An outstanding defensive player and tackler, Browner was selected to six Pro Bowls (1985–1990) while playing with the Minnesota Vikings. Subscribe to our Free Newsletter, This Month in Sports ReferenceFind out when we add a feature or make a change. May 15, 1960 As a senior, Browner had 120 unassisted tackles and three interceptions earning Parade All-American Honors as well as the Georgia class 3-A lineman of the year. The absence of a championship ring should not close any doors for a great football player. Ed "Too Tall'' Jones deserves a long Hall of Fame look. Pro-Football-Reference utilizes Official NFL data for current NFL seasons. Youngest and late brother Gerald played at the University of Georgia. Browner has been eligible for the Hall of Fame for 21 years now but has never a semifinalist, much less a finalist. That must change. Browner recovered 16 fumbles plus two more in Pro Bowls. He was an All State defensive lineman as a junior, played basketball with future NBA forward Gerald Wilkins, and ran track and field, qualifying twice for the Ohio State meet. Browner added a fifth pro TD with a 48-yard interception of a Dan Fouts pass in the 1986 Pro Bowl. Now let’s address the position Browner played. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Tedy Bruschi didn't compile HOF numbers but he had a HOF impact so is he worthy of a bust in Canton? Browner's next eldest brother Willard was drafted by the Chicago White Sox as a pitcher and also served as the starting tailback for Notre Dame with brother Ross's teams. Kenny Easley, a first-team all-decade safety and a former NFL Defensive Player of the Year, waited 25 years before finally getting his bust as a senior. Do you have a blog? Joey Browner was enshrined into the African-American hall of fame in 2004 for his work in radio sports broadcasting with his longtime friend Rich Perez in Las Vegas and Hawaii.[7]. Are you a Stathead, too? Browner collected a career-best 20 tackles in a single game against the Bengals in 1985 and showed his versatility with 111 career special teams tackles. USC Much was expected of Joey Browner when the Minnesota Vikings selected him with the 19th overall choice of the celebrated 1983 NFL draft, ahead of such Hall of Famers as Dan Marino and Darrell Green. Browner has been nominated for Pro Football Hall of Fame selection nine times. Browner played nine seasons with the Vikings and went to six Pro Bowls. Browner played 10 NFL seasons and never won a championship. Browner notched 243 total tackles, nine interceptions, 40 passes defended, seven fumble recoveries and three touchdown returns in his collegiate career. But whereas Campbell was a first-ballot Hall of Famer, Alexander can't even get into the room as a finalist for HOF discussion. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. So how does a six-time Pro Bowler and a three-time first-team all-pro never come up for discussion? There are 275 players enshrined in the Hall of Fame. Here's why Verne Lewellen may be the best. And that’s not fair to a player the caliber of Browner, who was much more than a tackler at his strong safety position. He played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) as strong safety for the Minnesota Vikings from 1983 to 1991 and for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1992. Youngest and late brother Gerald played at the University of … Minnesota Vikings first-round draft picks, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Professional Football Researchers Association, "Rome News-Tribune - Google News Archive Search", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joey_Browner&oldid=984615490, Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state), African-American players of American football, Short description is different from Wikidata, BLP articles lacking sources from September 2016, NFL player missing current team parameter, Infobox NFL biography articles missing alt text and caption, Infobox NFL biography articles with old NFL.com URL, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 21 October 2020, at 02:51. Only one position has fewer – tight ends with eight. Browner also played with Anthony Muñoz, Marcus Allen, Charles White, and Paul McDonald. He had a seven-interception season in 1990, a six-interception season in 1987 and three other five-interception seasons. [2], Browner holds the NFL Pro Bowl record with three fumble recoveries returned for touchdowns. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. But in the traditional NFL lineup there are twice as many safeties on the field (two) as tight ends (one). Do the tackles, interceptions, fumbles, touchdowns and Pro Bowls add up to a Hall of Fame career for Joey Browner? The Browner family has produced six NFL players: brothers Ross Browner (Cincinnati Bengals & Green Bay Packers), Jim Browner (Cincinnati Bengals), and Keith Browner all played in the NFL, as do Ross's son Max Starks (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Keith's son, Keith Browner, Jr. (Houston Texans). The Packers have four senior finalists up for the Hall's Centennial Class. [2], The Minnesota Vikings placed Browner in the team's Ring of Honor in October 2013 on a Sunday night football game vs the Packers. Randall Cunningham was one of the first dual-threat quarterbacks, but he's been forgotten by voters. He returned an Earnest Jackson fumble 63 yards for a touchdown and also interceptions of Steve DeBerg, Eric Hipple and Gary Kubiak for his other scores. Earl Morrall was the NFL's ultimate relief pitcher, stepping in for injured Hall of Fame quarterbacks to lead two different franchise to the Super Bowl. After high school it was generally believed that Browner would follow his three brothers to Notre Dame, but he instead decided on the University of Southern California. Browner collected a career-high 188 tackles in 1985, 131 more in 1987 to help the Vikings reach the NFC title game and back-to-back 120-tackle seasons when Minnesota led the NFL in defense in both 1988 and 1989. Duke Slater was pro football's first great Africa-American lineman. So if you didn’t win a championship, you are a long shot for Canton. [4], In 2019, the Professional Football Researchers Association named Browner to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2019 [5], The Browner family has produced six NFL players: brothers Ross Browner (Cincinnati Bengals & Green Bay Packers), Jim Browner (Cincinnati Bengals), and Keith Browner all played in the NFL, as do Ross's son Max Starks (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Keith's son, Keith Browner, Jr. (Houston Texans). * Selected to Pro Bowl, + First-Team All-Pro. Other members of the Trojan defensive backfield included Dennis Smith, Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott, and future Los Angeles Rams head coach Jeff Fisher. Warren G. Harding (OH), Most data provided by 24-7 Baseball, creators of the ESPN Pro Football Encyclopedia. Browner's next eldest brother Willard was drafted by the Chicago White Sox as a pitcher and also served as the starting tailback for Notre Dame with brother Ross's teams. Browner played college football at the University of Southern California (USC). He finished his career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1992. There are two reasons – the position Browner played and the success of his team. Southwest (GA). And Browner delivered on those expectations. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? So why isn't he in Canton? Browner amassed over 1,100 total tackles, caused 18 fumbles and recovered 16 of them; he also led the Vikings in nine defensive categories over his NFL career. Paul Krause, the NFL’s all-time interception leader with 81, waited 14 years for his bust. Which is why Troy Polamalu could make it on his first try in 2020.