With the 12th overall pick in the 1978 NFL Draft the Cleveland Browns selected Clay Matthews Junior from the University of Southern California. The former USC Trojan became a Cleveland Brown. Matthews’s father Clay Matthews Senior played in the NFL in the 1950’s. Clay Junior’s younger brother Bruce was drafted by the Houston Oilers in the first round of the 1983 NFL Draft. And his son Clay Matthews III won a Super Bowl with the Green Bay Packers. The bloodline and lineage of the Matthews family could be reason enough to draft him. But in 1978 the Cleveland Browns drafted more than just a linebacker. They drafted a legend.

Clay Matthews Jr played for the Cleveland Browns from 1978 to 1993. From 1993 to 1996 he finished his illustrious NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons. He played 19 consecutive NFL seasons.  He played in 278 NFL games and started 248 of those games.  In Matthews’ Jr career he recorded 1561 tackles, 69.5 sacks, 16 interceptions, and he earned 4 pro bowl appearances. His longevity and production alone should have him enshrined in Canton Ohio. But that has yet to happen.

Last summer of 2023 Clay Matthews Jr made it as a Hall of Fame semifinalist. But he was not selected for the 2024 enshrinement class. He made it as a finalist in 2021 and to not be selected.  He was inducted into the Cleveland Browns Ring of Honor in 2019. The induction ceremony was done with his son Clay Matthews III in attendance playing for the Los Angeles Rams. It may seem biased of me to make a case for a former Cleveland Browns great to be in the Hall of Fame. However, I challenge all the experts and pundits to compare his career with any other linebacker currently enshrined in Canton. I don’t have to name any of them. Clay Matthews Junior’s career speaks for itself and his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame is only a matter of time. And it will be well deserved.