2025 Pre-Season Rank #40, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #32, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #44, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #55, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #63, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #80.  Peak Period: 2016-17/2021-23

There is no greater pressure cooker in the National Football League than being the Quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.  While Dak Prescott has been maligned in some circles for not winning a Super Bowl or even getting there, the stat line shows that he has been very good for some time.

The 2016 AP Offensive Rookie of the Year has been selected to three Pro Bowls, has broken 4,400 Yards three times, and in 2023, he led the NFL in Touchdown Passes (36) and was the runner-up for the league MVP.  Last season, he was a Pro Bowl Selection on an uneven team, and he begins 2026 as a top-ten Quarterback, regardless of what his biggest haters think.

The Cowboys are unlikely to win a Super Bowl this year, but a playoff run is possible, and if Dak can rack up some large stats, he still has time to make a solid case for the Hall.  Remember, Matthew Stafford’s real push came late.

2025 Pre-Season Rank #4, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #2, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #10, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #21, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #31, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #47.  Peak Period 2018-22.

Aaron Rodgers might rank higher than Patrick Mahomes among quarterbacks, but when pundits discuss the GOAT at the position, far more speculate that Mahomes has a shot to pass Brady.

What Mahomes has already accomplished is phenomenal.  With three Super Bowl wins (winning the MVP in all three), five AFC Conference wins, and two MVPs, he already has a Hall of Fame career that is the envy of most Quarterbacks, and he is only 31.

Here is how good Mahomes is: 

In 2025, for the first time in his career, Mahomes has a losing record, though many of the factors around him, which included copious injuries, a tired roster, and a ton of distractions.  Even then, he was still regarded as one of the best Quarterbacks in football. 

Last year may have been down, but there is a lot left in Patrick Mahomes. 

Given his current standing, it's not a stretch to say that Mahomes is a Pro Football Hall of Famer if he never throws another football. The real question is, what will his all-time Quarterback rank be?

For our purposes, it is a first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee.

2025 Pre-Season Rank #10, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #14, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #30, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #38, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #46, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #76. Peak Period: 2019-20/22-24*

Everything but the Super Bowl.

Lamar Jackson has been money since he arrived in the National Football League, winning the MVP in 2019, his second in 2023, and in 2024, he almost won it, finishing second to Buffalo’s Josh Allen (even though Jackson was the AP First Team All-Pro).

A Quarterback with two MVPs (and remember, almost three) is a slam dunk to make it to Canton, but he does not want to challenge Dan Marino as the finest QB never to win it all. 

That is where it gets tricky. 

Bluntly, unlike every other position in the NFL, a quarterback’s legacy is based on winning it all, or at least getting there.  There is no doubt that he has been phenomenal throughout his career, but in 2025, Jackson had his first losing season, and he was clearly frustrated to the point where it looked like he might be moving on from the Ravens.

As we enter the 2026 season, Jackson and the Ravens are looking to rebound, and he has the skills to do it.  This is still a top-five QB, and he currently boasts the highest all-time Passer Rating.  Saying that, is Lamar transitioning from a Hall of Fame lock to a Hall of Fame debate?  This season could speak to that.

*We will split peak periods as long as it a division of two and three years.

2025 Pre-Season Rank #29, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #26, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #22, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #28, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #42, 2020 Pre-Season Rank Rank #50.

From 2016 to 2023, Justin Tucker was a perennial All-Pro, who earned seven Pro Bowls, tying Morten Andersen for the record for a Place Kicker.  Named to the 2010s All-Decade player, Tucker can stake a claim as the best Kicker that ever lived, and as we are writing this, he holds the record for the most Field Goal accuracy (89.1), and the longest Field Goal (66 Yards).

While the above is fantastic, Tucker was abysmal in 2024, and during the season, he was accused multiple times of inappropriate behavior in massage parlors.  The Ravens released him after the season, and the belief is that he will never play again. 

It is hard enough for Kickers to get into the Hall as is, but when you leave a “stain” on your legacy?   It is even more difficult.  Moving into 2025, it is even more difficult if you can't get a job.

2025 Pre-Season Rank #38, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #50, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #72, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #79, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #90, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #72.  Peak Period: 2015-19.

Harrison Smith has been the top Safety for the Minnesota Vikings for 14 years, and despite being over 35, he looks to have a lot left to give.  A six-time Pro Bowl Selection, Smith entered the 20-20 Club (37 INT, 20.5 Sacks), and he is the current active leader in Interceptions (39) and Interception Return Yards (510); however, as we are writing this…is he active?

