NFL Players Who Can Cement Hall of Fame Resumes with Productive 2023 Season
In less than two months, the NFL will kick off the 2023 preseason while welcoming nine new members into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. During enshrinement week, fans will celebrate the careers of legends like Joe Klecko and Darrelle Revis. Several current players will dream of one day being inducted too.
While most players strive to be considered an all-time great, the majority of players we see this season won't actually reach the Hall of Fame.
A few will inevitably make it there, though, and several will have opportunities to cement their Hall of Fame cases in 2023. We'll examine eight of those players here.
To be clear, we're not looking at players we believe are already Hall of Fame locks, players like two-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes, four-time MVP Aaron Rodgers and three-time Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald. Those with multiple Super Bowl wins or multiple MVP/Player of the Year awards were excluded.
Instead, we'll be diving into players who are perhaps one key milestone away. We'll examine what they've done to get on the Hall of Fame brink and what it will take to reach Canton.
Players are listed in alphabetical order.
RB Derrick Henry
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While the running back position has become devalued and stars like Dalvin Cook and Ezekiel Elliott are left looking for work, Derrick Henry remains a throwback.
Arguably the best pure runner in the league, the 29-year-old is fully capable of carrying an offense the way that Hall of Famers like Jim Brown and Curtis Martin once did. With an uncanny blend of size (6'3", 247 lbs), power and breakaway speed, Henry is the most unique back in recent memory.
The Tennessee Titans back has already earned a place in football lore. In only five seasons as a full-time starter, Henry has earned three Pro Bowl nods, one first-team All-Pro, two league rushing titles and was named the 2020 NFL Offensive Player of the Year.
In all, Henry was rushed for 8,335 yards, produced 9,579 scrimmage yards and scored 81 combined touchdowns. One more great season could be enough to cement Henry as the best back of his era.
Henry is 1,665 yards away from the coveted 10,000-yard mark. He has topped that number twice in his career, and there's a chance that Henry does it again in 2023. Should Henry hit 10,000 rushing yards and 90-plus touchdowns by the end of this season—while winning a third rushing title—it will be hard to keep him out of the Hall of Fame.
WR Tyreek Hill
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In today's pass-driven NFL, it's become easier for wide receivers to rack up gaudy numbers and harder for them to make Hall of Fame cases. There is no shortage of playmaking receivers, which is why even a player like Davante Adams—who has six Pro Bowl nods, three first-team All-Pro selections and has twice led the league in receiving touchdowns—can struggle to stand out.
Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill isn't just another great receiver, though. With one Super Bowl ring already in his pocket, the 29-year-old is on the cusp of the Hall of Fame.
Hill has been to seven Pro Bowls, made four first-team All-Pro lists and won Super Bowl LIV. He's 1,660 receiving yards away from the 10,000-yard mark and is looking to reach that milestone this season.
In fact, Hill is hoping to set a new single-season record.
"Oh yeah, for sure," Hill said when asked if the 2,000 yards was realistic, per Joe Morgan of Fox News. "I think the added game gives me quite the advantage, so yeah."
Hill might not have to set a record to solidify his Hall of Fame case. Another strong campaign and a second Super Bowl win would be enough.
Edge Khalil Mack
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As the NFL has become more of a passing league, it's also become more difficult for pass-rushers to stand out. 100 career sacks is no longer enough to create a Hall of Fame case.
Getting into Canton as a pass-rusher requires both impressive statistics and individual accolades. 2023 inductee DeMarcus Ware, for example, has nine Pro Bowls, four first-team All-Pro selections, two sack titles and a Super Bowl win to go with his 138.5 career sacks.
Los Angeles Chargers pass-rusher Khalil Mack isn't approaching Ware's sack total this season. He needs 15.5 sacks just to reach 100. However, he can approach Ware's awards list with an incredible season.
Mack has already made three first-team All-Pro lists and seven Pro Bowl rosters and was the 2016 Defensive Player of the Year. The 32-year-old could potentially make the Hall of Fame with one more incredible campaign.
Should Mack make an eighth Pro Bowl and a fourth All-Pro team this season while reaching 100 career sacks, earning a second DPOY award and maybe even lifting the Lombardi Trophy, he'll get in.
Is that likely to happen? No, but it's not impossible for one of the most impactful defenders of the past decade.
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G Zack Martin
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Since offensive linemen don't generally make highlight reels or get credited with delivering victories, it takes a truly special resume for them to reach the Hall of Fame.
2023 inductee Joe Thomas, for example, never appeared in a playoff game. However, he made six first-team All-Pro lists and 10 Pro Bowls in an 11-year career. He also played what is believed to be a record
10,363 consecutive snaps.
Longevity and consistent performance are the keys for a lineman crafting a Canton-worthy resume. Dallas Cowboys guard Zack Martin has delivered on both counts, even if he hasn't shined quite as brightly as Thomas just yet.
