I don't think Swann and Stallworth belong in the HOF, as unpopular as that opinion is here.
I feel the same way about Namath and Griese.
I think the bar is set too low with too many inconsistencies.
It's gotten ridiculously bad over the past 20 years or so, as the league views the HOF ceremony as merely another cash grab that can be maximized by lowering the bar and letting more players in.
Baseball's HOF process is much more legit.
Professional football career
Swann waves the Terrible Towel.
Swann was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 21st pick of the first round in the 1974 NFL Draft. The Steelers draft class of '74 is considered one of the best in NFL history and included four eventual Hall of Famers: Swann, John Stallworth, Mike Webster, and Jack Lambert.
Swann spent his entire NFL career with the Steelers and wore the jersey number 88.
As a rookie, he led the NFL with 577 punt-return yards, a franchise record and the fourth-most in NFL history at the time. He went on to win a championship ring with the Steelers in Super Bowl IX but did not record any receptions in the tough defensive struggle (Pittsburgh quarterback Terry Bradshaw completed only nine passes in the game). However, he returned three punts for 34 yards.
Swann with Steelers fans before a game in 2006
The following season became the highlight of Swann's career. He caught 49 passes for 781 yards
and a league-leading 11 touchdowns. In the AFC title game against the Oakland Raiders, George Atkinson knocked Swann out of the game with a very hard but legal hit. He suffered a severe concussion that forced him to spend two days in a hospital,
but surprised many by returning to play for Super Bowl X. Swann recorded four catches for a Super Bowl-record 161 yards and a touchdown in the game, assisting the Steelers to a 21–17 win
and becoming the first wide receiver to earn Super Bowl MVP honors.
Swann was unique among football players in that he credited his experiences in dance earlier in life with contributing to his aptitude on the football field. A 1981 interview which aired on Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood showed him on the field, and then in the Pittsburgh dance studio where he later underwrote scholarships.[3]
Three seasons later, the Steelers made it to Super Bowl XIII. In the game, Swann caught seven passes for 124 yards and scored the final touchdown for Pittsburgh in their 35–31 win over the Dallas Cowboys. The Steelers made it back to the Super Bowl again in the 1979 season, and Swann caught five passes for 79 yards and a touchdown in Pittsburgh's 31–19 win in Super Bowl XIV.
Overall, Swann gained 364 receiving yards and 398 all-purpose yards in his four Super Bowls, which were both Super Bowl records at the time.
Swann retired after the 1982 season with four Super Bowl rings. In his nine-year career, he amassed 336 career receptions for 5,462 yards and 51 touchdowns, 72 rushing yards on 11 attempts and a touchdown, and 739 punt return yards and a touchdown. He was a Pro Bowl selection three times 1975, 1977, and 1978, and was selected on the 1970s All-Decade Team.
MY two and a half cents:
I think he did enough to deserve the HOF. I am not a fantasy league fan.