Scoring machine Antonio Gates never made it to Cleveland.
Now he isn't coming to Canton - not this year, at least.
In the most surprising news to come out of the "reveal" of the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2024, Gates isn't among the seven who got in. The class was announced during NFL Honors on Thursday night.
A sample of why this carries shock value:
A 2023 Athlon sports ranking of history's greatest tight ends had Tony Gonzalez at No. 1, Gates at No. 2, Rob Gronkowski at No. 3 and Travis Kelce at No. 4.
An NFL.com article predicting the Class of 2024 identified two "mortal locks," Gates and Julius Peppers.
Peppers made it, along with Dwight Freeney. Devin Hester, Randy Gradishar, Andre Johnson, Randy McMichael and Patrick Willis.
Gates sits this one out despite having scored 116 touchdowns, a regular-season record for tight ends. The next group is Gonzalez with 111, Gronkowski with 93, Jimmy Graham with 89, Kelce with 77 and Jason Witten with 74.
Ozzie Newsome, elected to the Hall of Fame in 1999, scored 47 touchdowns for the Browns. Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow had 45.
Statistics change from era to era, but the bruising Gates was a man for any season, big, fast, strong, smart, athletic, durable and reliable.
He became known to Ohio sports fans as a Kent State basketball player, a short power forward at 6-foot-4, but powerfully built. He and Trevor Huffman led the Golden Flashes to a 30-6 record and elite eight appearance in the 2001-02 season.
Gates played another season at Kent State, averaging 20.6 points, and then, being judged too short for the NBA, turned to football, in which he had some experience and checked all the size/athleticism boxes.
The Browns scouted him but deemed him unworthy of a pick in a 2003 draft, in which they selected Jeff Faine, Chaun Thompson, Chris Crocker, Lee Suggs, Ryan Pontbriand, Michael Lehan and Antonio Garay.
They pursued Gates as an undrafted rookie, but he opted to go to the San Diego Chargers.
A year later, the Browns gave up a second-round pick in order to move up from No. 7 overall to No. 6 and take tight end Kellen Winslow II.
Gates surpassed Winslow 236-105 in games played, 11,841-5,236 in receiving yards, 12.4-11.2 in yards per catch, and 116-25 in touchdown catches.
One random perspective comes from a comparison with Hall of Fame tight end Shannon Sharpe. Gates bettered him 11,841-10,060 in yards and 116-62 in touchdowns.
Gates spent his entire career with the Chargers, helping them to records of 14-2 in 2006, 11-5 in 2007 and 13-3 in 2009.
Chances are good he will go in the Hall of Fame eventually. One reason he didn't make it this year is postseason resume. He caught 51 passes for 540 yards, with two touchdowns, in 12 playoff games, in which the Chargers were 5-7.
By way of comparison, Gronkowski caught 98 passes for 1,389 yards and 15 TDs on teams that went 17-5 in the postseason. Kelce heads into Super Bowl 58 with 156 catches for 1,810 yards and 19 TDs on Chiefs teams that have gone 15-6.
Gronkowski will be Hall of Fame-eligible in 2026, following the five-year waiting period after his final NFL season. Kelce, 34, is still going strong in his 11th NFL season.
Gates, who was in his first year of Hall of Fame eligibility, was one of 12 finalists who did not make the Class of 2024.
Those missing the cut among modern-era players were:
Wide receivers Reggie Wayne and Torry Holt; running back Fred Taylor; defensive backs Rodney Harrison, Darren Woodson and Eric Allen; offensive linemen Willie Anderson and Jahri Evans, and defensive end Jared Allen.
Senior finalist Art Powell and contributor/coach finalist Buddy Parker likewise did not get in.
Wide receiver debates have factored into a number of recent elections. This time it was a three-way conversation.
Andre Johnson got in the Class of 2024 with 1,062 catches for 14,185 yards and 70 touchdowns.
Reggie Wayne racked up 1,070 catches for 14,345 yards and 82 touchdowns.
Torry Holt caught 920 passes for 13,382 yards and 74 TDs.
Reach Steve at steve.doerschuk@cantonrep.com
