In the running (40% to 69%): C Maurkice Pouncey, LB T.J. Watt. A score of 100 is around the average modern-era inductee. Gore had the misfortune of playing for some bad San Francisco and Indianapolis teams, but his numbers are certainly impressive. I had Wagner as a lock when I first compiled this list. He has made five consecutive Pro Bowls and has a first-team All-Pro appearance. Can Baker Mayfield's game be fixed? Subscribe to Stathead Football: Get your first month FREEYour All-Access Ticket to the Pro Football Reference Database. Jackson and teammate Kyle Fuller both slipped last season, but each earned Pro Bowl nods, and that's going to matter more to voters 15 years from now than how either player actually performed in 2019. Given his style, I worry about his aging curve versus that of tight ends who are basically glorified wide receivers. To use an example, I don't think Eli Manning has the rsum of a Hall of Fame quarterback, but history tells us that most quarterbacks who win two Super Bowls typically get in. Warren Moon played until he was 44. 8/16/2011. Likely (70% to 99%): WR Tyreek Hill, TE Travis Kelce. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. All of these guys have something in their favor, but it isn't enough to propel them to meaningful consideration as of yet. Kamara was also Offensive Rookie of the Year, which helps his chances further. After that, we have players who are Likely to get in, who I estimate have between a 70% and 99% chance of earning induction. SEA | TB | TEN | WSH. Brees could have retired five years ago and comfortably made the Hall of Fame. 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%. Just play along. 10 Recently Retired NFL Players Who Will Make The Hall Of Fame And 10 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. In the running (40% to 69%): CB Tre'Davious White. 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 future of Tampa Bay's tight end room. Every two-time winner got in easily, so while Watt might not have the longevity he hoped for, the Houston icon could retire tomorrow and get in. Heres what those guys did in their first five seasons and where they rank among all receivers in the age-21-to-25 cohort. Beasley won a sack title. Work to do (10% to 39%): QB Joe Burrow. Future Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, though, has a different team in mind for Rodgers. 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. Since 1980, there have been 23 Modern-Era Wide Receivers honored by the Hall of Fame, with an average Legends Score of 29. Work to do (10% to 39%): TE Jimmy Graham, CB Kyle Fuller. Radio Hall of Fame Announces 2021 Inductees - RADIO ONLINE McCardell and Smith dubbed "Thunder . Mike Evans is on pace to be a Hall of Fame caliber wide receiver. Evans has a chance to continue making history in 2022. 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. 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. David has been supremely underrated during his career, but after earning a first-team All-Pro nod in 2013, he has made it to a lone Pro Bowl over the ensuing six seasons. Locks have a 100% chance of making it. Astros great Craig Biggio had to wait until his third time on the ballot to be voted to the Baseball Hall of Fame, and fell an agonizing two votes shy the previous year. But history tells us that's a lot to ask. Kittle is the best all-around tight end in football right now, and if you could tell me this minute that he would have a 12-year career, I'd expect him to be a Hall of Famer. 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. Tom Fears, WR, UCLA, 11th round, 103rd overall: He ranks seventh all-time in receiving touchdowns (116), 30th in yards (11,841) and 17th in receptions (955). If the Falcons had held on to their lead and won the Super Bowl, Ryan would have won game MVP, and his 2016 probably would have been enough for a gold jacket. Witten is also the only Hall of Fame candidate on the Raiders' roster. Partner with Us Back. His time may come, but maybe not for a while. How Calvin Johnson compares to the Pro Football Hall of Fame WRs Work to do (10% to 39%): WR Adam Thielen, LB Anthony Barr. In the running (40% to 69%): S Jamal Adams. Wagner turned 30 in June, and after eight seasons in the league, he has six Pro Bowl appearances and five first-team All-Pro nominations. The content on this page is for informational purposes only. Smith needs a similar sort of run over the next few years to have a shot. Will OBJ defy his long-shot odds to lead NFL in receiving yards? When a group consists of you and Jerry Rice, you've done something right. Hall of Fame Wide Receivers | Pro Football Hall of Fame - pfhof Tight ends have relatively short careers, which makes projecting their Hall chances exceedingly difficult. Work to do (10% to 39%): WR Keenan Allen, G Trai Turner, DE Melvin Ingram III, CB Chris Harris Jr. Turner has made five consecutive Pro Bowls, but interior linemen typically need multiple first-team All-Pro nods to draw significant Hall interest. But history suggests that his on-field performance makes him a Hall of Fame lock. (1:43). Williams made seven consecutive Pro Bowls before sitting out the 2019 season and forcing a trade to the 49ers. The star inside linebacker made his first Pro Bowl last season, which is incredible given that it was his age-21 season. The two first-time eligible players who stand out on next years ballot are defensive end Julius Peppers and tight end Antonio Gates. Once again, its wait til next year for Texans great Andre Johnson when it comes to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GB | HOU | IND As it stands, though, Gurley doesn't have enough on his rsum to get in. Lock (100%): RB Adrian Peterson. 