Williams made seven consecutive Pro Bowls before sitting out the 2019 season and forcing a trade to the 49ers. Grading the Jamal Adams trade 10 Recently Retired NFL Players Who Will Make The Hall Of Fame And 10 Lock (100%): DT Aaron Donald. He was excellent in his third season, but since then, his production has roughly been in line with that of Robby Anderson. I polled my Twitter followers and found that 42.6% of voters thought Rivers was a Hall of Famer. All seven players who did that and who are eligible for the Hall are in, and the list of ineligible guys includes Hill, Patrick Willis, Joe Thomas, Adrian Peterson, Patrick Peterson, Zack Martin and Aaron Donald. Since the merger, 11 offensive linemen have been named a first-team All-Pro in four consecutive seasons, and nine of them are in the Hall of Fame. In recent years Seattle has gained somewhat of a reputation as being the last stop for future Hall of Fame wide receivers. Gore is third in career rushing yards, which owes much to the fact that he also ranks third in carries. Typically, there are between 45 and 50 Hall of Famers playing at any one time. Round 1: Kiper | McShay | NFL Nation If he can follow in Patrick Mahomes' footsteps and win a Super Bowl this year, Jackson will have an impeccable rsum to start his career. Membership Foundation Corporate Partners Artifact Donations Commemorative Brick . I'll do a little bit of projecting here and there, given historical aging curves and what we know about each player's injury history, but this is almost entirely about what each player has done so far. Instead, legendary players and coaches like Troy Polamalu and Jimmy Johnson will wait until next year to give their speeches in Canton, Ohio. In Week 9, he led the league with 180 yards receiving, and for the year, hes No. After missing the postseason for the first time in four years, the Green Bay Packers will now spend their offseason with one topic at the forefront of their internal conversations: the future of Aaron Rodgers. Judging safeties on interceptions is stupid, but we haven't evolved beyond that point. In his final college season, he had a nice 69 receptions for 1,394 yards and 12 touchdowns in 13 games as a redshirt sophomore. Greg Rajan is the senior editor for Texas Sports Nation, the Houston Chronicle's sports website, and also curates the daily TXSN newsletter and writes about sports media. When: 1999-2004 These two probably had the greatest four-year stretch in NFL history. Former Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly, ex-Giants quarterback Eli Manning, ex-Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs and longtime Patriots/Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri are the notables on the 2025 ballot. On Tuesday, future NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald spoke with the team. The 2020 No. Rivers is probably the most difficult case to parse among veteran players. Matthew Freedman poses and answers the burning question about Evans' future Hall of Fame chances. Aaron Rodgers has had a lack of weapons on the Green Bay Packers His time may come, but maybe not for a while. Likely (70% to 99%): LB Khalil Mack. We still have no idea how Thomas will perform, but if we look back through history, four of the 32 offensive linemen since 1970 who were drafted with a top-five pick have made it to the Hall of Fame. Every NFL team's most likely future non-QB Hall of Fame inductee After all, offensive tackle Joe Thomas was elected Thursday on the first ballot despite never playing a playoff game in 11 seasons with the Browns, who were more often than not the NFLs standard for team ineptitude. Work to do (10% to 39%): DE Chase Young, S Landon Collins. The former Panthers quarterback has two other Pro Bowl nods besides that 2015 season, although he hasn't received a nomination since. Erica Farber and Bill Siemering, prominent figures in U.S. commercial radio and public radio, respectively, are among eight new members of the Radio Hall of Fame. All logos are the trademark & property of their owners and not Sports Reference LLC. The only thing likely to keep him out of Canton is an electorate that habitually underrates interior offensive linemen in favor of an endless stream of running backs. Wilson is somewhere in the 90% range. Can Baker Mayfield's game be fixed? Syndication Packersnews Kamara was also Offensive Rookie of the Year, which helps his chances further. And as much as everyone loves Boldin, he was never dominant enough to keep his former teammate out of Canton. Work to do (10% to 39%): QB Jared Goff, OT Andrew Whitworth, P Johnny Hekker. Lock (100%): RB Adrian Peterson. Even if Hopkins takes a step backward without Deshaun Watson, he's probably just a couple of Pro Bowls from getting in. While Pro Bowls and All-Pro awards are hardly gospel, they're the best measure we have of how league observers valued a particular player in his time. In related news, the Cowboys also have a running back likely bound for the Hall. Future Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, though, has a different team in mind for Rodgers. Goff took a major step backward in 2019 and doesn't appear to be on the same level as the other top quarterbacks in the conference. The 49ers' two-decade-plus string of Pro Bowl quarterbacks and near-two-decade run of employing an all-time receiving talent abruptly stopped in 2004. Kamara took a step backward last season when he ran into some touchdown regression, but he still did enough to earn his third Pro Bowl appearance in three years. Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon both expect Frank Gore to get into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but do not see him as a lock to get into Canton. Larry Fitzgerald on NFL future: 'I just don't have the urge to play The former star wide receiver on Thursday was not elected in his second time as a modern-era finalist in as many years of eligibility. Locks have a 100% chance of making it. . He led that sports section to three Associated Press Sports Editors top-10 national awards and his work has been honored by APSE and the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors. In the running (40% to 69%): DE Chandler Jones. A portion of ticket purchases is a tax-deductible charitable donation to the Museum . Many of the modern-era players to whom hes statistically comparable played well into their 30s. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, September 1st at: www.radiohalloffame.com. In 1996, he decided to play football full-time. While guys like Franco Harris and Champ Bailey managed to make it to the Hall with similar starts to their careers, standouts like Chris Hinton, Ricky Watters and Donovan McNabb have come up short without getting to that next level. He repeated that feat in 2019, but he'll need to have Campbell's longevity and continue at this level into his mid-30s to have a viable path to the Hall. I think Rivers probably gets in, but it might take a while. Archive: Every podcast from Barnwell . Action Network makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event. While Witten, 38, is years removed from his peak, he's going to finish his career with 11 Pro Bowl appearances and two first-team All-Pro nods. The two first-time eligible players who stand out on next years ballot are defensive end Julius Peppers and tight end Antonio Gates. NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF Exhibits Interactive Experiences Gear Shop Pit Stop Caf Accessibility Champ the Cheetah. He also earned two major awards: Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year the following season. Watson is one of the best quarterbacks in football, although he might struggle to earn first-team All-Pro nods when stuck in the same time frame as Mahomes. Work to do (10% to 39%): RB Derrick Henry, OT Taylor Lewan, DE Vic Beasley Jr., S Kevin Byard. Collins was a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in 2016 and has three Pro Bowls across his first five seasons. To contrast with a Hall of Famer, Derrick Brooks had six Pro Bowls and three All-Pro appearances by this point. Rank'Em: Cowboys Now Have 20 Hall of Famers - Dallas Cowboys Lock (100%): QB Ben Roethlisberger. Jerry Rice and Terrell Owens are two of the greatest players to ever catch a football, ranking first and second, respectively, in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in NFL history. Edelman has never made a Pro Bowl, but the only . Complicating things for Johnson is the logjam of candidates at his position. Try selecting a different location. No promotions available. In the running (40% to 69%): S Jamal Adams. Work to do (10% to 39%): QB Matthew Stafford, CB Jeff Okudah. Players with two Pro Bowls and one first-team All-Pro spot across their first three seasons who are eligible for the Hall have made it just over 48% of the time. Pro Football WR Hall of Fame Monitor He should have a very strong case for election. In the running (40% to 69%): QB Dak Prescott, WR Amari Cooper. Work to do (10% to 39%): RB Mark Ingram, OT Ronnie Stanley, DE Calais Campbell. Projecting future Hall of Famers for all 32 NFL teams - ESPN.com Or write about sports? Should the Green Bay Packers Move On From Aaron Rodgers? While injuries have cost Watt 32 games over the past four seasons, his unprecedented four-season peak from 2012 to 2015 locked up things. The only exceptions are a pair of interior offensive linemen (Alan Faneca and Steve Wisniewski) and safety John Lynch. If Kelce can earn that nod in 2020, that might be enough to get him in. If that seems surprising after what he accomplished last season, remember that it was his first season with either a Pro Bowl or an All-Pro nod. Last season was the first time Peterson missed an NFL game or failed to make the Pro Bowl, with both owing to his six-game PED suspension. Giants fans would be happy if Thomas solidified a position that has been a mess since Will Beatty tore his pec in 2015. Draft a league now and start fresh with a 0-0 record and a shortened schedule. Scouting reports | More draft coverage. We don't talk enough about Hunter, who only has two Pro Bowl nods over his first five seasons. Work to do (10% to 39%): S Tyrann Mathieu. Not knowing anything else about