Is Will Shields A First-Ballot Pro Football Hall Of Famer?

As you know by now, former Kansas City Chiefs G Will Shields will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame after his impressive career at Nebraska. We're NFL fans so we're concerned with what's coming up: Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Shields will be on the ballot for the first time in 2012 and there are some varying opinions -- not on whether he'll get in -- but if he'll be first-ballot.

Last August, PFT's Michael David Smith looked at the potential candidates for the 2012 class and wrote this of Shields:

Shields, the longtime guard for the Kansas City Chiefs, never missed a game in 14 seasons and was selected to the Pro Bowl 12 times. If he doesn't get in on the first ballot, the selection committee might as well just say guards can't get in on their first try.

Shields' resume is awfully impressive but so are a lot of other guys that have yet to get in. Bob Gretz of BobGretz.com, a Hall of Fame voter, says Shields may have to wait a year to get in.

The lack of a championship and post-season success will have the same overall effect on Shields that it had on Derrick Thomas and last year with Willie Roaf. It's not a mark against them, but rather a chip they don't have in their pile. That's why it's going to probably take more than one vote to get him in.

Check out Gretz's full post on Shields for a unique perspective on the HOF candidates. I think he makes some good points especially as you consider that it took DT several years to get in. There are very, very few locks in the Hall of Fame and I think I agree with Gretz thinking isn't one of them.