Vikings were waiting to see if he will return to them, or to anyone at all, but before Week 1, he signed a one-year deal to come back.  A six-time Pro Bowl selection, Harrison has a solid Hall of Fame resume, but as we have noticed for Canton, they have a very high bar at Safety, though that 20-20 club he has sure looks good on him.

2025 Pre-Season Rank #64, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #75, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #120, 2022 Pre-Season Rank: #140. Peak Period: 2021-25

Over the last few seasons, the profile of Joe Thuney rose to the point where he is nationally recognized as one of the top pass protectors in the National Football League, and legendary Quarterbacks like Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes will tell you that firsthand.

Thuney helped anchor both Brady’s New England Patriots and Mahomes’ Kansas City Chiefs to two Super Bowl Championships.  In 2025, Thuney joined the Chicago Bears, and in his first campaign in the Windy City, he was just as dominant.  Last season, he added his fourth straight Pro Bowl and third straight First Team All-Pro, and is positioning himself for a coveted All-Decade selection.

Thuney’s next two seasons will likely determine his Hall of Fame bust.

2025 Pre-Season Rank #14, 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 (132) and Tackles for Loss (175).  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. 

Jordan begins the 2026 season and announced that this would be his last.  A ninth Pro Bowl is possible, and if he gets that along with significant behind the line of scrimmage stats, his chances for Canton will rise, but despite the solid resume, bigger names in similar roles could overshadow him.  How many times have we seen that before?

2025 Pre-Season Rank, #24, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #24, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #20, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #28, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #30, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #44.  Peak Period: 2015-19

There is a very good chance that we have seen the end of DeAndre Hopkins on the NFL field, and if that is the case, does the (as of this writing) Free Agent done enough for that coveted gold jacket?

From 2017 to 2019, if you were to say that Hopkins was the best Wide Receiever in the league, the biggest pushback would be at the very least the current “Mount Rushmore”.  A two-time top-five Offensive Player of the Year finisher with the Houston Texans, he was shockingly traded to Arizona in 2020, where he had his last of five Pro Bowl seasons.

In more recent seasons, Hopkins chased a Super Bowl ring (first with Kansas City in 2024 and Baltimore in 2025), but it didn't happen.

He is currently the active leader (again, he is not retired) in Receiving Yards (13,295), but we have him ranked below Mike Evans (the most consistent WR of this era), Davante Adams (who has over 100 Touchdowns and is within 700 Yards of him), and Tyreek Hill (though barely, but his peak was better than Hopkins' best).

The Wide Receiver logjam is the tightest one in Canton, and while the numbers are there, we have seen once-elite WRs struggle.

2025 Pre-Season Rank #18, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #8, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #28, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #35, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #53.  Peak Period: 2019-23

Oh boy!

Tyreek Hill was a three-time First Team All-Pro and Super Bowl Champion with the Kansas City Chiefs, but they traded the talented Wide Receiver to Miami for a slew of draft picks.  Miami then made him the highest-paid WR in the league, and in his first two seasons, Hill was the game’s top receiver, achieving over 1,700 Yards in both campaigns and leading the NFL in Receiving Yards (1,799) and Receiving Touchdowns (13) in 2023.    He was also the runner-up for Offensive Player of the Year.

However…

2024 a different story for Hill, who, for the first time in his career, was not chosen for the Pro Bowl.  He had a lackluster year by his standards (959 Yards/6 TDs), and whispers of his decline were in the air.  2025 was an absolute disaster. 

Early that year, Hill suffered a gruesome knee injury and again faced domestic violence accusations, adding to the many off-field issues he has had over his career.  Together, these issues have made him a free agent as of this writing, and while we would not rule out a comeback, we doubt a return to peak form is in the tea leaves.

The numbers are still solid, and at one point he was considered the top dog in his position, but his Hall of Fame chances have taken a tumble over the last 24 months.

2025 Pre-Season Rank #26, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #31, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #37, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #37, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #59, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #67.  Peak Period: 2021-25.

A change of scenery can change the perception.  

Matthew Stafford was a Lion for 12 years, racking up passing yards but only a few wins.  A Pro Bowl participant once in Detroit, Stafford was entrenched as a second-tier QB.  The Rams traded for him, and he became a Super Bowl Champion in his first year in Los Angeles, gaining national recognition. Articles were written (and scoffed at) proclaiming him a Hall of Famer, but his play in L.A. has now placed him not only in the conversation, but to many pundits, a lock. 