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. Hes too similar to other Hall-of-Famers and future Hall-of-Famers not to be taken seriously. OBJ hasn't made a Pro Bowl since 2016, and while this could be a bounce-back year for the former Giants star, another middling campaign would push him into the "Work to do" tier. 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. I've split players into four groups. 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. Guy earned six Pro Bowl nominations and three All-Pro picks before turning 30. Get started >>. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. That means Robinson (who is coming off . In 1996, he decided to play football full-time. Quarterbacks like Ken Anderson, Boomer Esiason and Steve McNair won league MVP without earning enshrinement. Quarterback Drew Brees and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald are the two prominent ballot newcomers. The closest comp is Ken Anderson, who had a similar peak and won an MVP award but didn't last quite as long and hasn't been able to get in. Even so, I think hell eventually get there. The best trade Andy Reid ever made was moving up in the draft for Mahomes in 2017. 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. Hall of Famer predicts controversial team for Rodgers. Pro Football WR Hall of Fame Monitor The Pro Football Reference Hall of Fame Monitor (HOFm) is a metric designed to estimate a player's chances of making the Pro Football Hall of Fame using AV, Pro Bowls, All-Pros, championships, and various stat milestones. The Pro Football Reference Hall of Fame Monitor (HOFm) is a metric designed to estimate a player's chances of making the Pro Football Hall of Fame using AV, Pro Bowls, All-Pros, championships, and various stat milestones. Heres the top 10 in NFL and AFL history in receiving yardage through 85 games. Likely (70% to 99%): LB Khalil Mack. Peters might not be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he should get in eventually. He'll have a better shot once reunited with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco. 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. Since 1950, 12 players have won two or more rushing titles. He was selected No. Okudah's presence owes to his draft status as the No. Let's see whether we can get a sense of who those 50 are right now: Jump to a team: Partner with Us Back. He made only two Pro Bowls with the Cardinals, which was a farce. That might bode well for Suggs case, especially with the premium placed on pass rushers in the modern NFL. Instead, legendary players and coaches like Troy Polamalu and Jimmy Johnson will wait until next year to give their speeches in Canton, Ohio. Since there have been only 346 people elected to the Hall of Fame (some of whom aren't even players), we don't always have great measures or estimates for what players at each given position have to do to make it. I addressed this in my MVP column in July. 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. But during his 15-year career, Lewis has only been a Pro Bowler and Second-Team All-Pro in 2010. Twelve of the 29 Hall-eligible players who have started their careers with three consecutive Pro Bowl nods have made it to Canton. 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. Gilmore wasn't on track to become a Hall of Famer before he joined the Patriots, having made one Pro Bowl across his first five seasons in Buffalo, but he has made back-to-back first-team All-Pro teams and then won Defensive Player of the Year last season. What Current NFL Players are Going to the Hall of Fame: NFC North Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, future Hall of Fame wide receiver, led the best draft class in Rams history in 1945. 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. 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. The Best Wide Receivers of All-Time - Future Football Legends Hes No. If a receiver can enter the league and perform well right away at a boyish age, that speaks well for his future as he develops. 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. Lock (100%): QB Drew Brees. Elliott has already won two rushing titles across his first four seasons, and that might be enough on its own. 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 should be a prohibitive favorite to get in. Here's everything we know, Richardson sets QB mark for vertical, broad jump, QB Young 5-10 1/8, 204 pounds at NFL combine, Sources: Patriots tell QB Hoyer he's being cut, Horns' Robinson: Versatility worthy of early pick, Jones: Not fixated on Cowboys' drought, just '23, Sources: Raiders plan franchise tag for Jacobs, WR Addison to Steelers' Pickett: 'Come get me', Wolverines' Turner wows with 4.26 40 at combine, Everything you need to know about Geno Smith's contract negotiations. The left tackle has seven Pro Bowls and two All-Pro nods before turning 30. In the running (40% to 69%): QB Cam Newton, CB Stephon Gilmore. Vander Esch's chances are stronger than his fellow linebacker because he was a first-round pick and made the Pro Bowl as a rookie, while Smith was a second-round pick and didn't make it until his third campaign. Since 1970, 55 players who are eligible for Canton have hit that 8+2 mark, and 52 of them earned