Or write about sports? 1 min read. Theyre easily first-ballot selections. The others are Moss, Keenan Allen and Amari Cooper. 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. Giants fans would be happy if Thomas solidified a position that has been a mess since Will Beatty tore his pec in 2015. And as much as everyone loves Boldin, he was never dominant enough to keep his former teammate out of Canton. Quarterback Drew Brees and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald are the two prominent ballot newcomers. The Notre Dame product probably needs a second one to have a viable shot at Canton. Work to do (10% to 39%): OT Duane Brown. In the running (40% to 69%): QB Dak Prescott, WR Amari Cooper. 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. The Hall is forgiving of running backs, and Bell's versatility should age well, but he has missed a lot of time through injuries, suspensions and his 2018 holdout. 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. 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. McShay's favorite pick for all 32 teams He has the third most sacks through his age-25 season of any player since the league made it an official stat in 1982, trailing only Derrick Thomas and J.J. Watt. Work to do (10% to 39%): DE Yannick Ngakoue. 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%): RB Melvin Gordon, DE Jurrell Casey. What will define Eric Bieniemy's success? Honestly, the biggest factor holding Evans back right now is his team: The Bucs dont attract a lot of national attention, and they havent been to the postseason since 2007. Bakhtiari, likewise, is blocked by Tyron Smith. Graham's case is interesting. Mosley's case, meanwhile, has stalled in New York. Likely (70% to 99%): LB Khalil Mack. 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. In the running (40% to 69%): DT Ndamukong Suh. Eagles fans will be furious, but the reality is that Wentz has made one Pro Bowl and hasn't won a playoff game or led the league in a major statistical category (outside of fumbles) during his first four seasons. When a group consists of you and Jerry Rice, you've done something right. Watt is off to a dominant start, having racked up 34.5 sacks over three seasons while earning two Pro Bowl nods and a first-team All-Pro berth last season. There are another 11 players who aren't yet Hall-eligible, and five of them are locks to do the same. podcast, future Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, aware of the Raiders and Jets being interested in trading for the always-grumbling MVP. 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. Work to do (10% to 39%): RB Le'Veon Bell, LB C.J. The best trade Andy Reid ever made was moving up in the draft for Mahomes in 2017. 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. 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. If you want to know why people are excited about the Cowboys' offense in 2020, consider that they could have as many as five future Hall of Famers lining up when everyone's healthy. If Kelce can earn that nod in 2020, that might be enough to get him in. Thomas now has three Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pro nods in four years, and while there might be some sort of drop-off if Brees retires, the Ohio State product did just fine with Teddy Bridgewater on the field in 2019. He has made the Pro Bowl in each of his first six seasons, adding four first-team All-Pro appearances. Both Bosa and Kittle could make this tier placement look stupid if they have big seasons in 2020. Work to do (10% to 39%): QB Carson Wentz, TE Zach Ertz, CB Darius Slay. Top-10 picks who make it to the Pro Bowl as rookies have a great track record. 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. Newton has an MVP award, which goes a long way toward pushing any player into the Hall of Fame. Bosa won Defensive Rookie of the Year, which hasn't been quite as big of a boon as you might think. On Saturday night, Eagles star Harold Carmichael and Rams star Isaac Bruce were inducted as part of a . The left tackle has seven Pro Bowls and two All-Pro nods before turning 30. 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. Roethlisberger won two Super Bowls with the Steelers and spent 18 seasons as Pittsburghs starter. So Johnson still has plenty of time for his credentials to be debated by the 49-person selection committee. Work to do (10% to 39%): QB Matthew Stafford, CB Jeff Okudah. 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. Likely (70% to 99%): WR Michael Thomas. 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. I think his five-year peak with the Seahawks probably would have been enough to get him in, but earning a sixth Pro Bowl trip with the 49ers last season only helped his chances. Hes too similar to other Hall-of-Famers and future Hall-of-Famers not to be taken seriously. Most importantly: This is my opinion of who is likely to get in given current rsums, not who belongs in. 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. Elroy 'Crazylegs' Hirsch, future Hall of Fame wide receiver, led the best draft class in Rams history in 1945. Kelce is difficult to judge because tight ends aren't well represented in the Hall. Meanwhile, Johnson spent the first 12 years of his career with the expansion Texans, who didnt make the playoffs until his ninth season with quarterback play that ran the gamut from dreadful to above average. Round 1: Kiper | McShay | NFL Nation 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. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? Only Campbell is in the Hall of Fame. 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. 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. 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. We present them here for purely educational purposes. Kiper's draft grades for every team March 25, 2020 9:36 pm ET. Just play along. Scouting reports | More draft coverage. Jones now has five consecutive seasons with at least 10 sacks. 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. Last season, Thomas became the second wide receiver to win Offensive Player of the Year. The former LSU corner was already a star on the field after his 2018 campaign, but getting that first nod is usually tougher than getting invited back. In both cases, I'm looking mostly at the historical output for first overall picks. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. Watt, with his three Defensive Player of the Year awards with the Texans, will for sure give Houston another Hall of Famer. Both are among the all-time leaders in every notable stat at their positions. Both are locks for election. Casey has made five consecutive Pro Bowls, but the Titans were willing to cut him this offseason before trading him for a seventh-round pick, which also seems telling about where they saw his future. 