Martin has also been a first-team All-Pro six times and has made eight Pro Bowls in his nine-year career. A seventh All-Pro nod might be enough to solidify Martin's position as the best interior lineman of his era, just as Thomas was the best tackle of his.
And if Martin can somehow help the Cowboys win their first Super Bowl since the 1995 season, he'll likely be a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
QB Matthew Stafford
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If we're being honest, the Los Angeles Rams aren't likely to be major contenders in 2023. The Rams won just five games last season, and they parted with key players like Jalen Ramsey, Bobby Wagner and Leonard Floyd in the offseason.
It's worth noting, though, that the Rams' three biggest stars—Matthew Stafford, Aaron Donald and Cooper Kupp—suffered season-ending injuries along the way in 2022. If Los Angeles is healthy this season, there's a slim chance it becomes a surprise contender in the NFC.
And that's what it would take for quarterback Matthew Stafford to make the Hall of Fame in Year 15. The 35-year-old has produced 52,082 passing yards, which ranks 11th on the all-time list. In a pass-happy, 17-game era, that ranking isn't going to hold.
Stafford has just one Pro Bowl and one Comeback Player of the Year award on his resume to go with one Lombardi Trophy. He'll need just a bit more.
What can get Stafford into the Hall of Fame is a second Super Bowl ring. Only 13 quarterbacks have won more than one Super Bowl, and most of them are already in the Hall or will get there when eligible.
Jim Plunkett is the only eligible quarterback with two Super Bowl wins not enshrined in Canton.
If Stafford somehow defies the Rams' expectations and wins Super Bowl No. 2—while perhaps jumping into the top-1o all-time passers list ahead of Eli Manning (57,023 yards)—he'll eventually leave Plunkett standing alone.
LB Bobby Wagner
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A linebacker who isn't a dedicated pass-rusher must be a true difference-maker to earn Hall of Fame consideration. That's precisely what the Dolphins and, briefly, the Cowboys got in 2023 inductee Zach Thomas.
Thomas compiled 1,723 career tackles, 20.5 sacks, 17 interceptions, 16 forced fumbles, seven Pro Bowls, five first-team All-Pro nods and led the league in tackles twice.
Linebacker Bobby Wagner is poised to either approach or surpass most of Thomas' numbers this season. The eight-time Pro Bowler and six-time first-team All-Pro has 29.5 sacks, 1,523 tackles, 13 interceptions, six forced fumbles and has twice led the NFL in tackles.
Wagner also helped the Seattle Seahawks win Super Bowl XLVIII and is back with the franchise that drafted him.
"It's good to be back in this place," Wagner said in April, per ESPN's Brady Henderson.
Wagner has a chance for a storybook ending. Should the 32-year-old call it a career next offseason, he can finish his career where it started and perhaps even finish with a second Super Bowl ring. Doing so would secure his spot as a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
OT Trent Williams
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Joe Thomas has set the bar for modern NFL tackles, and Trent Williams of the San Francisco 49ers is chasing it.
While Williams has only two first-team All-Pro nods on his resume, he's made 10 Pro Bowls in 12 seasons. He's also still playing at a high level, which separates him from other awards compilers like Jason Peters.
Peters has made the first-team All-Pro list twice and has nine Pro Bowls. However, he made just one start for the Cowboys in 2022 and remains a free agent heading towards July. he's likely to add little, if anything, to his resume this season.
Williams, on the other hand, is a full-time starter for the 49ers. He was a Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro last season and appeared in his second straight NFC Championship Game.
Assuming they find a reliable starting quarterback—Brock Purdy is recovering from elbow surgery, while Trey Lance remains largely unproven—the 49ers should be title contenders this season. If Williams has another All-Star season and helps San Francisco win its sixth Lombardi Trophy, there will be no denying his Hall of Fame credentials.
QB Russell Wilson
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Denver Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson is probably a step closer to the Hall of Fame than Stafford, but he's not the lock that some might think. While the 34-year-old has one ring, has played in two Super Bowls and has made nine Pro Bowls, he's never been a first-team All-Pro or been named league MVP.
Wilson also struggled in his first campaign with Denver, posting a career-worst 84.4 quarterback rating. If his 2022 struggles prove to be the beginning of a sudden decline, it could tarnish Wilson's legacy.
Can Wilson rebound under the guidance of new head coach Sean Payton? He'll have to if he hopes to solidify his place in Canton by the end of the season. Wilson has to prove that he's still an elite quarterback and not just a product of Seattle's system.
Should Wilson bounce back enough to notch his first-ever MVP or All-Pro nod, that could be enough to cement him as a Hall of Famer. If he somehow leads the Broncos to a Super Bowl victory, he'll get in on the first ballot.
To date, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are the only quarterbacks who have won Super Bowls with two different franchises. Wilson at least has a chance to join that exclusive club this season.
*Statistics from Pro Football Reference.
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