The Pro Football Hall of Fame is a passion of ours, and as we are entering the 2025 NFL Season, we are pleased to announce the update of our Top 100 Active Players based on their current Hall of Fame candidacy.

Note that we base this list on what they have done, not what their potential is, so, for example, Micah Parsons, who most people think is the best Inside Linebacker in the game, is not ranked as high as players who might be less talented, but have achieved more through longevity.

They are ranked by position, which you can click on below:

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

Wide Receivers

Tight Ends

Offensive Linemen

Defensive Lineman-Linebackers-Pass Rushers-EDGE

Defensive Linemen-Linebackers-Interior Linemen

Cornerbacks

Safeties

Special Teams

As always, we thank you for your support!

2024: Pre-Season Rank: #134.  Peak Period 2021-24*

Doesn’t it feel like Patrick Surtain II knows what the Wide Receiver’s route is before he does?

Surtain has been a godsend for the Denver Broncos, who desperately needed a building block in their defense.  Breaking out in his sophomore year, Surtain ran away with the Defensive Player of the Year last season, and enters this season as the CB1 of the NFL.  He jumped 60 spots on this rank this year, and another 30 after five months of football is on the table.

*Surtain has only played four seasons.

2023 Pre-Season Rank #128.  Peak Period 2020-24

A four-time Pro Bowl Selection, Denzel Ward has sneakily been one of the most efficient Cornerbacks in the NFL.  Still in his prime, Ward has time to make a Hall of Fame case.

2024 2023 Pre-Season Rank #149.  Peak Period: 2020-24

Chris Lindstrom has slowly turned into one of the best Guards in football and is on a three-year streak of Pro Bowls and Second Team All-Pros.  Considered one of the top Guards on a one-on-one, Lindstrom could be a First Team All-Pro this year.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #124.   Peak Period: 2021-24*

Last season, we said that Creed Humphrey was one of the best Centers going into the year, but as the year switches to 2025, is it safe to say that the four-year vet is now the best Center in the National Football League?

Humphrey already turned heads as a rookie, finishing third in Offensive Rookie of the Year voting, and he is already a pivotal part of two Super Bowl Championship teams.  A three-time Pro Bowler, Humphrey earned a First Team All-Pro for the first time and will likely score more. 

There is a void to fill (left by Jason Kelce) for the most famous active Center in football, and Creed could be that replacement. 

*Humphrey has only played four seasons.

2024: Pre-Season Rank: #127.  Peak Period 2019-23.

Trey Hendrickson came into his own in his last season in New Orleans (2020) with a 13.5 Sack/12 TFL year, but once he joined the Cincinnati Bengals, he became a defensive juggernaut.

The Bengals were defensively an issue in 2024, but Trey Hendrickson was carrying the squad, performing so well that he led the NFL in Sacks (17.5) and was second in Defensive Player of the Year voting.  Henrickson has been a Pro Bowler all four of his Cincinnati years, and based on the off-field negotiations in 2025, the Bengals are hoping that he can lead the Southern Ohio to the promised land.

2023: Pre-Season Rank: #121.  Peak Period: 2021-24*

Standing at 6'5” and 330 pounds, Penei Sewell can state that going into 2025, he is the most athletic and explosive Tackle in the game of football.  One of the rare Linemen that is dominant on the run and pass, his power and speed have made him and many around him All-Pros.  Only a four-year veteran, Sewell has already been named a First Team All-Pro twice.

*Sewell has only played four seasons.

2024: Pre-Season Rank: #144.  Peak Period: 2021-24*

Amon-Ra St. Brown has only been in the NFL for four years, but has put forth an incredible run where he is the lead weapon of a potent Detroit Lions squad.  He was an entrant in 2025 on a three-year Pro Bowl streak and a two-year First Team All-Pro streak with at least 10 Touchdowns in both campaigns. 

*St. Brown has only played four seasons.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #107.  Peak Period: 2020-24

Dion Dawkins is currently on a four-year streak of Pro Bowls, during which time he has an Approximate Value of at least 12.  If he can keep that up over the next three seasons, his Hall of Fame chances will skyrocket.   Throw in a Super Bowl while guarding Josh Allen, and you will have something truly special.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #85.  Peak Period: 2020-24

If you are a Raiders fan, what is not to love about Maxx Crosby?

