The 2025 Pro Football Hall of Fame class may be on the smaller size of things, but Canton will gaining four new members this weekend. Joining the ranks of football immortality will be defensive back Eric Allen, edge rusher Jared Allen, tight end Antonio Gates and wide receiver Sterling Sharpe. While Jared Allen and Gates recently retired, guys like Eric Allen and Sharpe had to wait a very long time.
While there will be a few marquee first-year candidates for the 2026 class (guys who last played during the 2020 COVID season), we should expect for next year's inductees to make up a full class allotment. In most years, the Pro Football Hall of Fame voters give the people what they want in five modern day inductees, as well as between two or three contributors, coaches and older players.
When looking at the list of potential hall of fame candidates for next year put forth by Pro Football Network, we should be looking at the bulk of next year's entrants coming from this list of 16. It should be noted that hall of fame finalists from this past election who got to the final seven but did not make it in will once again be finalists for the 2026 class. Maybe one of these guys finally gets into Canton?
- OT Willie Anderson (Cincinnati Bengals/Baltimore Ravens)
- WR Torry Holt (St. Louis Rams/Jacksonville Jaguars)
- LB Luke Kuechly (Carolina Panthers)
- K Adam Vinatieri (New England Patriots/Indianapolis Colts)
From the longshots, to the contenders, to the locks, here is how I view these 16 candidates for 2026.
Longshots
These handful of players are either probably not going to make it in next year, some maybe not at all...
16. WR Dez Bryant (Dallas Cowboys/Baltimore Ravens)
Dez Bryant was a phenomenal, but troubled player coming out of Oklahoma State. While he had some incredible highs as a member of the Dallas Cowboys, he did not play long enough or win enough for me to really think he will ever be a serious hall of famer. Had he played for a lesser brand, I am not sure he would even be in this conversation. Once again, this is the hall of fame, not the Hall of Very Good...
15. RB Todd Gurley (St.Louis/Los Angeles Rams/Atlanta Falcons)
Todd Gurley is my Dawg! Along with A.J. Green, he was the most talented player to star at Georgia when I was in school. While a degenerative knee condition shortened his brilliant career, he is a great test case of what could have been? He set the league on fire initially with the then-St. Louis Rams before really hitting his stride in Los Angeles. His Atlanta Falcons runs was a dud. Not a hall of famer...
14. WR Julian Edelman (New England Patriots)
From being a former MAC quarterback, turned seventh-round pick, Julian Edelman had an incredible career with the New England Patriots. As one of the greatest slot receivers of his generation, he helped Tom Brady win his last three Super Bowls with New England. Unfortunately, Edelman never made a Pro Bowl and had a PED suspension. He may get hall of fame votes, but should never get in.
13. RB LeSean McCoy (Philadelphia Eagles/Buffalo Bills/Kansas City Chiefs/Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
LeSean McCoy is the lowest player on this list I think has a realistic shot of getting in one day. When he came out of Pitt and first starred for the Philadelphia Eagles, he was one of the most versatile playmakers in the backfield of his generation. He had his moments with the Buffalo Bills, but he gave us diminishing returns with every subsequent team he played for. His career is worthy of discussion.
12. DT Geno Atkins (Cincinnati Bengals)
Geno Atkins was the most underrated player I watched during my time at Georgia. While he spent his entire pro career with the Cincinnati Bengals, I think that works against him getting into Canton sooner than he probably should. He was there for the peak Andy Dalton/A.J. Green days under Marvin Lewis. However, he just missed out on the Joe Burrow era. Playing for the Bengals hurts his chances.
11. C Maurkice Pouncey (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Maurkice Pouncey's day will come one day, but I am afraid that he is going to have to wait a few years. The former long-time starting center of the Pittsburgh Steelers was a pillar on this team throughout the second half of the Ben Roethlisberger era under Mike Tomlin. Frankly, the offensive line has not been the same since he retired. However, interior offensive linemen rarely get in on the first ballot...
Contenders
These next handful of players I think have a fair to great shot of getting in, but are not locks to do so.
