[Rain Man]

I'll defend Sanders a bit. He played 10 years and made 7 pro bowls, in an era that had a lot of good tight ends in the NFC such as Jerry Smith, Ted Kwalik, Jackie Smith, and I think Mike Ditka was still playing. He had a reputation for making acrobatic catches. Truthfully, if we want to view Otis Taylor as a candidate, then Charlie Sanders has to be recognized, too.

That said, I do find his selection a bit surprising. An uncontested HoF player was both dominating and had longevity. Historically, the selection committee (which is stupid - see Thomas, Derrick) has tended to value longevity and appearance on a championship roster more than any other factors. Sanders was a standout, but he didn't have longevity, he never played on a championship, and I would've called him "very good" as opposed to "dominant".