Detroit Lions kicker Jason Hanson retired last week and, I’m embarrassed to say, I initially didn’t even think of doing a post on his chances of making the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But Colts blogger and occasional Zoneblitz contributor Andrew Aziz posted the question to our Twitter account and it made me curious. It’s an interesting question. My initial thought was that Hanson was a very good kicker in the NFL for two decades but not one who will be rewarded with a spot in the Hall of Fame. Here’s why.

First, he faces the same dilemma guys like Ray Guy, Mark Moseley and other good to great kickers and punters face – just not many special teams guys get any love from voters. A look at finalists from recent years shows that the last time a punter or kicker made it that far was Guy in 2008. Guy has been a finalist seven times and is the only kicker/punter to get that far in the 2000s, but he has never gotten over the threshold, leaving Jan Stenerud remains the only pure kicker enshrined in Canton.

Second, Hanson faces a tremendous amount of competition from previously retired kickers. He ranks third all-time in points scored with 2,150, which gives him a shot. But the two guys in front of him – Morten Andersen (2,544) and Gary Anderson (2,434) have not come close to enshrinement.

Morten last played in 2007. He did reach the round of 27 semi-finalists in his first year of eligibility in 2013, but advanced no further. Gary last played in 2004 and, to the best of my knowledge, he has not even gotten as far as Morten. Hanson scored nearly 300 fewer points than Gary, so until those two are in, I think the retired Lions kicker is going to face an uphill fight.

Finally, there are the Pro Bowl and All Pro metrics we use to compare players at other positions. These aren’t perfect measurements in any way, but they help in determining whether a player was ever considered the best at his position during his career.

Here again Hanson trails Andersen and Anderson. Morten had seven Pro Bowl appearances and was the Associated Press first team All Pro kicker three times. His Pro Football Reference page is worth a look, too, as he received numerous honors from other associations that put together post-season awards throughout his career.

Gary Anderson’s profile isn’t quite as strong as Morten’s, but he did make four Pro Bowls (Including one in 1998, when he had arguably the greatest regular season for a kicker in the game’s history) and one first team All Pro award.

Hanson, I was surprised to see, went to just two Pro Bowls, according to Pro Football Reference. He was never the AP first team kicker and he finished second just once.

These numbers trail even guys who are lower on the all-time scoring list, including John Carney (two Pro Bowls, one first team AP award), Matt Stover (1/1), Jason Elam (3/0) and Norm Johnson (2/1).

Plus, Hanson currently profiles lower than active kickers David Akers, who has six Pro Bowl appearances and two first-team All Pro awards, and Adam Vinatieri, who is still active and who not only has two Pro Bowls and two first team AP awards, but also has the distinction of having nailed clutch kicks in two Super Bowls and the “Snow Bowl” playoff game between New England and Oakland.

I do expect that at some point in the coming years, kickers will become more prevalent in the Hall of Fame. They are hitting kicks from greater distances at amazing accuracy levels compared to past special team specialists. And I do think Hanson has a stronger case than some of the guys who profile better than he does. For instance, both were good players, but I would have taken Hanson over Norm Johnson for the vast majority of the last two decades.

That said, I doubt any of the guys who have been discussed in this post bring with them strong enough cases to become first-ballot inductees. Shoot, if Morten Andersen didn’t, I can virtually guarantee none of the rest of them will.

That will eventually leave a list of legitimate kicker candidates for the Hall that is at least four or five guys long who probably have stronger cases for induction than does Hanson, who will first become eligible in 2018. Ultimately I think that leaves him with too steep a mountain to climb.