enshrinement. Aldon Smith, who was once the most promising young edge rusher in football, would need a miraculous comeback in his first season since 2015 to get back on the HOF radar. Please see our Contributors and Sources page for data source details. Theyre easily first-ballot selections. Outside of that one year, though, he has three Pro Bowl nods, no first-team All-Pro spots and a 2-5 record in the postseason. Pouncey fits that magic 8+2 formula I mentioned earlier with regard to Atkins, and at 31, he should still have a couple more Pro Bowls in him. But lack of team success isnt a disqualifier. Washington Commanders sign former Chiefs wide receiver/special teamer 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. If his career lasts only six or seven seasons, though, he'll have to be a perennial All-Pro to make it to Canton. With the onset of COVID, the Pro Football Hall of Fame last year moved its annual board-of-selectors meeting from an in-person session the day before the Super Bowl to a virtual communication . Lock (100%): DT Aaron Donald. Running backs mean less than they have in the past, but Terrell Davis just made the Hall for what really amounted to a three-season stretch as the best running back in football. Brown was arguably the NFLs best receiver from 2013-18 in Pittsburgh, but wasnt the same player after he left the Steelers. March 25, 2020 9:36 pm ET. We may be compensated for the links provided on this page. Cox has made five consecutive Pro Bowls, although only one of those seasons resulted in a first-team All-Pro nod. Work to do (10% to 39%): OT Terron Armstead, OT Ryan Ramczyk. I'll start with the two young players. Leonard, with one All-Pro spot and a Pro Bowl appearance last year, is right behind. If you need something more, Fitzgerald's 2008 playoff run is probably the best postseason from any receiver in league history. He is right on the borderline between the "Work to do" and "In the running" tiers. Harris has four Pro Bowls and a first-team All-Pro appearance in 2016, but his play has slipped over the past couple of years, and smaller cornerbacks typically don't do well after they turn 30. 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. Find out more. Jones now has five consecutive seasons with at least 10 sacks. He probably needs two more All-Pro seasons to finalize his case. In fact, a future Hall of Fame wide receiver recently revealed that Rodgers tried to recruit him over to the Packers. Lock (100%): DE J.J. Watt. The Hall of Fame receiver responded with a $100 million defamation lawsuit. The Defensive Player of the Year candidate was named a first-team All-Pro in 2015 and 2019, but he hasn't received any other nominations across his other five pro seasons. I think Thomas is a prohibitive favorite to get in. Seymour has a better rsum and more Super Bowl rings and hasn't made it in, but he peaked earlier in his career; if Campbell can stay productive and win a ring or two with the Ravens, it might push him into more significant consideration. 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. How Relationship With Reggie Wayne Is Helping South Alabama WR Jalen After five consecutive Pro Bowl campaigns, I wonder whether Landry actually has a better shot of surpassing his friend and longtime teammate. It was a good weekend for wide receivers at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Wagner also has a Super Bowl victory and, quite famously, an MVP vote from Tony Dungy on his rsum. At the same time, no tight end in history has more than four 1,000-yard seasons over their respective careers, and Kelce has just run off four consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns. Aaron Rodgers has had a lack of weapons on the Green Bay Packers Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. Work to do (10% to 39%): RB Mark Ingram, OT Ronnie Stanley, DE Calais Campbell. Work to do (10% to 39%): QB Carson Wentz, TE Zach Ertz, CB Darius Slay. If he can keep this level of play up for three more seasons, Jordan could get in. 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. Ingram wasn't very good for extended stretches of time until his fourth season in the league in New Orleans, and while he has made three Pro Bowls since, he hasn't had a top-five season in terms of production or won a Super Bowl. Guy made only one Pro Bowl after turning 30, and Hekker probably needs a couple more All-Pro appearances to earn serious consideration. He made it to four Pro Bowls in his first five seasons with the Ravens, and while that's the sort of production we associate with Hall of Famers, he wasn't able to earn a first-team All-Pro nod over that stretch. Elroy 'Crazylegs' Hirsch, future Hall of Fame wide receiver, led the best draft class in Rams history in 1945. Work to do (10% to 39%): WR Julian Edelman, LB Dont'a Hightower, S Devin McCourty. Syndication Packersnews Do you have a sports website? Adams hasn't been able to break through the Julio Joneses of the world to earn a first-team All-Pro spot, which is probably where he needs to get. 