Exactly 350 former NFL players have a chance to join pro football's most coveted fraternity in 2025. This month, the Pro Football Hall of Fame has revealed its 167 modern-era and 183 senior players whose Hall of Fame candidacy will he heard in the comings months.
Trying to figure out who will make up this year's Hall of Fame class is like trying to find a golf ball in the fall. While there is a lot to sort through, there are ways to see through the clutter.
While each player is deserving in their own right, there are certain modern-era and senior players whose careers distinguish themselves from the pack. And, based on looking at recent voter trends, one can get a better idea as to who may be fitted for a gold jacket this summer in Canton, Ohio.
With that in mind, I took a stab at predicting what this year's Pro Football Hall of Fame class might look like. As a refresher, a maximum of five modern-era and three senior players can be selected. The unofficial maximum number a class can have is eight inductees, and because there is another category for coaches/contributors, that will likely reduce the number of senior nominees selected.
Here are my picks, along with my reasoning for each selection.
Eli Manning, QB (Giants, 2004-19)
Manning is one of several deserving players who are eligible for the first time. His career stats may pale in comparison to some of his peers, but Manning's two Super Bowl wins (especially his role in the Giants' upset win over the previously undefeated Patriots) and two Super Bowl MVP awards are his tickets to Canton.
The younger Manning brother was magical in two Super Bowl runs for the Giants. During those runs, he defeated teams quarterbacked by Tony Romo, Brett Favre, Tom Brady (twice), Matt Ryan and Aaron Rodgers. His Super Bowl performances are elite, but Manning's gutsy efforts in NFC Championship game wins over the Packers and 49ers are equally impressive.
Manning is just one of 13 starting quarterbacks with multiple Super Bowls wins. He's one of just six players with multiple Super Bowl MVPs. The other five: Bart Starr, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, Brady and Patrick Mahomes.
If all of that wasn't enough, Manning's 222 consecutive starts are the third-highest total in NFL history, another feather on his Hall of Fame cap.
Hines Ward, WR (Steelers, 1998-11)
For those who say Ward didn't compile gaudy enough stats, consider this: he is just one of nine players in NFL history with at least 1,000 career catches and 85 career touchdown receptions. Every eligible member of that exclusive club is in the Hall of Fame. Ward put up those numbers despite playing in a run-first offense the majority of his career.
Ward made his stats count, too. Just ask fans of rival AFC North teams who routinely watched in anguish as Ward ruined their afternoon by making yet another big catch at a critical moment. He was especially good on third downs and in the red zone.
If that wasn't bad enough, opposing fans had to endure the sight of Ward taking out their team's top defenders as a blocker. Ward relished that element of the game like no other receiver before or after him.
Ward's playoff success is what really puts his candidacy over the top. He won two Super Bowls and was named the MVP of Super Bowl XL after recording five catches for 123 yards that included the game-clinching touchdown. Ward is 10th in career postseason receiving yards, eighth in career playoff receptions and tied for fifth in playoff career touchdown catches.
If Ward isn't selected, rest assured that a receiver will make it in this year as there are several very deserving candidates.
Antonio Gates, TE (Chargers, 2003-18)
A basketball player in college, Gates boxed out plenty of defenders in the pros en route to becoming one of the most productive tight ends in NFL history. Gates is currently third all time among tight ends in career receiving yards (11,841) and receptions (955). He leads all tight ends with 116 career touchdown receptions.
A nightmare mismatch for defenders, Gates was physically imposing at 6-foot-4 and 255 pounds. He served as a consistent target for Philip Rivers while helping create space for Hall of Fame running back LaDainian Tomlinson to score an NFL-record 31 touchdowns during the 2006 season.
What was really remarkable about Gates' career was his longevity. He caught 13 touchdowns in 2004 and reeled in 12 scores a decade later at age 34. At age 36, Gates caught seven touchdowns while continuing to be a lethal red zone threat.
"On the outside looking in, you're going to think of the pivot route and corner route, and know he was the best at both of them," Rivers once said of Gates. "Not that he couldn't run many, many other routes. But those two when it comes to mind, it was just, put him at on a seven, let him run a pivot and they've got no chance."
Jahri Evans, RG (Saints, 2006-16, Packers, 2017)
The voters has done a decent job in recent years when it comes to recognizing former offensive linemen. With that in mind, I have a feeling that Evans will get the call this year after being a finalist in 2024.
A member of Sean Payton's first rookie class in New Orleans, Evans started as a rookie and never looked back. He started in each of his 183 career regular-season and 10 playoff games. He was an All-Pro every year from 2009-12 and was a Pro Bowler every year from 2009-14.
Evans' rise was parallel to the success of the Saints, who won the franchise's only Super Bowl during Evans' first All-Pro season. Evans played a key role in Drew Brees' prolific career; he blocked for Brees during each of his record five 5,000-yard passing seasons.
