In this day and age we are not able to see the best ever player at their respective position much, but one player in the NFL is changing that. Devin Hester is unarguably the best kick/punt returner of all-time.
After notching another improbable kick-return for a touchdown to his belt Sunday, Hester has totaled 17 combined kick and punt returns for a touchdown in his career. We have seen some special returners in the last couple of seasons, such as Dante Hall, Joshua Cribbs, Deion Sanders, and Desmond Howard, but none of those guys compare to Hester. Cribbs, who is arguably the second best returner ever, has only 9 combined returns for touchdown in one more season than Hester.
Although Hester has defied the standard role of a kick returner of trying and get to the 30-yard line, people still argue that he is not a sure-fire hall of famer. Hester may not bring much else to the table and there are no other returners in Canton purely for their return abilities, but this must be an exception.
Hester has won countless games for the Bears, who have had pathetic offenses over the years with quarterbacks like Rex Grossman and Jay Cutler. People constantly ask how the Bears, under Grossman, made it to the Super Bowl. Offensively, the answer is simple. His first name is Devin and his last name is Hester. He scored five touchdowns that year from returns only. He also showcased his hall of fame talent on the biggest stage, as he ran the opening kickoff of the 2006 Super Bowl back to the house.
If I ask you why Laurence Taylor, Joe Montana, or Walter Payton are in the hall of fame, your argument would be because they are one of the best at their position. Well guess what? Hester is THE best at his position. There really is no logical explanation for why Hester does not belong in the Hall of Fame at this point, and the scary fact is that he is only 6 seasons into his career. There are still a lot of “did you see that” moments from Hester left in our lives. On that note, I have a treat for all you Hester naysayers. The video speaks for itself.