Otis Taylor is Kansas City Chiefs biggest Hall of Fame snub

By Casey Adkins | Jul 3, 2019

Otis Taylor #89 of the Kansas City Chiefs (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /

When it comes to Hall of Fame snubs, Otis Taylor is the biggest one out there, not just for the Kansas City Chiefs, but in general.

When NFL enthusiasts think about Hall of Fame snubs, who is the first person to come to mind? Terrell Owens waiting three years? Derrick Thomas finally getting in after four years? How about Jaguars offensive tackle Tony Boselli? I would argue that one of the biggest, if not the biggest snub is former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Otis Taylor.

Taylor was drafted out of Prairie View A&M in 1965 by both the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles and the AFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. He was signed and pulled away by the Chiefs thanks to legendary scout Lloyd Wells.

Sure, Taylor wasn’t drafted highly in either draft, he was drafted in the 15th round by the Eagles and the fourth round by the Kansas City Chiefs, but both leagues were in a fight for players so these things weren’t uncommon. The Chiefs probably didn’t realize at the time that they had the prototype for one of the greatest wide receivers of all time.

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Taylor was the original big-bodied wide receiver that you see in the NFL today although it appears that the speedier and smaller guys might be making a comeback at this juncture. He was the mold that the likes of TO, Rice, Moss, and AJ Green were cast out of.

Standing 6’3″ and 215 pounds, Taylor was a monster of a receiver at a time where there weren’t a whole lot of rules favoring the offense. Not only was Taylor a pain to cover, but he also used his size to block for Chiefs running backs as well.

In his sophomore season, Taylor led the AFL with a mammoth 22.4 yards per catch and second in receiving with 1,297 yards. He was voted First Team All-AFL and was selected to the AFL All-Star team that same year. He led the NFL in receiving yards in 1971 and the AFL in touchdowns in 1967. Taylor also is a two time AFL Champion (1966 and 1969) with one Super Bowl Ring in 1969.

"“Otis made my job easy,” former Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson said. “If you got the pass to Otis, you knew he’d catch it.”"

Taylor is probably the best player from the Chiefs Super Bowl team not in the Hall of Fame, outside of linebacker Jim Lynch or left tackle, Jim Tyrer. Taylor finished his 11-year career, entirely with the Chiefs with over 7,000 yards and 57 touchdowns.

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While his size may not seem that big of a deal now, guys like Lance Alworth and Tommy McDonald were only around 180-190 pounds tops back then. Maybe one day, Taylor’s family will get that call for him to finally get into Canton.

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