Dan Marino may have been one of the greatest Quarterbacks in National Football League History, but it sure helped that he had Mark Clayton lined up to throw Touchdowns to.

Along with Mark Duper, Mark Clayton was one-half of the best wideout tandems of the ’80s.  Clayton set the single-season record (since broken) for touchdown receptions with 18 in 1984, and throughout the ’80s, Dolphins fans knew that if a TD bomb was headed toward the end zone, there was a good chance Mark Clayton was the target.  Clayton was a five-time Pro Bowl selection, but despite his greatness (and Mark Duper, for that matter), much of the attention went to Dan Marino, whose accuracy did make life a lot easier for both Clayton and Duper.

Regardless, Clayton was a clutch performer and perhaps deserved a little more personal accolades during his time in the NFL.

People may remember when John Elway refused to report to the Baltimore Colts after they selected him first overall in 1983.  Baltimore traded him to Denver, but it wasn’t all bad for the Colts, as they received a future seven-time Pro Bowler in return.

Baltimore would soon relocate to Indianapolis, and though the Colts weren’t very good at the time, Chris Hinton gave them a great piece to build an offensive line around.  Later in his career as an Atlanta Falcon, he continued his Pro Bowl success and earned his first and only First Team All-Pro Selection in 1993.

Chris Hinton is the first man named to the Colts Ring of Honor to have played his career (predominantly) in Indianapolis.  It was a well-deserved accolade.

Although we imagine that Dave Krieg dreamed of throwing footballs in the NFL, it had to seem a million miles away when he was the backup Quarterback at the now-defunct Milton College.  Amazingly, he not only made the professional ranks, but he was also there for seventeen years.

For the bulk of his career, Dave Krieg was the starting Quarterback with the Seattle Seahawks.  He posted strong numbers at the position each year and was a big part of Seattle's success.  Three times, he was named to the Pro Bowl, and he is in the top fifteen all time in many throwing categories.  Many of his all-time rankings come from his longevity; however, at no point in Krieg’s career was he a dominant QB.  For a ten-year span, Dave Krieg was basically the tenth-best in the league.  Sure, he was thought of as good, but without that “great” label, it is hard to put him in the Hall despite his impressive career numbers.

It might be hard to be named Keith Jackson when a very famous sports commentator with the same name had already become the voice of the sport.  The Tight End with the same name still managed to carve out his own identity.

Jackson took the football landscape by storm in his rookie year, catching 81 passes.  He never reached that level again, but he remained among the league’s top tight ends and earned five Pro Bowl selections.  He was at his best when the pressure was on, and his star shone brightly in the playoffs.  As a clutch receiver, Jackson was often a favorite target when needed most.  He cemented his fine career in his final season with a Super Bowl Ring as a member of the Green Bay Packers.

Keith Jackson had a very solid career, but he is one of many talented Tight Ends on the outside looking in.