded 16 career sacks, many have said similar things as Mayo in that stats don’t tell the whole picture.
“Vince is almost impossible to block in the running game. And in the passing game, there’s some guys that would match up against him, but his overall strength and athleticism for his size was pretty impressive,” former Patriots coach Bill Belichick said about Wilfork in 2021. “And because we had players like [Richard] Seymour, there was less of a need to use Vince on third down — although, we used him on third down, and he had some huge plays on third down, like in the AFC Championship Game against Baltimore [in 2021].
“I mean, he really won that game with his fourth-quarter pass-rush on [Joe] Flacco up the middle of the pocket.”
Belichick called Wilfork, along with Seymour, one of the two best defensive linemen he’s ever coached. Seymour got the call to the Hall in 2022, becoming the third member of the dynasty era Patriots (Randy Moss, Ty Law) to be inducted. Wilfork, Harrison, and Vinatieri will learn if they’ll be finalists for the Class of 2025 in December.
The inductees for the Class of 2025 are announced in February.
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