2024 Pre-Season Rank #45, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #57, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #67, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #69, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #68.  Peak Period 2011-15.

In 2014, Houston led the NFL with 22 Sacks and went to four straight Pro Bowls, ending in 2015. That run with the Kansas City Chiefs seems like a long time ago, as he has been average since, and unless he has another Pro Bowl-worthy year, he likely won’t make it to Canton.  

This will be especially hard as he is currently a free agent, but he is still a free agent with over 100 Sacks (112), and that club sees multiple new members annually.  If his career is over, this is the body of work we have to judge him on, and as it stands now, the only Hall he will enter is the Kansas City Chiefs Hall.  That would still be an amazing accomplishment.

2023 Pre-Season Rank #86, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #90, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #95, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #122.  Peak Period: 2011-15

We noted before that JPP hasn’t been to the Pro Bowl since 2012, and his best days seem like a generation ago.  Perhaps he aimed to prove us wrong as he was healthy in 2020, returned to the Pro Bowl (his third), and won his second Super Bowl, but he enters his year (again) as a Free Agent, and his career might be over.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #92,2023 Pre-Season Rank #89, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #87, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #89, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #85. Peak Period:  2015-19.

More of a Swiss-Army Knife type of player than a pure pass rusher, Clowney went to three straight Pro Bowls (2016-18) with the Houston Texans, though he has not been to one since.

Clowney has been more of a role player, bouncing from various teams but still providing value.  The Hall of Fame dream is likely over, but it is a solid career that still should provide more moments this year as a Carolina Panther.  A ten-sack season (he had 9.5 twice, including last year) is still within reach if he finds a team in 2025.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #21, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #27, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #25, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #36, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #42.  Peak Period: 2017-21

Cameron Jordan is one of the many players on this list whose second half seems to eclipse his first, and isn't that a stunning statement considering that he was a 2010s All-Decade Player?  He had a six-year Pro Bowl streak snapped in 2022, but has eight in total, and a healthy number of career Sacks (121.5) and Tackles for Loss (160).  His Hall of Fame case is also bolstered by his association with only one team, the New Orleans Saints, where he has been a leader on and off the field for over a decade. However, with the state of New Orleans heading into 2025, he deserves better than that sinking ship.

As for the Hall, he has a solid resume, but bigger names in similar roles could overshadow him.  How many times have we seen that before?