The future of Tampa Bay's tight end room. In the running (40% to 69%): QB Cam Newton, CB Stephon Gilmore. The Notre Dame product probably needs a second one to have a viable shot at Canton. He joined the Chronicle in January 2015 as the online sports editor. In both cases, I'm looking mostly at the historical output for first overall picks. Wide receiver, Arizona Cardinals Larry Fitzgerald's career stats: 1,432 receptions for 17,492 yards and 121 touchdowns One of the greatest wide receivers of all time, and certainly among the most dominant of his era, Fitzgerald will likely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer sometime around 2026. If McCaffrey can piece together even two more seasons at his 2019 level and add two or three more like his 2018 campaign, that might be enough to make it to the Hall of Fame. Published: August 24, 2021. Harold Carmichael finished his career with 590 receptions and 79 touchdowns. Kamara was also Offensive Rookie of the Year, which helps his chances further. Matthew Freedman poses and answers the burning question about Evans' future Hall of Fame chances. Football Insiders with Trey Wingo. 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. Jones now has five consecutive seasons with at least 10 sacks. The Hall of Fame receiver responded with a $100 million defamation lawsuit. Contemporaries Torry Holt and Reggie Wayne also made the finalists cut from 15 to 10 with Johnson, but likewise didnt gain election. He looked to be firmly on a Hall trajectory at that point, but over the ensuing five seasons, he has just one Pro Bowl appearance. The shrine in Canton, Ohio, is one that hasnt been easy to gain membership in through the years. 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. We still have to see what happens with the former LSU star, but of the 24 quarterbacks drafted with the first overall pick since the merger, five are either Hall of Famers or extremely likely to be enshrined. Tight ends have relatively short careers, which makes projecting their Hall chances exceedingly difficult. As a result, I'll mention them often, especially when looking at players who don't touch the ball frequently. When a group consists of you and Jerry Rice, you've done something right. In 1996, he decided to play football full-time. Watt, with his three Defensive Player of the Year awards with the Texans, will for sure give Houston another Hall of Famer. He was selected No. The first game of the 2023 NFL calendar is . Heres the top 10 in NFL and AFL history in receiving yardage through 85 games. Pro Football Reference Hall of Fame Monitor, Frequently Asked Questions about the NFL and Football, Pro-Football-Reference.com Blog and Articles, Subscribe to Stathead Football: Get your first month FREE. Jones should make up some of that difference in 2020, and after Fitzgerald retires, he should be able to challenge the Cardinals great for that second spot. But playing on so many bad Eagles teams delayed his entry into the Hall of Fame. In other words, instead of trying to project their chances by guessing what they'll do in the future, I'm looking at what they've done so far, comparing them to players at similar points in their careers, and seeing how often players with those sorts of careers made it into the Hall of Fame. That's just about a magic formula for getting into the Hall. Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans is having himself a season. March 25, 2020 9:36 pm ET. To contrast with a Hall of Famer, Derrick Brooks had six Pro Bowls and three All-Pro appearances by this point. Membership Foundation Corporate Partners Artifact Donations Commemorative Brick . People in favor of him will point to his stats, which are clearly better than those of Eli Manning, but that ignores the point; Manning isn't getting into the Hall because of his regular-season stats. He also came up with an interception while winning his first Super Bowl, which helps his case. Of the 35 Hall-eligible players who have won that trophy since the merger, 11 are in, and that number will rise in the years to come. He also earned two major awards: Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year the following season. Smith-Schuster had a down 2019 season amid injuries and terrible quarterback play; he should bounce back to his 1,426-yard form from 2018. Collins retired with 70 touchdown receptions, sixth-best total in NFL history at the time and more than Hall of Fame receivers Lynn Swann, Art Monk, Bobby Mitchell, Michael Irvin and John Stallworth. The guy who hasn't played a single NFL snap? In the running (40% to 69%): RB Christian McCaffrey. 