Tim Brown has a stock answer when asked what he would ask the 46 Hall of Fame selectors who have left him on the outside looking for each of the past five years.

“I would ask them one question — you name one receiver that wants to trade positions with Tim Brown,” Brown told Bay Area reporters Friday in a conference call. “You name one guy that would say, `Yeah, I’ll give up Peyton Manning. I’ll give up Montana and Young.”

Playing with a procession of mostly mediocre quarterbacks, only three 1,000-yard rushers and usually without a top-level complementary receiver around him, Brown is the NFL’s fifth all-time leading receiver with 1,094 receptions, sixth in yardage with 14,934 yards and tied for seventh in touchdown catches with 100.

“I probably did it the hard way,” Brown said. “Maybe that’s going to be my downfall in this deal. I should have left and went to a team with some great quarterback and put some numbers up, but I’m happy I stayed where I was and did what I did.”

The Class of 2015 will be announced on Feb. 1, and other than linebacker Junior Seau, there probably isn’t a slam-dunk choice in the bunch. Brown and former Indianapolis Colt Marvin Harrison, eligible for the second time, are the most likely receivers.

Only three wide receivers have been inducted in the past five seasons — Jerry Rice in 2010, Cris Carter in 2013 and Andre Reed a year ago. Carter made it in on his sixth try, Reed his eighth.

“I really think that, not that this is my best shot, but now that I’m the veteran guy of the receiver group, I’m sort of hoping I’ll get a little more favor this time when it comes to this deal.”

Brown called the process “gut-wrenching” and acknowledged the depth of competition at his position with players such as Carter and Reed. Reed, whom he considers a close friend, told Brown in London he wanted to push for his inclusion this year.

There’s a feeling that Brown will be elected eventually. Former Washington Redskins wide receiver Art Monk made it in on his eighth try, and former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Lynn Swann was a finalist 13 times before getting in.

But enough has happened in the six years that induction, if it occurs, will be bitter-sweet.

“I’ve lost my dad in that time, I lost a great friend in Chester McGlockton, and Mr. Davis has passed away,” Brown said. “Those are three people that I won’t get an opportunity to shake their hand, or have Chester hit me in the back of the head and say, `I can’t believe they put your sorry butt in the Hall of Fame.’ ”

Besides Brown’s receiving numbers, he has 4,555 yards on punt and kickoff returns. The next highest receiver in terns of return yardage is Washington’s Bobby Mitchell, inducted in 1983, with 3,389 yards.

Is that part of Browns’ game being overlooked?

“That’s hard for me to say, but you never hear people bring it up when they’re talking about it,” Brown said. “One year I told my presenter to make that the emphasis of his conversation, but it didn’t seem as if people wanted to hear it because that was a year they didn’t put in a receiver. That was obviously a big part of who I was.”

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