© TOM STRATTMAN, Associated Press Edgerrin James scores a touchdown during a 2003 game. Deion Sanders couldn't believe in 2020 he was being asked whether Edgerrin James should be the next Southwest Florida product inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Not that he gets a vote, but Sanders, the Hall of Famer and recently minted one of the 100 greatest players in NFL history, said the Indianapolis Colts great, who is 11th on the all-time rushing list, should have a bust in Canton by now.

"I'm trying to figure out why he isn't already in the Hall," said Sanders, speaking in Fort Myers at his PRIME 239 7-on-7 tryouts Friday. James is an Immokalee High School alum and a Hall of Fame finalist for the fourth time in five years. "That's what I'm trying to figure out. What does it take? Edgerrin James is unbelievable."

James broke into the league at the tail end of Sanders' career, but while Sanders was in Dallas and Washington, he witnessed two of the most impressive seasons by a rookie and second-year running back. James rushed for over 1,500 yards in 1999 and over 1,700 in 2000.

James checked in with two more 1,500-yard seasons while Sanders was playing in Baltimore in 2004 and 2005.

Sanders, a longtime analyst for NFL Network and 2011 Hall of Fame inductee, said James is one of the finest in a long line of Southwest Florida talent that excelled in the pros.

And Sanders would be remiss if he didn't mention fellow North Fort Myers alum Jevon Kearse's hall of fame candidacy. Kearse, the former ferocious pass rusher for the Tennessee Titans and Philadelphia Eagles, was a first-time nominee in 2015.

"And don't stop right (at James). Jevon Kearse was a flat-out dog. We can keep going," Sanders said. "We've got some dogs that came out of this area. 'The Freak' was that. You name a guy 'The Freak' and he's not in the Hall? Come on, man."

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Deion Sanders 'trying to figure out why' Edgerrin James isn't already in the Hall of Fame