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. For now, Tom Brady and J.J. Watt lead the list of this years retirees wholl be on the ballot in 2028. Unless he turns things around dramatically this season, he would fall out of the "Work to do" category altogether. Julio or Hopkins: Who's the better bet to lead in receiving? In the running (40% to 69%): RB Christian McCaffrey. 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. 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.. He has been one of the five best players at the second-most lucrative position in football over the past five years, and the fact that he was traded for two first-round picks and then delivered a wildly successful season with all of that attention in 2018 helps him. 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. While he has made six Pro Bowls, that's not typically enough for interior linemen to make it into the Hall. At the same time, Green has missed 23 games over the past two years with injuries. Nelson doesn't play a high-profile position, but he's off to a great start. Lock (100%): DT Aaron Donald. Many of the modern-era players to whom hes statistically comparable played well into their 30s. Dan Orlovsky denounces the NFL Network's Top 100 players for 2020 for excluding Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz. In the running (40% to 69%): OT Trent Williams. Peters might look better in the long term than he does now. In the running (40% to 69%): DE Joey Bosa, S Derwin James. Work to do (10% to 39%): OT Andrew Thomas. In the running (40% to 69%): C Maurkice Pouncey, LB T.J. Watt. Fitzpatrick went from getting benched for the Dolphins in Week 1 to becoming a first-team All-Pro after his arrival in Pittsburgh; another year like 2019 will push him into Watt territory. Wentz's injury history this early in his career also doesn't bode well for his chances of playing deep into his 30s. In the running (40% to 69%): DE Danielle Hunter, S Harrison Smith. Work to do (10% to 39%): LB Tremaine Edmunds. Quarterbacks like Ken Anderson, Boomer Esiason and Steve McNair won league MVP without earning enshrinement. Partner with Us Back. What happens next is critical for Gurley, who would have seemed on the road to Canton after taking home Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2015 and adding an Offensive Player of the Year award two years later. The Best Wide Receivers of AllTime. 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. I think the PED suspensions could help keep out players like Edelman and Lane Johnson, but it's tough to imagine Peterson not making it. Allen was named a Pro Bowler after racking up 10.5 sacks as a rookie. If you need something more, Fitzgerald's 2008 playoff run is probably the best postseason from any receiver in league history. 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. There aren't any Dolphins who would appear to have greater than a 10% chance of making the Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, Houston fans have had to wait through the years to see their stars get inducted. The shrine in Canton, Ohio, is one that hasnt been easy to gain membership in through the years. The list of players who have done that isn't long, as it consists of Lawrence Taylor, Barry Sanders, Emmitt Smith, Patrick Willis, Aaron Donald and Martin. That means Robinson (who is coming off . Let's see whether we can get a sense of who those 50 are right now: Jump to a team: Hunter just needs more individual recognition to raise his chances. Work to do (10% to 39%): WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, G David DeCastro, DE Cameron Heyward, S Minkah Fitzpatrick. In part, that has been driven by health; the only other wideout ranking in the top 100 for receiving yards who has played all 80 games over the past five seasons is Larry Fitzgerald. 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. 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. 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. A portion of ticket purchases is a tax-deductible charitable donation to the Museum . While injuries have cost Watt 32 games over the past four seasons, his unprecedented four-season peak from 2012 to 2015 locked up things. 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. Ten of those 12 are in the Hall -- Elliott and Adrian Peterson are the other two. 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. McCaffrey could turn into LaDainian Tomlinson, but what if he's more like Shaun Alexander, who won league MVP at his peak and never really got serious Hall of Fame consideration? 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 . 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 . Art Monk. 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. 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. Heres what those guys did in their first five seasons and where they rank among all receivers in the age-21-to-25 cohort. Gordon made it to two Pro Bowls during his five seasons with the Chargers, but injury concerns and fumble woes make it tough to see a Hall of Fame ceiling for the 2015 first-rounder. 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. Mack is entering what is likely to be his final season with the Falcons. All rights reserved. Work to do (10% to 39%): TE George Kittle, DE Nick Bosa. Work to do (10% to 39%): TE Jimmy Graham, CB Kyle Fuller. Collins was a Defensive Player of the Year candidate in 2016 and has three Pro Bowls across his first five seasons. Prescott has made two Pro Bowls over his first four seasons, but his best rsum point is winning Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2016. I haven't included players who I believe have no more than a 10% chance of making it into the Hall. Tucker is only nine years in, and while he can kick for a long time if he stays healthy, asking anyone in the NFL to do anything for 13 more seasons is risky. 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. Garrett has played at a much higher level than Mayfield, but the $125 million man has missed 11 of 48 games thanks to various injuries and his season-ending suspension in 2019. Both players are on a streak, and their chances depend on keeping that streak going. Texans great Andre Johnson fell short of election to the Hall of Fame again this year in his second time as a modern-era finalist. Players with that sort of injury history early in their careers typically don't have the sort of lengthy peak needed to become a Hall of Famer. In the running (40% to 69%): QB Philip Rivers, G Quenton Nelson, LB Darius Leonard. If he can keep this level of play up for three more seasons, Jordan could get in. why do i like being spanked psychology,