Eli Manning, Luke Kuechly, and All Potential Candidates for 2025 Hall of Fame Class

The Pro Football Hall of Fame will celebrate its newest inductees Saturday in Canton with the arrival of seven new players to the immortal brotherhood of the game's best.

The enshrinement of this year's greats also means looking to the future to determine who may join those competitors in next year's crop of inductees.

Several high-profile players reach eligibility for the first time, including two-time Super Bowl champion Eli Manning and NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, Luke Kuechly.

Ahead of Saturday's ceremony, find out who else joins those two greats in their first year of eligibility, as well as who else is still seeking that enshrinement, with this preview of the 2025 class.

Newly Eligible Players in 2025

Photo by: 2017 Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images

CLEVELAND, OH - DECEMBER 17, 2017: Linebacker Terrell Suggs #55 of the Baltimore Ravens gestures toward fans as he walks onto the field prior to a game on December 17, 2017 against the Cleveland Browns at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio. Baltimore won 27-10. (Photo by: 2017 Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images)

Players who will have their first year of eligibility in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2025 include:

• Travis Frederick, Center, Dallas Cowboys (2013-19)
• Luke Kuechly, Linebacker, Carolina Panthers (2012-19)
  
• Marshawn Lynch, Running Back, Buffalo Bills/Seattle Seahawks/Las Vegas Raiders (2007-19)
• Eli Manning, Quarterback, New York Giants (2004-19)
• Joe Staley, Offensive Tackle, San Francisco 49ers (2007-19)
• Terrell Suggs, Linebacker, Baltimore Ravens/Arizona Cardinals/Kansas City Chiefs (2003-19)
• Aqib Talib, Cornerback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers/New England Patriots/Denver Broncos/Los Angeles Rams/Miami Dolphins (2008-19)
• Adam Vinatieri, Kicker, New England Patriots/Indianapolis Colts (1996-2019)
• Marshal Yanda, Guard, Baltimore Ravens (2007-19)

Returning Eligible Players

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ST. LOUIS - OCTOBER 17: Antonio Gates #85 of the San Diego Chargers in action against the St. Louis Rams at the Edward Jones Dome on October 17, 2010 in St. Louis, Missouri. The Rams beat the Chargers 20-17. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

Players who have previously been eligible for the Hall of Fame but have yet to be inducted are as follows:

• Eric Allen, Cornerback, Philadelphia Eagles/New Orleans Saints/Oakland Raiders
• Jared Allen, Defensive End, Kansas City Chiefs/Minnesota Vikings/Chicago Bears/Carolina Panthers
• Willie Anderson, Tackle, Cincinnati Bengals/Baltimore Ravens
• Jahri Evans, Guard, New Orleans Saints
• Antonio Gates, Tight End, San Diego Chargers
• Rodney Harrison, Safety, San Diego Chargers/New England Patriots
• Torry Holt, Wide Receiver, St. Louis Rams/Jacksonville Jaguars
• Fred Taylor, Running Back, Jacksonville Jaguars/New England Patriots
• Reggie Wayne, Wide Receiver, Indianapolis Colts
• Darren Woodson, Safety, Dallas Cowboys

Is Eli Manning a Hall of Famer?

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INDIANAPOLIS, IN - FEBRUARY 05: Eli Manning #10 of the New York Giants holds the Vince Lombardi trophy in the air after winning Super Bowl XLVI against the New England Patriots at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 5, 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Rob Tringali/SportsChrome/Getty Images)

Eli Manning will be the most controversial potential inductee in the 2025 class, for a bevy of reasons.

First, there was always the conception that the attention paid to him throughout his career by media was the direct result of what his last name was and the fact that he played in the NFL's biggest market, New York, more so than his play on the field.

Whether that argument was wrong is up for debate but what is not is that Manning did something no other quarterback did in two different Super Bowls: out-dueled Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

Manning won Super Bowls XLII and XLVI with the Giants, coming up big under the most pressure-packed scenario as he launched the ball deep down field to David Tyree in the 2008 game and Mario Manningham in the 2012 game, both of whom came up with incredible catches to make the championship celebrations possible.

He also ranks 10th in career passing yards with 57,023 and 10th with 366 passing touchdowns.

That is the good news for Manning.

The bad? The former Ole Miss gunslinger threw 244 career interceptions, good enough for 12th on the list and, other than those two Super Bowl seasons, only had the Giants in the postseason three other times.

His record in those games: 0-3.

Manning will get into the Hall of Fame, probably on the first ballot, because he is football royalty, has those two championships over Brady and the Pats, has the numbers, and was a Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award winner.

He is well-regarded by media, has made a career for himself after his days of playing came to an end, and was one of the faces of the league during his time in it.

Would it have been nice to see more playoff success than the (admittedly great) two-year window? Absolutely, but he has enough working in his favor, including popularity in the aforementioned biggest NFL and media market, to make it in on his first try.

It's Time for Big Game to Enter the Hall

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ST. LOUIS, MO ? OCTOBER 15: Wide receiver Torry Holt #81 of the St. Louis Rams holds the ball during the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis, Missouri on October 15, 2006. The Seahawks won 30-28. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images)

There are several players eligible for the Hall who did not make it in on their first try who are more than deserving of enshrinement. Antonio Gates changed the game at the tight end position and it is flabbergasting that the great Willie Anderson has yet to take his place among the greats.

As great as those two competitors were, there is one Hall of Fame-worthy player who has tet to make it in, despite several years of eligibility: wide receiver Torry Holt.

A rookie in 1999, Holt arrived in St. Louis and immediately helped bolster offensive coordinator Mike Martz's Greatest Show on Turf offense, joining fellow wide out Isaac Bruce, running back Marshall Faulk, and quarterback Kurt Warner in revolutionizing the way the league played offense.

Holt was a seven-time Pro Bowler and in 2003, was a first-team All-Pro selection. He led the NFL in receiving in 2000 with 1635 yards and again, in that All-Pro season, with 1696 yards.

Throughout his career in St. Louis, and one forgettable season in Jacksonville, Holt missed just three games, proving his durability.

Holt played in two Super Bowls (XXXIV and XXXVI), amassing 12 catches for 158 yards and a touchdown.

If there was a knock on Holt, it would be that the second-half of his career was spent in a mediocre-at-best Rams organization that became mostly irrelevant across the NFL following the fall of the Greatest Show on Turf.

Still, he was an elite wide receiver, a player who could be counted on to come up big at the most significant times, and one of the architects of the most important offensive schemes in NFL history.

"Big Game" ranks 17th in all-time receiving yards with 13,382 and 23rd with 920 receptions.

Holt and the Rams laid the foundation for the pass-happy league that the NFL would ultimately become and the NC State product is the only significant member of that offense that has not yet been enshrined.

With no major wide receivers becoming eligible in 2025, it is time for Holt to take his place alongside Warner, Faulk, Bruce, and head coach of that 1999 miracle team, Dick Vermeil and earn that gold jacket that has eluded him for far too long.