"We played the Saints Week 2 of my rookie year in 2012," recalled former Panthers standout linebacker Luke Kuechly. "I hadn't seen interior guards as big and physical as what the Saints had with Jahri and Ben Grubbs before. Jahri was in the prime of his career and he was so smart and efficient. He understood when he had to move someone up front or just get to a spot and shield you off.
"He had a great feel for the game and I always felt like those guys were the most difficult to deal with because there was so much variety to their game and you couldn't anticipate how they would handle a block. He could switch it up and keep you guessing."
Luke Kuechly, LB (Panthers, 2012-19)
If the voters repeat recent history, Kuechly will have to wait a little bit before he earns his rightful place in Canton. His career mirrors Patrick Willis, the former 49ers standout inside linebacker who didn't get inducted until this past summer, his fifth year of eligibility. Hopefully, the voters don't make the same mistake now with Kuechly.
Kuechly did everything a player can do during his eight-year career. He won Defensive Rookie of the Year (2012), Defensive Player of the Year (2013), was a seven-time Pro Bowler and a five-time All-Pro. In 2015, Kuechly spearheaded a Panthers defense that helped Carolina go 15-1 during the regular season en route to the franchise's second Super Bowl appearance.
Kuechly led the NFL in tackles twice and averaged 136.5 tackles per season for his career.
"He was the ultimate professional and was a big part of what we created in Carolina," former Panthers coach Ron Rivera said upon Kuechly's retirement. "Luke was a tremendous leader and teammate and one of the best players I've ever coached."
Harvey Martin, DE (Cowboys, 1973-83)
The voters have gone back and honored several deserving defensive standouts from the 1970s in recent years, and I think that trend will continue in 2025. That could lead to the enshrinement of Martin, the 1977 Defensive of the Year who shared Super Bowl MVP honors that season with teammate (and Hall of Fame inductee) Randy White.
Arguably the NFL's best pass rusher during the mid-to-late '70s, Martin unofficially tallied 114 sacks during his career (individual sack totals didn't become an official stat until 1982). He had a league-high 20 sacks during the 14-game 1977 season. That year, Martin helped lead the Cowboys to the franchise's second Super Bowl win, a 27-10 thrashing of the Broncos in Super Bowl XII.
A member of the 1970s All-Decade Team, the rangy Martin averaged 13.9 sacks per year from 1976-80.
If Martin isn't selected, several other Cowboys defenders from that era have a shot at getting into Canton, including safety Charlie Waters, linebacker Lee Roy Jordan and defensive lineman Ed "Too Tall" Jones.
L.C. Greenwood, Steelers (1969-81)
I thought the '70s Steelers had already sent their final player to Canton before the voters elected former safety Donnie Shell as part of the 2020 Centennial Class. Shell's induction has somewhat opened the door for Greenwood, an extremely important member of arguably the greatest team ever assembled.
A 10th-round pick in 1969, Greenwood developed into one of the NFL's best defensive linemen during the 1970s. He was selected to six Pro Bowls over an eight-year span and is a member of the 1970s All-Decade Team. Greenwood was part of the Steelers' menacing "Steel Curtain" defensive line that included Hall of Famer Joe Greene along with Dwight White and Ernie Holmes.
That unit wreaked utter havoc on opposing offense, with Greenwood doing his fare share of destruction. In Super Bowl IX, Greene batted three of Fran Tarkenton's passes as Pittsburgh's defense shut out Minnesota's prolific offense. A year later, Greenwood sacked Roger Staubach a record four times as Pittsburgh defeated Dallas in Super Bowl X.
Greenwood won four Super Bowls in Pittsburgh and retired as the Steelers' franchise career sack leader.
Contributor: Mike Shanahan
Shanahan's influence on the NFL was impossible to ignore in the mid-to-late 1990s. In 1994, as the 49ers offensive coordinator, Shanahan oversaw an offense that scored 49 points in a blowout win over the Chargers in Super Bowl XXIX. That night, his quarterback, Steve Young, threw six touchdowns, a Super Bowl record that still stands.
Three years later, Shanahan, now serving as the Broncos coach, guided the team to a historic Super Bowl upset over the defending-champion Green Bay Packers. The key to the Broncos' upset (Denver snapped the NFC's 13-year Super Bowl winning streak) was running back Terrell Davis and the offense's pristine execution of Shanahan's zone running scheme. Davis rushed for 157 yards and a record three touchdowns despite missing the entire second quarter with a migraine.
A year later, Shanahan led the Broncos to a successful defense of their title. The Broncos rolled to a 14-2 record before dismantling the Dolphins, Jets and Falcons in the playoffs by a combined score of 95-32. Shanahan enjoyed a highly successful partnership with John Elway, who enjoyed a career resurgence when Shanahan arrived in Denver in 1995.