10. RB Frank Gore (San Francisco 49ers/Indianapolis Colts/Miami Dolphins/Buffalo Bills/New York Jets)
Running back Frank Gore is a hall of famer. He is one of the most durable running backs of our time. Although he was a bit of a compiler in my eyes, even I cannot downplay his longevity. I remember him fondly from his days at The U and then his career with the San Francisco 49ers. Gore was a reliable ball-carrier throughout his career, but I never felt that his peak was a high as others' was, nor as long.
9. TE Greg Olsen (Chicago Bears/Carolina Panthers/Seattle Seahawks)
I think the fact that Greg Olsen is such a fantastic analyst and a likable guy will eventually get him into Canton. While he began his career out of Miami with the Chicago Bears, he will be best remembered for his glory days as a stalwart tight end for the Carolina Panthers under Ron Rivera. With Cam Newton throwing him the ball, they were incredible. However, other Panthers must get in before him.
8. OT Willie Anderson (Cincinnati Bengals/Balitmore Ravens)
If any offensive lineman is going to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the 2026 class, it might as well be Willie Anderson. He has waited long enough. He first came to the Cincinnati Bengals when they were absolutely terrible, before helping them become respectable under Marvin Lewis. Playing for the Bengals always hurt his case, as was playing right tackle. We never realized his value.
7. WR Torry Holt (St. Louis Rams/Jacksonville Jaguars)
It would be a shame if Torry Holt did not get to join the other members of The Greatest Show on Turf in Canton. He was a rookie out of North Carolina State in 1999. While guys like Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Isaac Bruce and Orlando Pace outshined him, he was there in St. Louis long after they left. The Rams relocating hurts his chances of getting in, but he seems like a receiver deserving of getting in.
6. QB Philip Rivers (San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers/Indianapolis Colts)
Philip Rivers should be a hall of famer for thriving amid perpetual chaos. Antonio Gates is getting into the hall of fame this weekend because of Rivers' brilliance. The former North Carolina State spent all but one season with the Bolts. He has the Pro Bowls and the numbers to get in. The reason I doubt that Rivers will be a first-ballot inductee is because of the Chargers' lack of playoff success with him.
5. TE Jason Witten (Dallas Cowboys/Las Vegas Raiders)
To me, Jason Witten is probably the worst player on this list who has a decent chance of getting in on his first ballot. He was one of the most reliable pass catchers for the Dallas Cowboys for years at tight end. Even as his athleticism faded, he still was so productive. Though absolutely terrible in the booth, Witten will go down as one of the few players who was exponentially better in the pros than in college.
4. K Adam Vinatieri (New England Patriots/Indianapolis Colts)
The longer we wait to induct Adam Vinatieri into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the dumber we will continue to look as a society. He is, without question, the most clutch kicker in NFL history. From his humble beginnings in NFL Europe out of South Dakota State, to winning four Super Bowls with the Patriots and Indianapolis Colts, Vinatieri is what the hall of fame is about. He should make this class.
3. LB Luke Kuechly (Carolina Panthers)
As a lifelong fan of the Atlanta Falcons, I can tell you first-hand how special of a player Luke Kuechly was with the Carolina Panthers. His illustrious career out of Boston College may have been cut short due to concussions, but they simply do not make linebackers like him any more. All of the best qualities we saw out of Ray Lewis and Brian Urlacher for years, he had them. I wish he played longer...
Locks
For as much as I hope Rivers, Witten, Vinatieri and Kuechly all get in, there are only two locks this year.
2. WR Larry Fitzgerald (Arizona Cardinals)
Larry Fitzgerald enter the NFL out of Pitt with some of the best hands I have ever seen. He may have had to spend his entire pro career with the Arizona Cardinals, but he certainly made the most of it. It never mattered who threw him the ball, Fitzgerald got his and made all his teammates better. Under Michael Bidwill's ownership, Fitzgerald was largely responsible for bringing respect to the desert.
1. QB Drew Brees (San Diego Chargers/New Orleans Saints)
If Drew Brees is not a first-ballot inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, burn it all down and start again. He may have been the franchise quarterback to my least favorite team in the NFL for years in the New Orleans Saints, but I saw first-hand how special he was. Small, overlooked, it did not matter. He transformed a downtrodden franchise amid an ecological disaster into a Super Bowl champion.
Of these 16 players, Brees and Fitzgerald are locks, with the other three still largely up for debate.