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. No promotions available. Twelve of the 29 Hall-eligible players who have started their careers with three consecutive Pro Bowl nods have made it to Canton. His 2016 season was one of the most impressive years we've ever seen from a quarterback, as he dominated during the regular season and won league MVP. All but. He's the second-most productive receiver in football history. 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. If you need something more, Fitzgerald's 2008 playoff run is probably the best postseason from any receiver in league history. From 2015 to 2019, his numbers are virtually identical to those of Eric Ebron. One more Pro Bowl would probably do the trick. 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. Of all the young receivers, Moss is the only one to accomplish more through the first five seasons of his career. Matthew Freedman (@MattFtheOracle) November 4, 2019. Just nine tight ends are enshrined, and Kelce's game leans more toward receiving than any of them. In the running (40% to 69%): RB Saquon Barkley. (1:43), Barnwell: Projecting future Hall of Famers for all 32 NFL teams, The future of the NFL combine: Is there really a chance it could end forever? You can't make the Hall of Fame while you're still in pads, but Mike Evans has been making his case over the past six seasons. Lock (100%): TE Jason Witten. He has a stronger case than you think. Work to do (10% to 39%): LB Tremaine Edmunds. The former Panthers quarterback has two other Pro Bowl nods besides that 2015 season, although he hasn't received a nomination since. Seymour made it to seven Pro Bowls and three All-Pro teams and hasn't made it to the Hall of Fame, but Thomas was more conspicuous at safety and was a key member of a legendary defense. There are four notable first-time eligibles on this ballot: running back Adrian Peterson, tight end Rob Gronkowski, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Antonio Brown. What makes Evans production especially impressive is that he entered the league at such a young age. 8/16/2011. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. The Museum of Broadcast Communications also named its first 33 "Legends" inductees, one for each year of the hall's . Likely (70% to 99%): WR Tyreek Hill, TE Travis Kelce. White got his just due last season and was named a first-team All-Pro while tying for the league lead in interceptions (six). Typically, there are between 45 and 50 Hall of Famers playing at any one time. Author: Nate Greer. But as a running back who has been above average or good seemingly forever, he's getting in. While he has made six Pro Bowls, that's not typically enough for interior linemen to make it into the Hall. 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. A candidate must get 80 percent of the vote to be elected. He made only two Pro Bowls with the Cardinals, which was a farce. The Saints have the best tackle combination in football, but Armstead went underappreciated before picking up steam over the past couple of years and Ramczyk raised his game in 2019. Mack is entering what is likely to be his final season with the Falcons. "Nuk" has been a first-team All-Pro in each of his past three seasons, which is the sort of run that earns skill-position players a trip to Canton on their own. If Evans goes his entire career without gaining widespread notoriety or making a memorable run in the playoffs even if he has a long and steadily productive career and is regarded as one of the top receivers of his generation his chances to make the Hall of Fame will be materially diminished. Will OBJ defy his long-shot odds to lead NFL in receiving yards? He previously worked as the sports editor at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. He has made five consecutive Pro Bowls and has three first-team All-Pro nods to go with his Defensive Player of the Year trophy from 2016. Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, future Hall of Fame wide receiver, led the best draft class in Rams history in 1945. The best trade Andy Reid ever made was moving up in the draft for Mahomes in 2017. He's an easy Hall of Famer. He figures to have a strong case for first-ballot election. He was a Pro Bowler in 2017 and has 37.5 sacks over his first four pro seasons, but he was overshadowed a bit by Campbell over that time frame. The players listed below are the top 250 HOFm-rated players who played WR starting in 1955 or later for at least 50 career games. Likely (70% to 99%): LB Khalil Mack. Even if Hopkins takes a step backward without Deshaun Watson, he's probably just a couple of Pro Bowls from getting in. On Saturday night, Eagles star Harold Carmichael and Rams star Isaac Bruce were inducted as part of a . Work to do (10% to 39%): RB Derrick Henry, OT Taylor Lewan, DE Vic Beasley Jr., S Kevin Byard. 19 Won't: Maurice Jones-Drew With five consecutive first-team All-Pro appearances, he could retire tomorrow and get in without any questions. Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor. While the wide receiver logjam is a disaster for Hall of Fame voters, Moss should present a no-brainer case one day as a first-ballot choice. As long as Willis gets in, Wagner could retire tomorrow and follow his former rival right through the front door. The Cal product has five Pro Bowls and a first-team All-Pro appearance through his age-30 season. Adams has two Pro Bowls and an All-Pro nod across his first three seasons, putting him in a group with safeties such as Kenny Easley, Steve Atwater, Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu. 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. At the combine, he measured in at 6-foot-5 and 231 pounds and ran an impressive 4.53-second 40-yard dash. Winning an MVP in Year 2 obviously leaps Jackson into consideration on its own, but it doesn't seal it. Below them are the players who are In the running (between 40% and 69%), and then the players who have Work to do to get on the Hall of Fame radar, who come in between 10% and 39%. Hilton, DE Justin Houston, DT DeForest Buckner, CB Xavier Rhodes. Things would be different if he had actually won the MVP award or been the quarterback who ran the Eagles through the playoffs in 2017. Rockets great and championship coach Rudy Tomjanovich was only inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021. 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. His peak is Hall of Fame-worthy -- he has two of the three best seasons in fantasy football history by a tight end -- but it lasted only four seasons. Locks have a 100% chance of making it. Work to do (10% to 39%): WR Julian Edelman, LB Dont'a Hightower, S Devin McCourty. Action Network makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the information given or the outcome of any game or event. Gronk has five first-team All-Pro appearances. Harold Carmichael and Isaac Bruce will enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August. XFL Week 3 preview: Can AJ McCarron, Battlehawks continue their fourth-quarter heroics? On the latest episode of the Let's Go! Suggs logged 139 sacks, good for eighth all-time. Joe Fortenbaugh isn't picking Odell Beckham Jr. to lead the NFL in receiving yards, but he expects Kevin Stefanski's scheme to improve the wide receiver's numbers in 2020. Gore is the football equivalent of somebody like MLB outfielder Jim Rice as a compiler who plays a position the electorate loves. (1:43). 1 pick and winning Offensive Rookie of the Year, but that hasn't historically been a helpful combination. He just turned 26 in August. Edelman has never made a Pro Bowl, but the only . 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. Hekker got a two-season head start, but he has been a first-team All-Pro four times before turning 30 in February. Watson has earned Pro Bowl nods in each of his first two full seasons as a starter, which is easier for quarterbacks than it is for most other positions. I would put Gronkowski's chance somewhere around 99%. These three Pats legends are more likely to land in the Hall of Very Good. New league weeks start every Thursday with TNF kickoff. 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. Work to do (10% to 39%): OT Duane Brown. He has made four Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro in 2012, but there are just too many offensive linemen with more impressive rsums who have struggled to get in for Brown to have much of a chance. Inside linebackers generally need to become Defensive Player of the Year candidates and earn multiple first-team All-Pro appearances to get serious consideration for Canton, but Edmunds is off to a great start. As good as third-year receiver Chris Godwin has been for the Bucs this season, its hard to say that hes anything more than the Anquan Boldin to Evans Fitz. Future Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, though, has a different team in mind for Rodgers. Ten of those 12 are in the Hall -- Elliott and Adrian Peterson are the other two. The content on this page is for informational purposes only. 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. 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. . Round 1: Kiper | McShay | NFL Nation Archive: Every podcast from Barnwell . In the running (40% to 69%): DE Joey Bosa, S Derwin James. 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. DeCastro has five consecutive Pro Bowl appearances and two All-Pro nods; if Faneca can't get in with nine consecutive Pro Bowl appearances and five All-Pro shots, DeCastro still has a lot of work to do. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. Work to do (10% to 39%): TE Jimmy Graham, CB Kyle Fuller. The only exceptions are a pair of interior offensive linemen (Alan Faneca and Steve Wisniewski) and safety John Lynch. Orlovsky sounds off on Wentz not making top 100 list. Players the Jaguars could target If he recovers and returns to his 2017-18 form, he still has plenty of time to get back on the Canton track, given that he turned 26 this week. 