Why Two-Time Pro Bowl Defensive End Deserves to Be on the Bills Wall of Fame
The Buffalo Bills Wall of Fame was created in 1980 to celebrate former players, coaches and administrators who played essential roles in the team’s history. 31 inductees have been enshrined in the Wall of Fame since its inception. However, no one has been inducted since 1962 AFL MVP Cookie Gilchrist received the honor in 2017. With a new stadium being prepped for the 2026 season, why not add more Bills legends' names to the Wall of Fame? This edition will show why Aaron Schobel deserves to be on the Wall of Fame.
The Bills’ brass must’ve thought that they struck gold by hiring Tom Donahoe in 2001. Donahoe’s first draft was exemplary, finding success on his first five draft picks: Nate Clements, Schobel, Travis Henry, Ron Edwards and Jonas Jennings. A few other players from this class may just get featured in a future edition of this series, but this one is focusing on Schobel. The former TCU Horned Frog made an impact early on in his career, earning his first start on October 28th, 2001. After that Week Six matchup against the Chargers, he never played another game where he didn’t start. From Weeks Nine to 17 in his rookie season, he accumulated five and a half sacks, 15 tackles and five tackles for loss, setting the standard where he averaged more than a half sack for his career.
So far, this series has exemplified great players from the “drought” era of the Bills. Schobel is no different as he is the first player on this list to never play in a postseason game. This was no fault of his own, though. His career totals of 78 sacks and 98 tackles for loss remain second all-time for the Bills in their record books. The Columbus, Texas native even earned back-to-back Pro Bowls in ‘06 and ‘07, solidifying his elite status in the league. Unfortunately, there’s only so much a great defensive linemen can do for a team’s success when the starting quarterbacks consist of: Alex Van Pelt, Rob Johnson, Drew Bledsoe, Kelly Holcomb, JP Losman, Trent Edwards, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brian Brohm.
Due to never seeing the playoffs, Schobel may go down as one of the most underrated defensive players in NFL history. As a matter of fact, he’s so underrated that the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame doesn’t even have him as a member. This is immensely surprising considering Schobel’s top 10 in franchise history for sacks, tackles for loss, tackles and forced fumbles. Knowing this, the Bills should honor the man by putting his name on the Wall of Fame.