Hell, even if you don’t love the silver and black, how can’t you respect him?

Crosby broke out in his third year, and his tenacious nose for the line of scrimmage has been infamous throughout Nevada.   A Pro Bowl Selection for the last four seasons, Crosby twice led the NFL in Tackles For Loss (2022 & 2023), with top-six Defensive Player of the Year voting occurring in both years.   The Raiders' future in the next few years begins and ends with Crosby.

The 2023 National Football League Season begin tonight, and we are ready with our revised list of the top 150 active (or hoping to be) players based on their existing Hall of Fame resume.

This is our fourth pre-season monitor, and you can find it all here.

A quick synopsis shows that we have the following:

19 Quarterbacks are ranked, including a brand new number one overall, Aaron Rodgers, now of the New York Jets. Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes rocketed to #10 and Russell Wilson of the Denver Broncos regresses to #11.

Only 12 Running Backs are ranked, with no player in the top 25 overall. The surprising top player at this position is Alvin Kamara of New Orleans.

Wide Receivers are more represented with 21 on the list. Julio Jones is the only one in the top ten (we still rank Free Agents who we think have a shot to return) with three others in (#18 Tyreek Hill, #20 DeAndre Hopkins and #24 Davante Adams) in the top 25.

Only 5 Tight Ends are ranked with Travis Kelce at #7.

22 Offensive Lineman are on the list, including three players in the top ten (#6 Zack Martin, #8 Trent Williams and #9 Jason Peters). There are two other players in the top 25 with Jason Kelce (#12) and Tyron Smith (#16).

On the defensive side, there are 23 Defensive Lineman, led by the Rams’ Aaron Donald, who is ranked #2 overall. Other Defensive Lineman in the top 25 are #17 Cameron Jordan, #19 Calais Campbell and #25 Ndamukong Suh.

With the Linebackers, we have the only position where there are two in the top five, which are Seattle’s Bobby Wagner and Buffalo’s Von Miller who are #3 and #4 respectively. There are 19 overall, and two more in the top 25, #14 Khalil Mack and #15 T.J. Watt.

There are 13 Cornerbacks who are ranked, led by Patrick Peterson of the Steelers at #13. There is one other Cornerback in the top 25 with Jalen Ramsey at #23.

At the Safety position, there are 12 who are ranked, but it takes you all the way to #63 (Minkah Fitzpatrick) before we see our first one.

There are five Special Teams players, led by Ravens Place Kicker, Justin Tucker at #23.

As always, we thank you for your support of the site and look for more improvements, content and lists in the future.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #130, 2023: Pre-Season Rank #136.  Peak Period: 2018-24*

After a spectacular rookie year (2018) where he was the runner-up for the Defensive Rookie of the Year, James missed 11 Games in 2019 with a foot injury and the entirety of 2020 with a torn meniscus. James defied the odds, and the Safety had a two-year run in the Pro Bowls afterward, with another one in 2024. Can James make a run for the Hall despite his early injury bug?

*Missed the entire 2020 Season.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #96, 2023: Pre-Season Rank #123. Peak Period: 2019-23

Mark Andrews has emerged as one of the top receiving Tight Ends in the early 2020s, having been a First Team All-Pro in 2021, and has secured three Pro Bowls over his career.   Andrews looked to be reaching that upper tier of the position, but since that monster campaign of ’21, there have been multiple younger Tight Ends ready to take that spot.   This is a great player, but he does not feel as special today as he did three years ago.

2024: Pre-Season Rank #107, 2023: Pre-Season Rank: #143.  Peak Period: 2019-20/2022-24

In 2025, Laremy Tunsil became a Washington Commander and joined a team that shocked the football world by making it to the 2024 NFC Championship. 