Burrow beyond where and when he was drafted, his Hall of Fame chances before starting his career come in by that small sample around 20%. Evans and Godwin might end up hurting each other's chances by preventing the other from getting a 185-target season like the one Michael Thomas enjoyed in 2019. It was a good weekend for wide receivers at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. All but. Hekker got a two-season head start, but he has been a first-team All-Pro four times before turning 30 in February. He's ahead of guys like Von Miller, Dwight Freeney, Terrell Suggs and Bruce Smith, and while he played more games than all but Suggs, the fact that he was a productive pass-rusher from the jump as a 21-year-old is a positive. Making sense of Mahomes' deal With their city hosting the Final Four, the Cougars don't shy from national title talk. Erica Farber. He has three first-team All-Pro nods and a Super Bowl MVP before turning 31. If pro football did what hockey used to and waive the waiting period for the likes of Gordie Howe, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, it could be argued Brady deserves the same treatment. James Harrison was a backup for four seasons, started regularly for the first time at 29, and probably won't make the Hall of Fame despite a pretty spectacular peak. Jones is likely to top 13,000 receiving yards and earn his eighth Pro Bowl nod this season, which should be enough to seal things for the superstar wideout. Assessing Browns' FA needs. Wilson hasn't missed a game as a pro, so as long as he plays another five or six seasons and continues to rank among the better quarterbacks in football, he should be fine. JAX | KC | LAC | LAR | LV | MIA | MIN While Hunter's chances are probably somewhere in the 65% range, Smith is closer to the lower end of the spectrum in the 40% zone. This was. There could still be a season in which Mike Zimmer needs to use Barr as an edge rusher and he ends up with 10 sacks, but that's not going to be enough. Heres what those guys did in their first five seasons and where they rank among all receivers in the age-21-to-25 cohort. Gronk has five first-team All-Pro appearances. He has eight Pro Bowl appearances, but he has never been a first-team All-Pro, never really been a viable pick as the best quarterback in football and has a total of four MVP votes across 14 seasons as a starter. He needs to have a second act and have another selling point -- either winning a Super Bowl, competing for another MVP award or making it to a handful of Pro Bowls -- to have a viable path to a gold jacket. The former Ozen High star and 14-year NBA vet has more on his mind than basketball, offering essays on life, his family and America. The NFL's 2023 Hall of Fame Game will feature the Cleveland Browns and New York Jets, the Hall announced Tuesday. For a list of other positions, click here. Edelman has never made a Pro Bowl, but the only player with more receiving yards in the playoffs is Jerry Rice. Jackson does an incredible job of avoiding hits and getting out of bounds, but there's naturally going to be questions about whether a quarterback can run the ball 10 times per game in the modern NFL and have a 15-year career as a starter. New Bengals wide receivers coach Troy Walters is excited about his new Witten is also the only Hall of Fame candidate on the Raiders' roster. Likely (70% to 99%): DT Geno Atkins. You probably dont need me to tell you that in 2018 Moss became the most recent receiver to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. XFL Week 3 preview: Can AJ McCarron, Battlehawks continue their fourth-quarter heroics? Only nine players have done that in league history; outside of Green, the only player of the bunch who isn't in the Hall of Fame or a lock to get in is offensive tackle Richmond Webb, who played a much less notable position. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Rodgers inked a three-year, $150 million extension with the Packers last March, but reports . So maybe the best thing for Johnson and Texans fans is to be patient. In his other two seasons, he racked up a combined 23 sacks and made a pair of Pro Bowls. If you were asked to name off the top of your head the three best NFL receivers to enter the league at 21, you might say Moss, Larry Fitzgerald and DeAndre Hopkins. Hill's game still relies on speed, so he could be more susceptible to a career shortened by injuries than most other candidates, but if he gets three more seasons with Mahomes, he's probably in. The only Hall-eligible players drafted since 1970 who have five of those and aren't in the Hall are Alan Faneca and Zach Thomas. Work to do (10% to 39%): LB Tremaine Edmunds. How Antonio Brown is hurting his Hall of Fame future, and what the Unfortunately, Houston fans have had to wait through the years to see their stars get inducted. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor. The star inside linebacker made his first Pro Bowl last season, which is incredible given that it was his age-21 season. Do you have a blog? Hall of Famer predicts controversial team for Rodgers. The second-best trade in Reid's history might have been trading a first-rounder to the Bills in 2009 for Peters, who has held down left tackle for 10 of the past 11 seasons in Philadelphia and will return to play guard in 2020. In fact, a future Hall of Fame wide receiver recently revealed that Rodgers tried to recruit him over to the Packers. Hall of Fame Wide Receivers. If he can stay healthy, he's probably going to retire in the top 10 for career passing yardage, but will that really be enough to get him in without more individual awards or team success? Evans is on pace to join Randy Moss as the only other player in NFL history to open his career with six consecutive 1,000-yard receiving campaigns. In the running (40% to 69%): RB Todd Gurley. If James gets back there this season, he might even be able to jump into the Likely category. That wide receiver is Detroit Lions great Calvin Johnson. (1:43). Inductees Nominees Induction Weekend Induction Process Landmark Award Squier-Hall Award Blue Jacket & Class Ring. McShay's favorite pick for all 32 teams Bell's case as a scheme- and personnel-transcendent back fell apart in an ugly 2019 season, with the former Steelers playmaker averaging just 3.2 yards per carry. Panthers impressed by Derek Carr visit Given his style, I worry about his aging curve versus that of tight ends who are basically glorified wide receivers. The only thing Pouncey is missing is a Super Bowl appearance. Andre Johnson: What future Hall of Fame ballots look like Where does Evans slot in? Sanders started 16 regular season games at cornerback and another eight at wide receiver - becoming the first two-way starter in the NFL since the Philadelphia Eagles Chuck Bednarik, who retired in 1962. In the running (40% to 69%): OT Trent Williams. The Cowboys are blessed with two linemen bound for Canton. Let's see whether we can get a sense of who those 50 are right now: Jump to a team: Stafford posted gaudy numbers earlier in his career when the Lions had him lead the league in attempts, but he has made it to one Pro Bowl and hasn't won a playoff game in 11 seasons. He claimed a sack title in 2017 and was half a sack behind Shaq Barrett a year ago. Let's run team-by-team and try to estimate each notable player's chances of making it to the Hall of Fame given his current rsum. He has two first-team All-Pro appearances over the past five years, but it's likely too little, too late. Rockets great and championship coach Rudy Tomjanovich was only inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021. I worry a little about Atkins because he plays in a small market and in an era in which he's second fiddle to a better version of the same player (Aaron Donald), but history suggests Atkins is in. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. In the running (40% to 69%): DE Joey Bosa, S Derwin James. Ngakoue has deserved more attention and might get it in a new locale if the Jaguars honor his request and trade the 25-year-old before the season begins. It's possible to make the Hall of Fame as a lineman without an All-Pro appearance, but the only guy to do it since the merger is Jackie Slater. But as a running back who has been above average or good seemingly forever, he's getting in. Aaron Rodgers Tried Recruiting a Future Hall of Fame Wide Receiver To Worthy Hall of Fame (HOF) NFL Wide Receivers: The shoo-ins Let's start by running through five obvious cases of overly-qualified receivers who have not yet been enshrined. Tight ends have relatively short careers, which makes projecting their Hall chances exceedingly difficult. podcast, future Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, aware of the Raiders and Jets being interested in trading for the always-grumbling MVP. If Murray breaks out in Year 2, he'll be on the fast track. I mentioned the math for quarterbacks in the Bengals section; in Garrett's case, four of 26 non-QBs taken with the first overall pick since the merger have made it to the Hall. Three different Cowboys defenders make this list, and you could make a case for Jaylon Smith, too. Of the nine corners who have debuted since the NFL-AFL merger and made the Hall of Fame, just two had been a first-team All-Pro by their third season, which puts White in good company alongside Rod Woodson and then-corner Ronnie Lott. Mosley needs to be recognized as the best inside linebacker in the game at least a couple of times; after missing virtually all of 2019 with a groin injury, he has opted out of the 2020 season over concerns for his family's health. Whether Johnson will be there to welcome Watt into the Hall of Fame will be interesting. One more Pro Bowl would probably do the trick. The left tackle has seven Pro Bowls and two All-Pro nods before turning 30. Work to do (10% to 39%): WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, G David DeCastro, DE Cameron Heyward, S Minkah Fitzpatrick. Also, if a guy enters the league at a young age, he could theoretically have a longer NFL career, which would give him more time in the second half (or post-peak portion) of his career to put up the accumulation stats often needed to bolster a Hall-of-Fame case.