NEW ORLEANS – Eric Allen is in. Finally.
The cornerback who played the first seven years of a 14-year NFL career with the Eagles learned he will be part of a small class of inductees into the Pro Football Hall of Fame during the NFL Honors program on Thursday night. The enshrinement date is Aug. 2 in Canton, OH.
This was the final year Allen was to appear on the ballot, though he could have eventually been voted in by the Hall’s Senior Committee. This was his 19th year of eligibility.
Joining Allen are pass rusher Jared Allen, tight end Antonio Gates, and receiver Sterling Sharpe.
Allen was a six-time Pro Bowl cornerback, collecting 54 interceptions, which are tied for 21st all-time. He returned eight of those for touchdowns. In 1993, he led the league with four pick-sixes.
The Eagles selected him in the second round of the 1988 draft, the 30th pick overall, which, with 32 teams in the league now, would have made him a first-rounder.
His impact was immediate, with five interceptions to earn a spot on the Pro Football Writers Association’s all-rookie team.
Allen followed up with eight interceptions in his second season to earn All-Pro honors and a Pro Bowl spot. He intercepted at least three passes in his first seven seasons and 10 times in his 14-year career.
He collected 58 interceptions in his career, which are tied for the eighth-most by a cornerback in league history, and he returned eight of them for touchdowns. Thirty-four of those picks came with the Eagles, which ties him for the most in team history with Bill Bradley and Brian Dawkins.
There are 45 defensive backs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but just four who had 58 career interceptions and at least eight interception returns for touchdowns in their careers. And only two of those four – Aeneas Williams and Deion Sanders – reached those milestones as full-time cornerbacks.
Allen was named to the Eagles’ 75th Anniversary Team in 2007 and in 2011 was inducted in the team’s Hall of Fame.
Sharpe’s selection is interesting in that he was chosen as a seniors finalist in his 26th year of eligibility, joins his brother Shannon to form the first Hall of Fame brother duo in history.
The Kelce brothers - Jason and Travis – could join them when they become eligible.
Former Giants quarterback Eli Manning did not make the cut in his first season of eligibility.
Other first-ballot finalists Terrell Suggs, Luke Kuechly, Adam Vinatieri, and Marshal Yanda also did not make it. Coaching finalist Mike Holmgren and other distinguished long-time finalists, including Torry Holt and Reggie Wayne, will also have to wait another year to try to get the right amount of votes for induction.
