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Former Colts wide receiver Marvin Harrison and head coach Tony Dungy are both heading to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as they both were elected today to the Class of 2016. It's a great day for the Colts franchise, but one of the team's other finalists didn't make the cut. Former running back Edgerrin James was among the 15 modern-era finalists discussed today, but he didn't make the cut.
According to ESPN's Jeff Legwold, James didn't even make the cutdown to the top 10 players, as those to make the cut to 10 but not get in were Don Coryell, Terrell Davis, Joe Jacoby, John Lynch, and Kurt Warner.
The five guys who made cut to 10, but didn't make it this yr also would have made quality HOF class-- Coryell, Davis, Jacoby, Lynch, Warner.
— Jeff Legwold (@Jeff_Legwold) February 7, 2016
The voting process eliminates five of the candidates to cut the list down to 10 before then voting on who gets in - those receiving at least 80% of the votes are elected to the Hall of Fame. According to ESPN's Tony Grossi, the discussion on James lasted 9:48, which made it one of the shorter ones.
It's not really a surprise that Edgerrin James didn't make the cutdown to 10, as he never really seemed to have a great chance at making it this year anyway. He seems to have a very good chance at making the Hall of Fame at some point, as his case already looks good when comparing him to other backs and will likely continue to look better over time. Of the ten players ahead of James on the career rushing yards list, all but one are in the Hall of Fame - and the other, LaDainian Tomlinson (who is fifth) is not yet eligible. Edge will probably get in at some point, though next year he has a very slim chance due to Tomlinson becoming eligible. After that, however, it's likely that James will get elected.
The fact that he didn't make it to the top ten this year, however, should suggest that his case wasn't entirely convincing to voters this year and that he wasn't too close (of course, every one of the 15 finalists was close by comparison to everyone else).