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. Assessing Browns' FA needs. Browns star left tackle Joe Thomas and Jets greats Joe . But given the relatively small number of modern-era inductees each year a minimum of three and maximum of five now is a good time to look at the ballot in upcoming years and notable players wholl become eligible for election and may impact Johnsons fate with voters. Andre Johnson: What future Hall of Fame ballots look like Jets, Browns tapped for 2023 NFL Hall of Fame Game originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago. 10 Hall of Fame-Worthy NFL Wide Receivers (not named Julian Edelman) Will the Dolphins get a veteran QB? He also has worked at the Austin American-Statesman and Temple Daily Telegram. He also earned two major awards: Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year the following season. Moving to a higher-profile, more successful team will help Ramsey's chances of drawing national attention, although he wasn't close to Stephon Gilmore or Tre'Davious White a year ago. A starter from day one, Jackson was a first-team All-Pro while leading the league in interceptions in 2018. Even if he slows down from here on out, Miller's going to the Hall. It's an extremely small sample, and Collins is another example of a player who had an early All-Pro appearance before taking a step backward, but Adams projects as a superstar. Donald clinched his gold jacket when he won his second Defensive Player of the Year award. Or write about sports? Both are locks for election. 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. Pro Football Reference's Hall of Fame monitor ranks Edelman 110th among wide receivers, and that gives him credit for winning three Super Bowls. The Best Wide Receivers of AllTime. Football Insiders with Trey Wingo. Many of the modern-era players to whom hes statistically comparable played well into their 30s. The End of In-Person Voting for Future Hall-of-Fame Classes? Maybe Not What will define Eric Bieniemy's success? Marcedes Lewis has been in the NFL for a long time. In the running (40% to 69%): WR A.J. 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. Do you have a blog? Kelce has been a first-team All-Pro three consecutive times, although he oddly didn't make the Pro Bowl in two of those campaigns. Lock (100%): TE Jason Witten. 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. The suspension hurts Peterson's chances, but with eight Pro Bowls and three All-Pro appearances across his first eight seasons, his prior track record was impeccable. 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. 50 Greatest QB-WR Duos in NFL History - Bleacher Report After being retired for five years, players maintain modern-era eligibility for 20 years, after which their cases go to the seniors committee. Not all elite prospects turn into Hall-of-Famers, but given Evans draft capital, physical profile and college production, its reasonable to say that what hes done in the NFL hasnt been a random fluke. 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. The Hall site draws a distinction, interestingly, between wide receivers and ends. Campbell, who turns 34 next month, is probably going to miss out, which is a shame given how good he has been. Lattimore has two Pro Bowl appearances in his first three seasons; if you throw out early-career players like Lattimore, Jalen Ramsey and Marcus Peters, eight of the 11 corners to pull that off since the merger are either in the Hall of Fame or going there. Most importantly: This is my opinion of who is likely to get in given current rsums, not who belongs in. Landry's hip surgery then looms as a problem; if he can get past it and keep this up, he profiles as a borderline Hall of Famer. More NFL coverage . The Ring of Honor recognizes Vikings legends for their contributions to the success of the team on and off the field. Of the 16 Hall-eligible first-rounders who were first-team All-Pros as rookies, nine are enshrined. Lock (100%): QB Patrick Mahomes. 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. In the running (40% to 69%): QB Lamar Jackson, CB Marcus Peters, K Justin Tucker. Larry Fitzgerald won't be suiting up for the Arizona Cardinals for the start of the season, but the future Hall of Fame wide receiver stopped just short Friday of announcing his retirement. He has stayed healthy and productive, so that hasn't been the issue. Ranking the top outlier contracts Likely (70% to 99%): RB Ezekiel Elliott, G Zack Martin, OT Tyron Smith. Rent the Hall. 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. 1 pick and winning Offensive Rookie of the Year, but that hasn't historically been a helpful combination. 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. Carmichael was one of the best wide receivers of his era. Membership Foundation Corporate Partners Artifact Donations Commemorative Brick . (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? Who should be the next player from each team to make the Hall of Fame Work to do (10% to 39%): S Tyrann Mathieu. Rank'Em: Cowboys Now Have 20 Hall of Famers - Dallas Cowboys Grading the Jamal Adams trade What makes Evans production especially impressive is that he entered the league at such a young age. Work to do (10% to 39%): DE Yannick Ngakoue. We present them here for purely educational purposes. 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. 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. 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. Seattle: The last stop for (future) Hall of Fame receivers? - Seahawks Wire The 2020 No. Cooper has made four Pro Bowls in his first five seasons. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. Work to do (10% to 39%): WR T.Y. Only two full-time kickers Jan Stenerud and Morten Andersen are in the Hall of Fame, but it would be hard to see Vinatieri shut out given his accomplishments. Rams' best draft class featured two Hall of Fame wide receivers - Los