Light on his feet and a master of defending the pass rush, Tunsil has been a Pro Bowl Selection five of the last six years (all with Houston) but has never been an AP All-Pro.  A monster season on a Super Bowl Championship would change that.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #137, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #123.  Peak Period 2017-18/2022-24

Ronnie Stanley has been with the Ravens for eight seasons, and in 2019, he was largely regarded as the top Tackle in the sport.  Injuries caused him to miss a plethora of contests in the two years after, but he kept striving to get back to peak condition, and last year, he was healthy again, and rightfully earned his first Pro Bowl since ’19.   

Stanley has to remain healthy to get back into the HOF mix that he was in five years ago.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #75, 2023: Pre-Season Rank #148. Peak Period: 2020-24

CeeDee Lamb has been the top weapon for the Dallas Cowboys over the last four seasons, boasting a four-year streak of Pro Bowls, with AP All-Pro Selections earned consecutively from 2022 to 2024 (one First Team and two Second Teams).  Despite the rebuilding state of the Cowboys, Lamb should be able to generate a fifth All-Pro caliber season in 2025.  Considering that Wide Receiver is the most challenging position to generate Hall of Fame entrants, and the current league depth, Lamb has to be great for years to come. 

2024 Pre-Season Rank #53, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #121. Peak Period: 2020-23*

And now he is a champion.

Jalen Hurts and the tush push brought the Philadelphia Eagles their second Super Bowl, and while he has only been in the NFL for five years, it feels like a long time coming.

Jalen Hurts was the runner-up for the 2019 Heisman, and there were a few questions that surrounded him in the following draft. There should not have been.  Hurts won the Bert Bell Award in 2022 and has an AV/G well over the MPA in his brief career, which, based on modern metrics, a QB needs to have to sniff Canton.  Hurts has the skills and talent around him to become the first Quarterback to rush for 100 Touchdowns (unless Josh Allen beats him to it), and this does not take into account his excellent passing skills.

Whenever a QB wins a Super Bowl, the Hall of Fame buzz accelerates, and the Eagles are a squad that could win several.  The scary thing is that Jalen is just entering his prime.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #79, 2023: Pre-Season Rank #102. Peak Period: 2021-24*

The biggest surprise of the 2025 off-season is that Micah Parsons was traded from the Dallas Cowboys, as he was a top-ten player in only his fourth season. 

So, what do we do next?

Parsons joins Green Bay and immediately elevates them as an NFC Championship contender. If that proves to be true, Parsons’ Hall of Fame case immediately skyrockets from a place that was already elevated, and based on what we have already seen from Parsons, it should.

The 2021 Defensive Rookie of the Year went to the Pro Bowl in all four years of his pro career, and collected at least 12 Sacks each season, as well as finishing in the top three in Defensive Player of the Year voting in his first three years. 

What he does in 2025 and beyond will skyrocket Parsons in this list and the Hall of Fame stratosphere, and we will wager it will be incredible.

*Parsons has only played four seasons.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #109,  2023 Pre-Season Rank #126. Peak Period: 2020-24

In 2019, Joe Burrow won the Heisman Trophy and took LSU to the National Championship.  There was no doubt that he would go number one overall, and the Cincinnati Bengals have been blessed to have him.

After his rookie year, Burrow has arguably been a top-five NFL pivot, and as a sophomore, he brought the Bengals closer than they had ever been to capturing the Lombardi Trophy.  Last season, he was electric on a Cincinnati squad that had depth and defensive issues, and he led the NFL in Passing Yards (4,918) and Touchdowns (43) with only 9 Interceptions.  He was awarded the Comeback Player of the Year, and was fourth in MVP voting despite a 9-8 record.

The Bengals are one of the most intriguing teams entering 2025, but they will contend as long as Burrow is healthy.  If he is, expect another significant jump in this rank next year. 

2024 Pre-Season Rank #66, 2023: Pre-Season Rank #93.  Peak Period 2019-23.

Orlando Brown begins his eighth season, his third in Cincinnati, where the Tackle will look to win his second Super Bowl (his first coming in Kansas City).  Brown had a four-year streak of Pro Bowls (2019-22), but his run with the Bengals has taken him off that upper tier of Tackles, though he is capable of returning to that level.