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Committee Chairman

Kirk Buchner, "The Committee Chairman", is the owner and operator of the site.  Kirk can be contacted at [email protected] .

74. Eli Manning

Drafted in 2004 with the first overall pick by the San Diego Chargers, Eli Manning did not want to play for the Bolts, and he was quickly traded to the New York Giants, where he would play his entire career.  A four-time Pro Bowl Selection, he would take the Giants to two Super Bowl Championships, both against the heavily favored New England Patriots, the first of which was when the Pats were undefeated going into the big game.  Notably, he was Super Bowl MVP in both title games.

He retired with 57,023 Passing Yards with a TD-INT ratio of 366-244.  At the time of his retirement, Manning was seventh in Passing Yards, seventh in Completions (4,895), and seventh in Passing Touchdowns (366).  These are good numbers, but he was never in the top three in any of them, and he led the NFL in Interceptions three times.  Also, his highest finish in Passer Rating was seventh (2011), and he never had another top-ten finish.  This was the same for Completion Percentage, with only one top-ten finish, a ninth in 2010. 

Manning will likely be the most polarizing Hall of Fame candidate if he isn't already.  Peyton's younger brother is a two-time Super Bowl Champion, but was never a First or Second Team All-Pro, and has a .500 record as a starter.  We expect this to have the most comments of any first-year eligible player in 2025.

146. Aqib Talib

Aqib Talib was the 20th Overall Pick in 2008, but the former Kansas Jayhawk struggled early to live up to expectations.  Winning the starting job at Left Cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his sophomore year, Talib did well, but it was not until 2012, when he was traded to the New England Patriots, that his star began to rise.

Talib was a Second Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl Selection in 2013, his lone full season in New England, but he did not stay there, signing with the Denver Broncos as a Free Agent in 2014.  His success continued: he was a Pro Bowler in all four years in Denver, earned First Team All-Pro honors in 2016, and helped the Broncos win Super Bowl 50.

The Cornerback would finish his career with the Los Angeles Rams and Miami Dolphins and retired with 35 career Interceptions.

Zane Beadles

Zane Beadles was twice an All-MWC Selection when he played at Utah, and he stayed in the mountains when the Denver Broncos took him in the Second Round in 2010.

Sam Shields

Sam Shields was undrafted in 2010, but the former Miami Hurricane found employment with the Green Bay Packers, the team that he helped as a rookie win Super Bowl XLV.