Nelson is one of seven players to start his career with two consecutive first-team All-Pro nods, a group that includes four Hall of Famers, Devin Hester and Keith Jackson. McCaffrey is still only 24 and has a relatively sterling health history, so it's on him to buck history. Edelman has never made a Pro Bowl, but the only player with more receiving yards in the playoffs is Jerry Rice. 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. Peters might look better in the long term than he does now. Where does Evans slot 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. 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. On Tuesday, future NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald spoke with the team. Work to do (10% to 39%): QB Jared Goff, OT Andrew Whitworth, P Johnny Hekker. I think Rivers probably gets in, but it might take a while. Work to do (10% to 39%): DE DeMarcus Lawrence, DT Gerald McCoy, LB Leighton Vander Esch. In the running (40% to 69%): CB Jalen Ramsey. 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. I think Thomas is a prohibitive favorite to get in. Cooper has made four Pro Bowls in his first five seasons. (Justin Simmons, who was one of the NFL's best safeties a year ago, is still waiting for his first Pro Bowl appearance.). That's just about a magic formula for getting into the Hall. In my Week 10 WR/CB matchups piece, I highlight the upcoming matchup between Evans and Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson and say that we might be seeing two Canton-bound players go at each other in a one-on-one heavyweight matchup.. 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. 10 Recently Retired NFL Players Who Will Make The Hall Of Fame And 10 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. 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. The only player in the Hall of Fame primarily for his work as a punter is Ray Guy, and you could make a case that Hekker is on that track. The only eligible player with that sort of rsum who hasn't made it to Canton is Webb, and while Webb was also a left tackle, he didn't make a single Pro Bowl after turning 30. 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. Do you have a blog? Podcast: Stat superlatives Making sense of Mahomes' deal 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. There are another 11 players who aren't yet Hall-eligible, and five of them are locks to do the same. Work to do (10% to 39%): QB Kyler Murray, S Budda Baker. Itll be interesting to see if that stellar stretch is good enough to get him in Canton. He was on the All-2000s team, a three-time first team All-Pro and made eight Pro Bowls. Wilson is somewhere in the 90% range. Most Approximate Value (AV) in a receiver's best sets of five and seven consecutive seasons, 1960-2019. How Antonio Brown is hurting his Hall of Fame future, and what the volatile wide receiver needs to do to fix it Brown's continued off-field distractions have cast doubt on when -- and if -- he . The End of In-Person Voting for Future Hall-of-Fame Classes? Maybe Not Minnesota Vikings Ring of Honor. to put up the accumulation stats often needed to bolster a Hall-of-Fame case. will Evans play and how productive will he be? Projecting future Hall of Famers for all 32 NFL teams - ESPN.com Hes No. Disputed loan at center of Commanders probe, Picking the top bounce-back candidates for all 32 NFL teams, Football historians talk about the game in a previous pandemic, Ranking the NFL's top 25 prospects: Young players who could break out in 2020, last attempted something like this column in June 2016, 42.6% of voters thought Rivers was a Hall of Famer, honor his request and trade the 25-year-old, trading a first-rounder to the Bills in 2009. What do Johnsons future prospects look like? 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. DISCLAIMER: This site is 100% for entertainment purposes only and does not involve real money betting. Can Baker Mayfield's game be fixed? 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. 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. Nelson doesn't play a high-profile position, but he's off to a great start. Rodgers is a three-time All-Pro, a member of the 2010s All-Decade Team and so much more. At the same time, Green has missed 23 games over the past two years with injuries. They both need multiple All-Pro seasons before they can rise up the ranks. All rights reserved. That means Robinson (who is coming off . Exhibits Interactive Experiences Gear Shop Pit Stop Caf Accessibility Champ the Cheetah. Likely (70% to 99%): OT Jason Peters. NE | NO | NYG | NYJ | PHI | PIT | SF Likely (70% to 99%): TE Rob Gronkowski. This site .css-110721q{color:#0079F0;}contains commercial content. 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. One more Pro Bowl would probably do the trick. Cowboys News: Potential WR trade target off the board, Michael Irvin update Three different Cowboys defenders make this list, and you could make a case for Jaylon Smith, too. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Barnwell and friends discuss sports -- usually. Work to do (10% to 39%): WR T.Y. 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. Likely (70% to 99%): RB Ezekiel Elliott, G Zack Martin, OT Tyron Smith. I think he'll end up getting in because he has simply racked up numbers year after year without missing much time, although I could also see an argument that he hasn't done enough outside of that one brilliant year. 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. A portion of ticket purchases is a tax-deductible charitable donation to the Museum . He was excellent in his third season, but since then, his production has roughly been in line with that of Robby Anderson. Work to do (10% to 39%): C Alex Mack, DT Grady Jarrett. Mack is entering what is likely to be his final season with the Falcons. Scouting reports | More draft coverage. Harold Carmichael and Isaac Bruce will enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August. 