Steve Smith's final season should serve as conclusive proof for the Hall of Fame

There's no doubting that Steve Smith has been one of the decade's best receivers. His persona has made him a household name, and his stats have made sure that his name will stick around long after he is gone, but are his numbers good enough for Canton's strict standards?

Some would say that with just a few hundred more yards, Smith has a legitimate case for enshrinement.

Smith currently sits at just 649 yards behind Hall of Fame inductee Marvin Harrison on the all-time receiving yards list. If Smith can post even a mediocre season by his standards, there's good reason to believe that he will surpass Harrison and move up to seventh place on the hallowed list, and in the process, solidify his Hall of Fame status.

Another important milestone that lies ahead for Smith is amassing 14,000 receiving yards. Only seven players have achieved this remarkable stat, and of those seven, five are in the Hall. Smith needs only 68 more to breach the threshold.

While receivers have recently had a hard time receiving love from the Hall's committee with none selected in 2011 and 2012, a recent string of elected receivers in the past four years has Smith optimistic about his chances.

"Seeing other guys get in -- I think there was a logjam with some other guys that don't have championships -- I think my chances have increased a little bit."

In addition to the sheer amount of receiving yards to his name, Smith also has some other unique distinctions to his name too. Smith is one of the few receivers to post eight 1,000 yard seasons, hold a greater postseason receiving yards average than Jerry Rice, and have 13,000 receiving yards and 4,000 return yards.

With plenty of talking points on his resume, Smith can only hope to add a Super Bowl to his long and impressive list of accomplishments.