Ranking Best Pro Football Hall of Fame Resumes Among Active NFL Players
We've reached the eve of the 2024 NFL preseason, with the Houston Texans and Chicago Bears set to square off in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game before Dwight Freeney, Randy Gradishar, Devin Hester, Andre Johnson, Steve McMichael, Julius Peppers and Patrick Willis are enshrined in Canton this weekend.
In light of that, we figured we'd take stock of current Hall of Fame candidacies among active NFL players with more than six seasons under their belt.
Here's the breakdown entering the 2024 campaign.
Locks
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1. Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes: At the age of 28, Mahomes joins Tom Brady and Joe Montana as the only players with more than two Super Bowl MVP awards. The two-time regular-season MVP is already there.
2. New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers: Only Peyton Manning (five) has won more MVPs than Rodgers (four). That does it.
3. San Francisco 49ers OT Trent Williams: The three-time first-team All-Pro is the only active NFL player with more than 10 career Pro Bowl nods. All four other offensive tackles in history with at least 10 such honors are in the HOF.
4. Dallas Cowboys G Zack Martin: He's a seven-time first-team All-Pro, which leads all active NFL players. Ten other guards have at least five such honors, and they are all in the Hall.
5. Washington Commanders LB Bobby Wagner: The 12-year veteran leads all active defensive players with six first-team All-Pro nods. Nobody else on that side of the ball has more than four.
6. Pittsburgh Steelers Edge T.J. Watt: It's Watt who's at four in that category, along with a Defensive Player of the Year honor and six Pro Bowls before turning 30. That's undeniable.
7. Kansas City Chiefs TE Travis Kelce: At the tight end position, only Tony Gonzalez (six) has been a first-team All-Pro more than Kelce (four).
8. Buffalo Bills Edge Von Miller: The three-time first-team All-Pro wouldn't be there on that alone, but he ranks in the top 20 on the all-time sack list and is also a two-time Super Bowl champion as well as a Super Bowl MVP.
On the Brink
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9. Las Vegas Raiders WR Davante Adams: He's just five touchdown catches away from becoming the 11th member of the 100 club in that category. Every HOF-eligible wide receiver in that club is in the Hall. Next offseason, he should be a lock.
10. Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Mike Evans: The 30-year-old is just one touchdown back of Adams and has more yards in the same number of seasons (10 each). He's never been a first-team All-Pro but is a Super Bowl champ. These two guys are quite comparable.
11. Los Angeles Chargers edge Khalil Mack: Eight Pro Bowls, three first-team All-Pro honors and a Defensive Player of the Year award move him very close after a 17-sack season, but some team success would clinch it.
12. Miami Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill: He might merely need a couple more seasons to pad the cumulative stats, because five first-team All-Pro honors already put him in company with just four receivers—three of whom (Jerry Rice, Terrell Owens and Lance Alworth) are Hall of Famers, while the other (Del Shofner) wasn't nearly as productive as Hill in other areas.
13. Cleveland Browns edge Myles Garrett: The 28-year-old is now a DPOY and a three-time first-team All-Pro. A few more high-sack campaigns and he's in.
14. Kansas City Chiefs DL Chris Jones: A key part of three Super Bowl seasons for the Chiefs, Jones is already a five-time Pro Bowler and a frequent DPOY candidate. A couple more solid years should do it for the 30-year-old.
15. Baltimore Ravens K Justin Tucker: He's the only kicker ever to be a five-time first-team All-Pro and is the most accurate in league history. If Morten Anderson is in, so should Tucker. But you just never know with special teamers.
16. Pittsburgh Steelers QB Russell Wilson: He's never been a first-team All-Pro, but he's been an incredibly unique talent with nine Pro Bowl campaigns and two Super Bowl runs in Seattle. The competition at quarterback is strong, and he could manage to pad his stats a bit in Pittsburgh, but it's already a toss-up regardless.
17. Free Agent WR Julio Jones: A lack of big moments (touchdowns, playoff wins) might cost Jones dearly, even if he is/was a seven-time Pro Bowler with more than 13,000 career yards. Did he run out of gas too quickly?
18. Tennessee Titans WR DeAndre Hopkins: Comparable to Jones but with a shorter prime to date, the 32-year-old still has room to build cumulative stats late in his career. Three first-team All-Pro nods and more than 12,000 yards get him within reaching distance.
Significant Work to Do
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19. Baltimore Ravens RB Derrick Henry: He was absolutely dominant in 2019 and 2020 but hasn't been all that special outside of that. The OPOY in 2020 is huge, but a lack of big-time team impact hurts. Let's see what he has left in Baltimore.
20. New Orleans Saints edge Cameron Jordan: The eight-time Pro Bowler is just six sacks back of Von Miller, but he's been an All-Pro first-teamer just once and hasn't had too much team success. He also appears to be slowing down at a competitive HOF position. It might not be enough.
21. New York Jets OT Tyron Smith: A couple more impactful seasons could go a long way for a once-dominant tackle who has been limited by injuries for much of the latter part of his career and has just two first-team All-Pro nods along with limited team success.
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Long Shots
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22. Free Agent DB Patrick Peterson: He's one of 20 defensive backs with at least eight Pro Bowls on his resume. Eighteen of the other 19 are in the HOF. Still, a lack of big plays in major games could be a problem. He might also be done.
23. Cleveland Browns G Joel Bitonio: Six Pro Bowl nods amount to something, but as a two-time first-team All-Pro with limited team accolades, he'll likely have to find another gear in his mid-30s.
24. San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle: The five-time Pro Bowler is coming off one of his best seasons yet at age 30. But with just 37 career touchdowns to his name, he'll need to pick up his game even more or find some serious longevity in the next 8-10 years.
25. Pittsburgh Steelers DL Cameron Heyward: Three first-team All-Pro honors put him in the conversation as a defensive lineman, but Kevin Williams isn't even in the Hall. And he'll likely also be behind Ndamukong Suh and Chris Jones. It'll be tough and he's slowing down.
26. Philadelphia Eagles OT Lane Johnson: Five Pro Bowls and two first-team All-Pros don't do the job, even if he has a ring. The 34-year-old will likely need to play an instrumental role in another championship season.
27. Free Agent OT Jason Peters: He gets credit for hardcore longevity and had a solid prime, but just two All-Pro seasons out of 18 and only the one title don't help his case. He is also likely done at age 42.
28. Minnesota Vikings S Harrison Smith: Only one first-team All-Pro honor and limited team success hurt his case, but 34 interceptions and six Pro Bowl nods help. The resume just isn't there, and he might be running out of time.
29. Los Angeles Rams QB Matthew Stafford: That Super Bowl season is big for him and there is still room for more in the twilight of his career, but Stafford's never been a first-team All-Pro and has just two Pro Bowl nods at age 36. That makes it nearly impossible.
30. New Orleans Saints RB Alvin Kamara: Cool career with five Pro Bowl nods to date, but the 29-year-old's peak was too short and he likely wasn't a strong enough pure rusher to make it. He'd need a hell of a late-career revival to make a push.
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