A look at future NFL Hall of Fame names
Five current quarterbacks seem to be virtual locks to be enshrined one day
Now that he Pro Football Hall of Fame has inducted its 56th class, here’s look at which active NFL players should one day be enshrined in Canton (only players with five or more years of experience were considered):
Virtual locks
1. Tom Brady — Five Super Bowl wins in eight appearances and three league MVP awards are just the start of the list of accomplishments for Brady, as surefire a Hall of Fame candidate as the league has seen.
2. Drew Brees — Super Bowl XLIV MVP needs 1,496 yards to become the all-time passing yardage leader. He should own that record by Halloween.
3. Aaron Rodgers — Has two league MVP awards and a Super Bowl MVP to his name. He also is the NFL’s all-time leader in passer rating by a healthy margin (103.8 to Russell Wilson’s 98.8).
4. J.J. Watt — One of two in NFL history to be named defensive player of the year three times. The other: Lawrence Taylor, a first-ballot Hall of Famer.
5. Larry Fitzgerald — An 11-time Pro Bowl selection, Fitzgerald ranks third in career receptions and receiving yards but could move up to No. 2 in both categories by the end of 2018.
6. Julius Peppers — With 1541⁄ sacks,
2 Peppers sits at No. 4 on the all-time list behind three Hall of Famers and ahead of several others.
7. Ben Roethlisberger — Already in the top 10 all time for career completions, passing yards and touchdowns, Big Ben also helped add two Super Bowl titles to Pittsburgh’s league-leading six.
8. Rob Gronkowski — Health is the only possible hurdle to the Hall of Fame for Gronk, who already has four all-pro nods to his name and is one of the league’s most dominant players.
9. Antonio Brown — In eight seasons, he has led the league in receptions and receiving yards twice and earned four all-pro selections, six Pro Bowl nods and a reputation as the game’s most dangerous receiving threat.
10. Earl Thomas — The Seahawks’ last remaining founding member of the Legion of Boom, he spent most of his career as arguably the NFL’s premier safety.
11. Richard Sherman — A four-time Pro Bowler and three-time all-pro, he made the decisive play in the 2013 NFC Championship Game, two weeks before Seattle’s Super Bowl XLVIII blowout of the Broncos. Kam Chancellor, who played in the same secondary as Thomas and Sherman, also has a case to make it three members of the vaunted Legion in the Hall.
12. Eli Manning — Pretty safe bet he and Peyton will be the first brothers in the Hall. Eli, MVP in the Giants’ two Super Bowl wins, should be among elite company on the all-time career passing lists by the time his career is complete, despite his overall uneven resume.
13. Adam Vinatieri — There are two pure kickers (plus one punter) in the Hall of Fame, with Morten Andersen being the most recent inductee (2017). Vinatieri has made some of the most famous field goals in league history: two Super Bowl winners, plus the tying and winning field goals in the snow in the famous Tuck Rule game. If his reputa- tion for clutch kicks wasn’t enough to earn enshrinement, the fact he needs just 58 points to supplant Andersen
(2,544) as the league’s all-time leading scorer probably will be.
14. Jason Peters — A nine-time Pro Bowler and two-time all-pro, Peters had the great misfortune of being injured during the only Super Bowl appearance (and win) of his career.
Antonio Gates — Currently an unsigned free agent, though not officially retired. An eight-time Pro Bowler, threetime all-pro and member of the NFL’s
2000s all-decade team, Gates is the NFL’s all-time leader in touchdown receptions (114) for tight ends.
Adrian Peterson — Unsigned, he could be facing the end of his career. If so, he would leave the game as one of the elite running backs of his era. In
2012, coming off major knee surgery, Peterson came 8 yards short of Eric Dickerson’s season rushing yardage record of 2,105.
On track
Eric Berry — Two season-ending injuries (knee in 2011, Achilles in 2017) and a Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis in
2014 have cut significant playing time from the prime of Berry’s career. In each of the five seasons Berry completed, he was named to the Pro Bowl. After being declared cancer-free in 2015, Berry’s return to play and comeback player of the year recognition was one of that season’s best storylines.
A.J. Green — He and Julio Jones came into the league at the same time
(2011), and their careers have been equally impressive. Green has been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his seven seasons.
DeAndre Hopkins — With a knack for the highlight-reel grab, Hopkins has produced despite a revolving door of mediocre quarterbacks in Houston. With the help of a healthy Deshaun Watson, Hopkins can continue to build a case.
Julio Jones — The 2015 league leader in receptions and receiving yards, he’s in the “NFL’s best wide receiver” conversation alongside Brown.
Luke Kuechly — The 2012 defensive rookie of the year and 2013 defensive player of the year has been arguably the best middle linebacker since entering the league.
Von Miller — The Super Bowl 50 MVP is perhaps the game’s premier pass rusher right now.
Patrick Peterson — A multipurpose threat on defense and special teams, he has been selected to the Pro Bowl in each of his seven NFL seasons.
Matt Ryan — Has posted seven seasons of 4,000 or more passing yards, won the 2016 MVP award and directed the Falcons to a Super Bowl appearance.
Tyron Smith — With Joe Thomas now retired, he might be the NFL’s top left tackle.
Ndamukong Suh — In eight seasons, Suh has five Pro Bowls and three all-pro selections. However, will a reputation for dirty play hurt his chances?
Bobby Wagner — One of the league’s premier middle linebackers for one of the best defenses, Wagner has been a four-time Pro Bowl selection and a three-time all-pro.
Russell Wilson — He accomplished so much so early, taking the Seahawks to two Super Bowls, winning one.