As always at Notinhalloffame.com, it is onward and upward for us, and we have an additional add-on to our Football Futures Section: those who are eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2028.

The entire list of candidates in 2028 is here, but individually, they are:

A.J. Green:  Green was a potent Wide Receiver who was a six-time Pro Bowl Selection.  He amassed 10,514 Receiving Yards with 70 Touchdowns and played most of his career with the Cincinnati Bengals.

Brett Kern:  Kern was a three-time Pro Bowl Selection as a Punter.

DeSean Jackson:  A three-time Pro Bowler best known for his time as a Philadelphia Eagle, Jackson was a four-time league leader in Yards per Reception.  He had 11,263 Receiving Yards.

Devin McCourty:  McCourty played his entire professional career with the New England Patriots, where the Defensive Back was a three-time Super Bowl Champion and two-time Pro Bowl Selection.

Jamie Collins:  Collins won a Super Bowl with the Patriots, and the Linebacker went to one Pro Bowl.

J.J. Watt:  Watt is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, five-time First Team All-Pro, five-time Pro Bowl Selection, and former Walter Payton Man of the Year and has a case as the best defensive player of the 2010s.  This is as close to a lock as it gets.

Kevin Huber:  The former Punter was a Pro Bowl Selection once.

Kevin Rudolph:  Playing most of his career with the Minnesota Vikings, Rudolph was a two-time Pro Bowl at Tight End.

Mark Ingram:  A former Heisman Trophy winner, Ingram rushed for over 8,000 Yards with 65 Touchdowns and was a three-time Pro Bowler.

Matt Ryan.  Ryan won an MVP, an Offensive Player of the Year, and was the consensus Rookie of the Year.  A three-time Pro Bowl Selection, Ryan threw for 62,792 Yards and 381 Touchdowns.

Robbie Gould:  A successful Place Kicker associated with the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers, Gould twice led the NFL in Field Goals Made.

Taylor Lewan:  Lewan played his pro career with the Tennessee Titans, where the Offensive Lineman was a three-time Pro Bowl Selection.

Tom Brady:  If J.J. Watt is a lock, then Tom Brady’s bust has already been built.  The seven-time Super Bowl Champion and multi-time MVP was the GOAT of Football and arguably all of team sports.

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A.J. Green, who was drafted from the University of Georgia, was the first wide receiver picked in the 2011 Draft. He played a long and successful career with the Cincinnati Bengals.

In his rookie year, Green was an All-Rookie and made the Pro Bowl after recording 1,057 yards and 7 touchdowns. He followed that up with two consecutive Second Team All-Pro honors, scoring 11 touchdowns each year and recording yardage outputs of 1,350 and 1,426, respectively. Although Green was on the verge of becoming an elite wide receiver, this was as close as he got.

Despite this, Green continued to perform well over the next four seasons (2014-17), earning a spot on the Pro Bowl roster and bringing his total to seven. Unfortunately, a toe injury limited him to just nine games in 2018, and he suffered a torn ligament in 2019 training camp, which kept him out for the entire season. Green returned in 2020, but had his lowest output with only 523 yards. That season proved to be his last with Cincinnati.

Green finished his career with two seasons in Arizona, where he recorded almost 1,110 yards and five touchdowns. In total, Green recorded 10,514 yards and 70 touchdowns, which are impressive numbers, but not enough to secure him a place in the Hall of Fame in this era.

Selected fourth overall in the 2011 NFL Draft out of Georgia, A.J. Green arrived in Cincinnati as the highest-drafted receiver in the class and an immediate game-changer. Stepping onto the field alongside fellow rookie quarterback Andy Dalton, Green launched a decade-defining partnership that transformed the Bengals into a perennial playoff contender.

Green was the prototype for a smooth, boundary-dominating wide receiver. Combining fluid stride length with an acrobatic catch radius and elite spatial awareness, he possessed an extraordinary ability to win contested 50/50 balls in tight coverage. Whether climbing over cornerbacks on back-shoulder fades, tracking deep vertical throws, or gliding down the sideline, Green made the most difficult catches look completely effortless.

Green burst onto the pro scene in 2011, immediately proving that his elite college production translated to the NFL. He recorded 65 receptions for 1,057 yards and seven touchdowns, becoming the first rookie wide receiver to earn a Pro Bowl selection in eight years.

That debut sparked one of the most sustained runs of wide receiver dominance in league history, as Green earned a Pro Bowl selection in each of his first seven NFL seasons (2011–2017). In 2012, he recorded 97 catches for 1,350 yards and a career-high 11 touchdowns, earning his first Second-Team All-Pro selection. The following year, in 2013, he topped those numbers with a career-best 98 receptions for 1,426 yards and 11 touchdowns—a stretch highlighted by a franchise-record five consecutive 100-yard games—to capture his second Second-Team All-Pro honor.

Green kept his 1,000-yard streak alive over the next two years, hauling in 10 touchdowns in 2015 to help power Cincinnati to a 12–4 AFC North division title. Despite missing six games due to an ankle injury in 2016, he still racked up 964 yards in just 10 games. He bounced back in 2017 with 75 catches for 1,078 yards and eight scores.

Over his first seven years, Green surpassed 1,000 yards six times and reached double-digit touchdowns three times. He ranked in the top ten in receiving yards three times and in receiving touchdowns four times during that span, firmly establishing himself among the elite receivers of his generation.

Injuries eventually slowed his dominant run, culminating in a torn ankle ligament that cost him the entire 2019 campaign. He returned for one final season in Cincinnati in 2020 before spending two years with the Arizona Cardinals. In September 2023, Green returned to the franchise to sign a one-day contract and officially retire as a Cincinnati Bengal.

With Cincinnati, Green played 127 games, recording 659 receptions, 9,430 yards, and 65 touchdowns, including a franchise-record 33 games with 100+ yards.