Antonio Gates had an illustrious 16-year NFL career. At 6’4″, 255 pounds, Gates was one of the most dominant pass catchers at the position. Given how long he played at such a high level, will Gates be part of the 2024 Hall of Fame class?
Should Antonio Gates Be Inducted Into the Hall of Fame?
It’s important to look at Gates’ case objectively. But in the interest of full disclosure, he is this writer’s favorite tight end of all time.
Gates’ path to a Hall of Fame resume is the most unconventional. If you want to know when he was selected in the 2003 NFL Draft, the answer was that he wasn’t. That’s right. One of the greatest tight ends to ever play wasn’t even drafted.
The San Diego Chargers signed Gates as an undrafted free agent. In college … well … he didn’t do anything. Gates literally did not play football in college. He played power forward in basketball.
Over the years, we’ve seen plenty of college basketball players become productive NFL tight ends. However, usually, those players at least played college football. Gates didn’t play football at all.
For Gates to go from being a basketball player to a professional football player is an amazing accomplishment in and of itself. If Gates spent a few years in the league as a role player, that would’ve been impressive. Yet, here we are discussing Gates’ case for the Hall of Fame.
Gates was able to get on the field as a rookie UDFA, catching 24 passes for 389 yards and two touchdowns. Unsurprisingly, he was used a bit sparingly as he was learning how to play the position.
It didn’t take Gates long to figure things out, though. In 2004, Gates established himself as one of the best tight ends in the league. He caught 81 passes for 964 yards and 13 touchdowns. As a sophomore, Gates made the Pro Bowl and was selected as a First-Team All-Pro member.
From 2004-2011, Gates made the Pro Bowl every year. He made the First-Team All-Pro three times (2004-2006) and Second-Team All-Pro twice (2009-2010).
Over that span, Gates caught at least seven touchdowns in every season. He was remarkably durable, missing just two games in each of his first seven seasons.
While Gates never led the NFL in any statistical category, he was consistently at the top and did it for a long time. He posted two 1,100-yard seasons and four double-digit touchdown seasons.
What really adds to Gates’ case is what he was able to do after he was clearly past his prime. Gates stopped making Pro Bowls after the 2011 season. One of his worst seasons came in 2012 at the age of 32. Given his age and length of career, no one would’ve faulted him for breaking down. Instead, Gates hung around for another seven years.
Gates had 800-yard receiving seasons at the ages of 33 and 34. In 2014, at 34, Gates caught 12 touchdowns. He wasn’t just out there going through the motions in his older years; he was still a very effective weapon in the passing game.
It wasn’t until 2017 at the age of 37 that Gates really started to decline. Over his final two years in the league, Gates retreated into more of a role player. He was no longer capable of playing every down.
Gates’ career was supposed to end after the 2017 season. The Chargers did not intend to re-sign him. However, when new tight end Hunter Henry tore his ACL before the season, the team brought Gates back for one more run.
Gates’ career came to a close on Jan. 13, 2019, in a playoff loss to the New England Patriots. He ended his career reminding everyone that the old man still had it, catching five of eight targets for 41 yards and a touchdown.
While Gates did hold out hope of playing in the 2019 season, he was unable to find a team. He announced his retirement in January 2020.
Gates finished his career with 116 touchdowns, the most ever by a tight end. He caught 89 of them from Philip Rivers, the most ever for a QB-TE duo. Gates currently holds the Chargers’ all-time records in receptions (955) and receiving yards (11,841).
MORE: NFL All-Time Receiving Records: Season and Career Leaders Among WRs, TEs, and RBs
This is the first year Gates is eligible for the Hall of Fame, and he is already a finalist. The competition is tough (it always is), but Gates is very much deserving of his place in history.
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