Much of that came from last season’s performance, where for the first time in his career, he led the NFL in Passing Yards and Touchdown Passes, but most importantly, he won the MVP.  He also rocketed up the all-time lists, and is currently 6th in Passing Yards (64,516) and 7th in Touchdown Passes (423), and another monster year will move him even higher.  Considering who he has to pass to, that seems very doable.

If Stafford wins a Super Bowl in 2026, and he is favored to do so, get the bust ready now. 

2020 Pre-Season Rank #15, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #5, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #3, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #2.  PEAK 2017-21

Well, look who’s back!

When we last saw Aaron Donald on this list, it was heading into the 2023 season, which he completed with another Pro Bowl, giving him a perfect ten-for-ten in that accolade.  He then shock-retired, doing so while still having something left.

Let’s see what he still has.

It is easy to see why Donald opted to come back.  The Rams begin the season as the most loaded team in football.  Quarterback Matthew Stafford is the reigning MVP, and they landed the defending Defensive Player of the Year in Myles Garrett.  This team narrowly lost to the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game, and now they have a returning Aaron Donald and Myles Garrett?  We haven’t even mentioned the acquisitions of Trent McDuffie and Jaley Watson to the Defensive Back Corps!

A quick reminder of who Donald is.

He is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, and anyone who has ever done that twice has always been enshrined…easily.  From 2015 to 2021, he never finished lower than fifth for the DPOY, he led the NFL in Sacks once, Tackles for Loss twice, and also boasts a Super Bowl ring. 

He could easily add another.

Should he be ahead of the previous #1, Quarterback Aaron Rodgers?  We answer this with this question. 

Who is easier to put on the Mount Rushmore of his position?  Aaron Donald or Aaron Rodgers?

You can see who we narrowly picked!

2025 Pre-Season Rank #8, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #12, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #14, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #19, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #26, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #29.  Peak Period: 2015-19.

Oakland.  Chicago.  Los Angeles.

Everywhere Khalil Mack goes, Khalil Mack dominates.

The Outside Linebacker made history last season as the first player to secure three Pro Bowls on three different teams, when he added Pro Bowl number nine in year three with the Chargers.  The celebrated pass-rusher has 113 career Sacks, a Defensive Player of the Year Award (2016 with the Raiders), the longevity, the consistency, and the dominance that the PFHOF would want.

He may not dominate the defensive headlines like he used to, but Mack remains the “Mack.”

2025 Pre-Season Rank #4, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #5, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #7, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #12, 2021 Pre-Season Rank: #20, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #37.  Peak Period: 2018-22

There have been a lot of phenomenal Tight Ends before Travis Kelce, but let’s be realistic; there may never be a more recognized Tight End in football than Travis Kelce.

Being married to Taylor Swift will help with that.

Before he became a Swifty, Kelce was already the most known man at his position, and from 2016 to 2022 had at least 1,000 Yards and a version of the AP All-Pro (four First Team and three Second Team).  His level of production had no positional peer, and he was not just a participant in Kansas City’s three Super Bowl wins, but a vital cog who owns the all-time playoff record in receptions (178), with 2,078 Yards and 20 Touchdowns.  Think of that for a second!  His overall playoff numbers are the envy of most NFL Tight Ends’ regular-season careers!

It was expected by many that Kelce would not return this year, but here he is, with just over 13,000 career Yards and a first-ballot ticket to Canton.

Notably, 898 Yards this year will bring him to 13th all-time.

2025 Pre-Season Rank #2, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #3, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #3, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #6, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #10, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #18. Peak: 2016-20

Bobby Wagner is currently a Free Agent, and we aren’t sure if he will ever play another snap in the National Football League.

If that is the case, it should not matter, as the longtime Middle Linebacker can retire as one of the most explosive tackling machines that ever lived.

A Super Bowl Champion with the Seattle Seahawks, Wagner earned nine Pro Bowls in Seattle, with a tenth as a Washington Commander.  Recording 15 picks, Wagner is currently third overall in Combined Tackles with an even 2,000, and is only 59 behind Ray Lewis, meaning that if he finds work this year, he can grab the official all-time lead. 

As great as he was in the interior, Wagner’s versatility saw him record 39.5 Sacks and 15 Interceptions.  Regardless of whether he plays again, his legacy is complete, whether or not his name has transcended football.  The Pro Football Hall of Fame voters will recognize Wagner for his overall career, and he should be a first-ballot Hall of Fame inductee based on the patterns we have seen so far.

