Hurray for Joe D.! He’ll be coming to Canton next summer as a Hall of Fame inductee. I expect that the great Browns guard of the early ’80s and the O.J.-era Bills will sport the Buffalo helmet on his plaque, but his contribution in Cleveland was more than a whistle-stop. DeLamielleure started all but three games of his five years here, the first of which was the amazing Kardiac Kids playoff season. Along with Doug Dieken, Tom DeLeone, Cody Riesen, Henry Sheppard, and Robert E. Jackson, Joe D. helped protect a rather undersized Brian Sipe well enough for him to win the league MVP by throwing for 4,231 yards and 30 touchdowns.

While we’re on the topic of former Browns guards, it’s past time to get Gene Hickerson enshrined.

The headliner of this year’s hall class is, of course, Marcus Allen. I still remember as a kid in 1982 being utterly befuddled as to why the Browns (and eight other teams) bypassed this Heisman Trophy winner in the draft. Maybe, I theorized, the Browns were gunshy about Heisman-winning USC running backs, after misusing their 1980 first-round pick on Charles White. But anyone could see Allen was a better overall athlete, much bigger and tougher than the man he had once blocked for. Instead, Cleveland picked the wrong Trojan, linebacker Chip Banks. So, in his rookie year, Allen’s Raiders beat the Browns in the playoffs, thanks in no small measure to his two TDs and 147 yards from scrimmage. Only once during Allen’s stellar 16-year career did the Browns rank among the league’s top 13 rushing teams.