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. Xavien Howard made the Pro Bowl in 2018 and would be the best candidate, but he has missed an average of six games per season across his four pro campaigns. Cooper has made four Pro Bowls in his first five seasons. An interesting case could be made for Frank Gore, who is third all-time in rushing with 16,000 yards in a 16-season career with five teams, but tied for 19th in touchdowns with 81. Gore had the misfortune of playing for some bad San Francisco and Indianapolis teams, but his numbers are certainly impressive. Browns star left tackle Joe Thomas and Jets greats Joe . Dan Orlovsky denounces the NFL Network's Top 100 players for 2020 for excluding Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz. Aaron Rodgers has had a lack of weapons on the Green Bay Packers In the running (40% to 69%): OT Trent Williams. 1 with seven receiving touchdowns as well as 1,407 air yards and yards after the catch combined (perAirYards.com). 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. AP Photo/Harold Filan. Naturally, now seems like a good time to look forward. Unlike Gurley, McCaffrey didn't win Offensive Player of the Year or make a deep playoff run. Of the 27 Hall-eligible players who have pulled that off, 14 are enshrined. 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. 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. Timing can matter for players, and it has been weird for Suh. Barnwell and friends discuss sports -- usually. Unless he really hangs on into his 40s, he'll finish as the second-most-productive tight end in history, behind Tony Gonzalez. Members of the Ring of Honor are recognized with a banner on the facade of the Metrodome's upper deck, forever living in Vikings lore. But lack of team success isnt a disqualifier. Complicating things for Johnson is the logjam of candidates at his position. Hekker's case is interesting. Kiper's draft grades for every team Allen was named a Pro Bowler after racking up 10.5 sacks as a rookie. After five consecutive Pro Bowl campaigns, I wonder whether Landry actually has a better shot of surpassing his friend and longtime teammate. Itll be interesting to see if his postseason prowess carries him, as it arguably did Lynn Swann in his eventual election. Evans has a chance to continue making history in 2022. Instead, legendary players and coaches like Troy Polamalu and Jimmy Johnson will wait until next year to give their speeches in Canton, Ohio. As a result, I would expect him to make it to the Hall someday. In the Super Bowl Era. 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. Heyward reminds me a lot of Campbell; they're prototypical five-technique ends who upped their pass-rushing performance when given more opportunities to get after the quarterback. That's three Hall of Famers, two locks, and Martin, who would be a lock if the Hall valued interior linemen. 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. Lewan has three Pro Bowls. A portion of ticket purchases is a tax-deductible charitable donation to the Museum . In the running (40% to 69%): DE Josh Allen. Unfortunately, Houston fans have had to wait through the years to see their stars get inducted. Just play along. 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. Given his style, I worry about his aging curve versus that of tight ends who are basically glorified wide receivers. Roy Williams is the lone Hall-eligible safety who didn't follow his early success to Canton. Pro Football Reference's Hall of Fame monitor ranks Edelman 110th among wide receivers, and that gives him credit for winning three Super Bowls. Work to do (10% to 39%): TE George Kittle, DE Nick Bosa. If Kelce can earn that nod in 2020, that might be enough to get him in. Baker was a first-team All-Pro in 2017 and a two-time Pro Bowler, although his 2017 awards were for special-teams work, which isn't valued as highly by voters. Copyright 2023 Action Network Inc, All Rights Reserved.Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | AdChoices. He is a graduate of Southwest Texas State University and Bowie High School in Austin. Mahomes' rsum -- a league MVP and Super Bowl MVP -- is usually enough to get a player into the Hall of Fame, let alone doing it over two seasons as a starter. Elliott has already won two rushing titles across his first four seasons, and that might be enough on its own. Since 1970, 55 players who are eligible for Canton have hit that 8+2 mark, and 52 of them earned enshrinement. 260 players who could win MVP Quarterback Drew Brees and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald are the two prominent ballot newcomers.