2025 Pre-Season Rank #5, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #6, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #6, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #20, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #33, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #35. 2018-23*

Aging like wine, we love the story of Trent Williams, who was one of the better Offensive Linemen in Washington history and who wanted out after he felt that the team misdiagnosed a dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, a growth that was determined to be a type of cancer in 2019 but was dismissed by the Redskins medical team in 2013.  He did not play at all in 2019 and wanted out, landing in San Francisco in 2020, where he was a First Team All-Pro from 2021 to 2023 and now has the most Pro Bowls (12) of any active Offensive Lineman.  

What Williams has accomplished in San Francisco has cemented a bronze bust.

*Williams sat out in 2019.

2025 Pre-Season Rank #6, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #7, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #4, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #7, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #8, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #10.  Peak Period: 2011-12/2014-16.

A Defensive Rookie of the Year, Super Bowl winner, and Super Bowl MVP for the Denver Broncos, Miller has all the statistical requirements the Hall looks for and the name recognition that fits the word "Fame.”   Over the last four seasons, Miller served as a pass-rushing specialist for the Buffalo Bills and Washington Commanders, and now he begins the season in his home state, wearing the blue star of the Dallas Cowboys.

As for how much Miller has left in the tank, he generated nine sacks last season in his specialized role, moving him to ninth on the official list and three away from tying Michael Strahan for sixth.  Only one Tackle for Loss gives him sole possession of fourth in that all-time list.

The only thing that we think could delay him is if some of the members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame might want him to pay penance for his past suspensions (one for substance abuse and one for domestic violence), though they did generate a lot of press considering his high profile.  Honestly, they might not even discuss it.

2025 Pre-Seasn Rank #14, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #19, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #19, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #26 2021 Pre-Season Rank #28, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #36. Peak Period: 2014-18

Longevity, talent, and class.

40-year-old Calais Campbell remains a solid Defensive End in the National Football League, and in 2026, he joins the Baltimore Ravens for a second time, and will likely provide solid production.

“The Mayor of Sacksonville” went to six Pro Bowls in a seven-year period (2014-20), which includes his last two in his first run in Arizona, all three of his seasons as a Jacksonville Jaguar, and his first in Baltimore.  Campbell, who won the 2019 Walter Payton Man of the Year and the 2023 Alan Page Award, was also honored with a 2010s All-Decade Selection.

Campbell also has a statistical Hall of Fame resume with 110.5 Sacks and 196 Tackles for Loss, making him the active leader in that stat.  The Hall of Fame loves character guys, but they don’t get a pass unless they show what their goods are on the gridiron.  Calais Campbell did just that.

2025 Pre Season Ranke #1, 2024 Pre-Season Rank #1, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #1, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #2, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #2, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #3.  PEAK PERIOD: 2008-12.

The return of another Aaron (Donald) to the NFL knocked Aaron Rodgers off the top overall spot, but this does not change a thing for Rodgers’ Hall of Fame trajectory.

Rodgers announced that 2026 will be his farewell season, and if that is the case, it will end the last stanza of what has been a strange last portion of his career.

Rodgers, who has dated Olivia Munn, Danica Patrick, and Shailene Woodley, was even considered the permanent host of Jeopardy.  It looked like he would cross over into non-sports stardom, but that came crashing down, and he has been involved in more Hollywood feuds (see Jimmy Kimmel) and was thrust into the culture war when it was revealed that he did not get the COVID-19 vaccine and espoused conspiracy theories.  He became much less marketable than he used to be, and in some circles he ranks among the most hated athletes.  

In 2023, after a long and fruitful career with the Green Bay Packers, Rodgers was injured on the first drive with his new team, the New York Jets, and he was underwhelming when healthy in 2024. He did manage to take his third team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, to the playoffs last year, but this was not a Quarterback who looked like he had the skills he did as a Green Bay Packer

None of this will matter.

Regardless of how Rodgers performs in what will be his final season, no multi-time MVP has ever failed to enter Canton, and he has four of them!.  Throw in the Super Bowl win with the Packers, and it is an open-and-shut case, regardless of what happens next.

Notably, (and since we are obsessed with statistical ranks), here is what Rodgers could do in 2026:

An Approximate Value of five will take him over Brett Favre for fourth all-time.  A monster year of 16 (unlikely) will tie him with Peyton Manning for fourth.

13 Touchdown Passes will take him over Peyton Manning for third all-time.

For our rationale for supplanting Rodgers with Donald, see the Aaron Donald bio.