HOUSTON — In February 2016, Terrell Davis sat in the corner of a boardroom inside a San Francisco convention center, donning a white, button-down shirt and suit jacket, to talk about what if.
What if his second time as a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist would be the last? What if, about 48 hours later, he would ditch the charcoal jacket for a gold one? Or what he would again not receive the ceremonial knock on the hotel door that only Hall of Famers get?
In February 2017, Davis sat in the corner of a boardroom inside a Houston convention center, donning a white, button-down shirt and suit jacket, to talk about what if. What if his third time as a Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist would be the last? What if, about 48 hours later, he would ditch the charcoal jacket for a gold one?
Or what he would again not receive the ceremonial knock on the hotel door?
What. If.
“You kind of mentally start to think about what if it happens,” Davis admitted Thursday. “The knock on the door — what would you do? What would the emotions be like? My wife and my kids are here this week, and I think the NFL Network is going to film it. If it happens, then, yeah, we're ready. If it doesn't, the cameras go off, they leave the room and we just go back to thinking about 2018.”
Davis would like to avoid another round of this, though.
On Saturday, when the Hall of Fame's selection committee convenes for its all-day assessment and vote on 15 modern-era finalists, Davis' career will again be debated. Up to five candidates can be voted into the Class of 2017 and, after eight years of being a semifinalist and now three as a finalist, Davis hopes to finally, finally escape the what ifs and just be — a Hall of Famer.
“Until they tell me no,” he said, “I'm excited.”
A Broncos Ring of Famer and the team's all-time leading rusher (7,607 yards, 60 touchdowns), Davis's career is often viewed in numbers and extremes.
In Denver, where he started and ended his career, he's revered for the rare accolades and gaudy figures — the 2,008 yards rushing in 1998, the pair of Super Bowl titles and Super Bowl XXXII MVP award, the three Pro Bowl selections and the three all-pro honors, and an NFL MVP award, among many others.
In the eyes of Hall of Fame voters, however, one small number has outweighed the others and has kept Davis from reaching Canton: seven. Davis' career includes only seven seasons.
“It's kind of subjective, because there's no criteria,” Davis said. “It's not like there's a list that says you have to do all these things, and nowhere that I've seen does it say you have to play for 10-plus years to be qualified as a Hall of Famer. I just say that if you want to try to check the box on things you would say, ‘OK, this qualifies as a Hall of Famer' — the numbers, they speak, but I think it's not only the postseason numbers, it's the regular-season numbers, it's asking somebody, ‘How does somebody perform when the stakes are high?' Really, to me, that's kind of the barometer.”
Davis, a sixth-round pick (No. 196 overall) in 1995, retired before the start of the 2002 season at only 29 years old. His farewell and final moments in his No. 30 Broncos jersey were for a preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers at what was then Invesco Field at Mile High. He was placed on injured reserve the following day, closing the curtain on a thrilling but short career.
“I know it was shorter but TD's career, that block of time, it was awesome,” said former running back and first-round pick Marshall Faulk. “I was a guy who was drafted higher than him and I'm looking at him and saying to myself: ‘Why can't I do this? Why am I not doing this? What am I doing wrong?' It helped me with my career."
Within that block of time were seven consecutive playoff games with 100 or more yards rushing, including 157 and three touchdowns in the Broncos' first Super Bowl victory while battling a migraine against Green Bay, and then 102 in their second, against Atlanta in Super Bowl XXXIII.
When the games counted the most, Davis played his best.
“When you look at great players, it's moments of, ‘OK, I need you to rise up when we need you.' If you say that I didn't do those things, then, OK, I didn't,” Davis said. “But I think my resume will certainly tell you that when the stakes were high, that I showed up.”
Others have argued the same.
Ask Shannon Sharpe, the Broncos' Hall of Fame tight end who has long argued that Davis' production should outweigh his tenure. Ask Gary Kubiak, the former Broncos head coach who would show rookies and undrafted players tape of when Davis earned his roster spot, in 1995.
Ask John Elway, who told ESPN last year: “T.D. is a Hall of Fame player. My career would not have ended the way it did without T.D. The Denver Broncos would not have done what we did without T.D. He changed things.”
But that number, seven, that hindered Davis' path to Canton has led to another “what if”: What if Davis had stayed healthy? The notion is pondered by many, typically around this time of year. But not by Davis.
“Not really,” he said. “Because then you bring in other factors and I look at my life and my career, and I like that road. I like that story. A matter of fact, a lot of how I made it to the NFL, it kind of helped build me. Let's say I played 10 years or 10-plus years, then maybe you're taking away two Super Bowls. Maybe you're taking away the 2,000-yard season.
“I can't control the length of my career. I can go to sleep at night and I can sleep great knowing that, even though it was a short career, I gave it my all. I don't ever look back and feel like, ‘If I had done more during that time, this would be a possibility,' because there's nothing else I could have done.”
The rise from late-round pick, to starter, to record-setter, to Ring of Famer has put Davis in rare company. But the final piece, the final title and the answer to the biggest “what if” still looms.
“If somebody tells you they're at this point and they're not excited about what could happen … come on, now,” Davis said as he leaned back in his chair with a wide smile. “A lot of people don't want to get built too high because there's a huge fall after that. I'm prepared for that. I get it. I'm going there knowing that this may not be the year, or next year or the year after that. I know that. But we'll be here next year asking the same questions, and I'm going to have the same answers for you.”
A snapshot of Davis' seven-year career (1995-2001) with the Broncos. Their all-time leading rusher, a three-time Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist, will learn Saturday whether he is a part of the induction Class of 2017.
7,607: Yards rushing, most in Broncos history.
60: Touchdowns rushing, most in Broncos history.
8: Consecutive games with a rushing touchdown (1998), the longest streak in Broncos history.
7: Consecutive playoff games with at least 100 yards rushing, an NFL record. Davis played in only eight playoff games.
4.6 yards: Career average per carry.
3: Pro Bowl and all-pro selections
2: Super Bowl titles (XXXII, XXXIII)
1: Super Bowl MVP award (XXXII)
To be inducted in 2017, a finalist needs to receive at least 80 percent support from the 46-person selection committee, which will meet Saturday. The official Hall of Fame announcement will be made during a television special that airs at 7 p.m. Saturday on KDVR-31. Under bylaws of the Hall of Fame, a minimum of four people have to be inducted each year, with a maximum of eight.
THE FINALISTS:
Morten Andersen, K, Saints, Falcons, Chiefs, Vikings and Giants
Tony Boselli, OT, Jaguars
Isaac Bruce, WR, Rams and 49ers
Don Coryell, coach, St. Louis Cardinals and Chargers
Terrell Davis, RB, Broncos
Brian Dawkins, S, Eagles and Broncos
Kenny Easley, S, Seahawks*
Alan Faneca, G, Steelers, Jets and Cardinals
Joe Jacoby, T, Redskins
Jerry Jones, owner, Cowboys**
Ty Law, CB, Patriots, Jets, Chiefs and Broncos
John Lynch, S, Buccaneers and Broncos
Kevin Mawae, C/G, Seahawks, Jets, and Titans
Terrell Owens, WR, 49ers, Eagles, Cowboys, Bills and Bengals
Paul Tagliabue, former NFL commissioner **
Jason Taylor, DE, Dolphins, Jets, and Redskins
LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, Chargers and Jets
Kurt Warner, QB, Rams, Cardinals, and Giants
* Seniors Committee finalist
** Contributor finalist
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