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. In 1996, he decided to play football full-time. When I last attempted something like this column in June 2016, I gave Beckham a 50% chance of making the Hall of Fame after two dominant seasons as a pro. Complicating things for Johnson is the logjam of candidates at his position. At the combine, he measured in at 6-foot-5 and 231 pounds and ran an impressive 4.53-second 40-yard dash. Early in a player's career, I'm also comfortable using draft status as an estimate of talent until they establish themselves as pros, which will lead to some very inexperienced players making this list. He was nearly a lock after making four Pro Bowls and three first-team All-Pro nods across his first five seasons, but injuries have cost Thomas 20 games over the subsequent four years. Lock (100%): QB Patrick Mahomes. Rivers is probably the most difficult case to parse among veteran players. SEA | TB | TEN | WSH. Tickets go on sale on Wednesday, September 1st at: www.radiohalloffame.com. Hall of Famer predicts controversial team for Rodgers. A big individual season and a few MVP votes in 2020 would be enough to push him into the next category. Who should be the next player from each team to make the Hall of Fame Gore isn't quite a lock because he has never been a first-team All-Pro or won a Super Bowl, and he has only one top-five finish in a rushing title race (third in 2006). In the running (40% to 69%): RB Saquon Barkley. Many of the modern-era players to whom hes statistically comparable played well into their 30s. Like Campbell, Heyward didn't earn widespread notoriety until he was approaching 30, with the Steelers star becoming a first-team All-Pro and Pro Bowler for the first time in his seventh season. . . That's three Hall of Famers, two locks, and Martin, who would be a lock if the Hall valued interior linemen. He'll have a better shot once reunited with Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco. Roy Williams is the lone Hall-eligible safety who didn't follow his early success to Canton. Hall of Fame Wide Receivers | Pro Football Hall of Fame - pfhof In the running (40% to 69%): QB Deshaun Watson. 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. He also came up with an interception while winning his first Super Bowl, which helps his case. 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. Thielen only emerged as a starter after turning 26, which means he would have to play into his late 30s to have a chance at racking up the cumulative stats modern wide receivers will need for enshrinement. The superstar edge rusher has made the Pro Bowl every year except 2013, when he was suspended before going down with a torn ACL. 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. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. 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. 50 Greatest QB-WR Duos in NFL History - Bleacher Report That wide receiver is Detroit Lions great Calvin Johnson. (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? On the latest episode of the Let's Go! DT | LB | CB | Safety Pictured: Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (13). He ranks seventh all-time in receiving touchdowns (116), 30th in yards (11,841) and 17th in receptions (955). He also has worked at the Austin American-Statesman and Temple Daily Telegram. Since 1980, there have been 23 Modern-Era Wide Receivers honored by the Hall of Fame, with an average Legends Score of 29. Gates numbers compare very favorably with those of the nine tight ends in the Hall. 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. 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. Rockets great and championship coach Rudy Tomjanovich was only inducted in the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021. In the running (40% to 69%): WR A.J. The big deal he signed with the Jags and the subsequent 14.5-sack campaign he posted in leading them to the AFC Championship Game turned the tide, as Campbell was a first-team All-Pro and made three consecutive Pro Bowl trips with Jacksonville. In the running (40% to 69%): C Maurkice Pouncey, LB T.J. Watt. Charley Taylor<br>1964-1975, 1977 . In the running (40% to 69%): C Jason Kelce, DT Fletcher Cox. This is the big question: How much longer will Evans play and how productive will he be? Longtime teammate Jeff Bagwell, meanwhile, had to wait until his seventh year on the ballot before gaining enshrinement to Cooperstown. Washington Commanders sign former Chiefs wide receiver/special teamer Hes too similar to other Hall-of-Famers and future Hall-of-Famers not to be taken seriously. Hekker got a two-season head start, but he has been a first-team All-Pro four times before turning 30 in February. Typically, there are between 45 and 50 Hall of Famers playing at any one time. His case is very strong for a first-ballot election. He just turned 26 in August. Harold Carmichael finished his career with 590 receptions and 79 touchdowns. Suggs logged 139 sacks, good for eighth all-time. Left and right arrows move across top level links and expand / close menus in sub levels. 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. The Best Wide Receivers of All-Time - Future Football Legends Returning to form and earning a seventh Pro Bowl nod in his first season with the Ravens got Thomas back on track. Since 1970, 55 players who are eligible for Canton have hit that 8+2 mark, and 52 of them earned enshrinement. Bosa won Defensive Rookie of the Year, which hasn't been quite as big of a boon as you might think. We're in a pass-happy era, but Thomas has more receptions (470) and receiving yards (5,512) than any other players in league history through their first four seasons. He shared a receivers room with four Hall-of-Famers and caught balls from a pair of Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks in Peyton Manning and Kurt Warner while playing in eight post-season games . Art Monk. He had a wasted 2019 season, as he went down with a high ankle sprain in Week 3 and averaged 3.2 yards per carry over his next seven games after returning, but 2020 should see Barkley return to form. In the running (40% to 69%): S Eddie Jackson. So maybe the best thing for Johnson and Texans fans is to be patient. 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. I think Patrick Willis is going to make it in after an eight-year career in which he racked up seven Pro Bowl appearances and five first-team All-Pro nods and retired as he turned 30. 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. A candidate must get 80 percent of the vote to be elected. The 2021 Radio Hall of Fame inductees will be honored at the in-person 2021 Radio Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Thursday, October 28, 2021, at Chicago's Wintrust Grand Banking Hall.