Among others, this year's NFL Hall of Fame class includes Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice.

Rice HOF Bio:

The San Francisco 49ers used their first round draft pick in 1985 on wide receiver Jerry Rice from little known Mississippi Valley State. It did not take long for that decision to pay huge dividends.

Rice gave a glimpse of what was to come when he averaged 18.9 yards per catch on 49 receptions for 927 yards and 3 TDs as a rookie. He also rushed six times and scored one touchdown on the ground.

In 1986, Rice recorded a season that began perhaps the finest stretch by any receiver in NFL history. That year, he caught 86 passes for a league-leading 1,570 yards. He also led the NFL in touchdown catches with 15. It marked the first of 11 straight 1,000-yard seasons for Rice who also recorded double-digit receiving touchdown totals in nine of the next 10 seasons.

The following year, Rice set the NFL record for touchdown receptions in a season with 22. His first of four seasons with 100 catches came in 1990 when he had an even 100 receptions to lead the NFL in that category. It marked the first of two receiving titles for Rice.

He led the NFL in receiving yards six times including a NFL record 1,848 yards in 1995. Rice also led the NFL in touchdown receptions six times.

No wide receiver in NFL history played more than Rice’s 20 seasons. By the time he retired after finishing his career with Oakland and Seattle, he was the most prolific wide receiver in NFL history with staggering career totals.

He owns virtually every significant receiving mark. Some of the more notable career records include receptions (1,549); receiving yards (22,895 yards); most 1,000-yard receiving seasons (14); total touchdowns (208); and combined net yards (23,546).

Rice has a hold on multiple NFL playoff and Super Bowl records. He played in eight conference championships and four Super Bowls. He earned three Super Bowl rings with the 49ers and was named the Most Valuable Player of San Francisco’s Super Bowl XXIII win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Rice, who was named first-team All-Pro 11 consecutive seasons and voted to 13 Pro Bowls, is also a member of the NFL’s All-Decade Teams of the 1980s and 1990s and NFL’s 75th Anniversary Team.

Smith HOF Bio:

The Dallas Cowboys were rebuilding when they selected Florida running back Emmitt Smith in the first round of the 1990 draft. After a holdout during all of training camp and preseason of his rookie season, Smith reported to the Cowboys in time for the start of the regular season. He wasted no time in proving he was going to be a huge part of the team’s future.

Smith rushed for 937 yards and scored 11 touchdowns to earn Offensive Rookie of the Year honors and the first of eight career Pro Bowl nods. He followed that season by rushing for a league-leading 1,563 yards. Smith won four rushing crowns during a five-year span as he added titles in 1992, 1993, and 1995. He also led the NFL in rushing touchdowns three times and contributed 277 pass receptions during that same five-season period.

His best year came in 1995 when he recorded career highs for rushing yards (1,773), rushing touchdowns (25), and receptions (62).

Not surprisingly, Smith’s impact on the team helped nurture the Cowboys back to the top of the NFL. The Cowboys, with their star runner leading the way, won three Super Bowls over four seasons from 1992 to 1995. Smith was named first-team All-Pro in each year during that four-year period. In 1993, he was named the NFL’s MVP and followed that by earning Most Valuable Player honors in the Cowboys’ 30-13 win over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXVIII.

After narrowly missing the 1,000-yard mark as a rookie, Smith embarked on a record run of 11 straight seasons with 1,000 yards rushing. His streak came to end in Smith’s final season in Dallas in 2002 when he missed the 1,000-yard mark by a mere 25 yards. However, that season was highlighted by one particular game against the Seattle Seahawks on Oct. 27, 2002. In that contest, Smith supplanted Walter Payton as the NFL’s all-time rushing leader.

Smith, who was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team of the 1990s, finished his 226-game career by playing two final seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. He retired with a career total of 18,355 yards and a NFL record 164 rushing touchdowns. He also added 515 receptions for 3,224 yards and 11 touchdowns.