2024 Pre-Season Rank #71, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #51, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #60, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #82, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #97.  Peak Period: 2017-21

The 2016 Defensive Rookie of the Year could not add much to his Hall of Fame after 2021, as in 2022, he missed most of the season due to a groin injury.  When he returned, he hampered the Chargers in their playoff game against Jacksonville when he took his helmet off in frustration over a Jags Touchdown.  The penalty helped the Jags win the game, and Bosa was the bonehead of the week.  After a pair of seasons where he was under the radar, he now joins the Buffalo Bills, with the hope of rejuvenating his career.   This year is pivotal for his Hall of Fame chances.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #30, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #27, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #30, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #58, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #56.  Peak Period: 2016-2020

Bakhtiari was Aaron Rodgers' top Offensive Lineman for years, and for a time, it looked like he was criminally disrespected by Pro Bowl and All-Pro voters.  That would change, but shortly after, his injuries held him to 13 Games from 2021 to 2023.  He is now a Free Agent and might never play another down in the NFL.  If that is the case, did he do enough?

It's likely not, as the logjam for Offensive Linemen is looking a lot like Wide Receivers, and the road will be hard.  Bakhtiari will, though, enter the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame early, and hopefully, he will do one of his beer speed chugs. 

2024 Pre-Season Rank #42, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #59, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #74, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #86, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #93.  Peak Period: 2018-19/22-24.

The man who coined “National Tight Ends Day” would be the toast of his position over the last half-decade if it were not for Travis Kelce, but George Kittle has become well known just the same!

Kittle is coming off his sixth Pro Bowl, where he had his fourth 1,000-yard year (1,106) and was a Second Team All-Pro.  A San Francisco 49er for all of his eight years, Kittle is now north of 30, but still plays like he is in his prime.  With Rob Gronkowski (and possibly Jason Witten) entering soon, the statistical bar for Tight Ends is growing, but if Kitlle can speed up his pace over the next few years and possibly win a Super Bowl, he will be in the hunt.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #41, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #45, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #48, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #66, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #82.  Peak Period: 2017-21

After 11 seasons with the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers, Keenan Allen signed with the Chicago Bears for a year before signing back with the Bolts this year.

In his first run in Los Angeles, he compiled over 10,000 Yards and six Pro Bowls, but it is safe to say he won’t do that in his return to SoFi.  Allen has to take on the role of compiler, and with the logjam at Wide Receiver, it will take a lot, especially for a player who has never been an All-Pro.   That being said, an honor from the Chargers seems likely for the popular Wide Receiver eventually.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #29, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #42, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #51, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #78, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #89. Peak Period: 2018-22

No other Offensive Linemen who debuted in 2018 have been as good as Nelson.  Seven years don’t make the Hall for an O-Lineman (well, it did for Tony Boselli), but when you lay out a three-year streak of First Team All-Pro with a Pro Bowl every year, this bodes well for a bust in Canton.  Nelson’s AV/G is well over the MPA, which is very impressive.  If he can string together a decade of Pro Bowls and eventually add an All-Decade nod, Nelson will be hard to keep out.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #27, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #24, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #43, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #67, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #95.  Peak Period: 2018-22

Davante Adams was Aaron Rodgers' favorite weapon in Green Bay, and last year, Adams and Rodgers were reunited with the New York Jets.  In a combined season with the Las Vegas Raiders, Adams collected 1,063 Yards, which, while low for him, was his fifth straight 1,000-yard year and sixth overall.

Adams has already proved he doesn’t need Rodgers (his first year in Vegas saw him lead the NFL in Touchdown Receptions (14), and he did have three consecutive First Team All-Pros, which not many Wide Receivers can claim. 

Joining the Los Angeles Rams this year, Adams will be the second option behind Puca Nacua, but he can still compile significant yardage.  Going into 2025, Adams is 33rd all-time in Yards, and just 1,000 Yards (providing that Mike Evans does not accrue 181 Yards this year, will vault him ten spots.  He has also been a top-endzone threat, punching it through 103 times, placing him 23rd.  His Hall of Fame bar looks to be 14,000 Yards and 120 TDs, and if healthy, he should get there.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #44, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #46, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #38, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #41, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #49.  Peak Period: 2016-20

In 2019, Thomas made history as the first Wide Receiver (the first being Jerry Rice) to win the Offensive Player of the Year Award. Not only was he the NFL's WR1, but his future looked so bright that it involved a gold jacket. Since then, Thomas has dealt with ankle and foot issues, missed all of 2021, and only played in 20 Games from 2020 to 2023. 

He enters this season no longer as a Saint and is a Free Agent looking for work.  The Hall seems so far away now, but the Saints Hall of Fame is a lock for him.  Sadly, this is another case of injuries derailing what would have been a phenomenal career.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #100, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #113, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #116, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #124, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #137.  Peak Period: 2016-18/2020-21

If there were ever a WR2 Hall of Fame, would Adam Thielen make the first ballot?

Of course, there isn’t one, but we are impressed by how Thielen keeps chugging along.  His last Pro Bowl was in 2018, a year that he had over 100 Receptions (113) and 1,000 Yards (1,373).  He never had a three-digit Reception/four-digit Receiving Yards year again until 2023 (103 Rec/1,014 Yards) last year in his first season in Carolina, where he was one of the few weapons they had. 

Even though he is in his mid-30s the Minnesota Vikings believe that Thielen can help, as they traded for him in the pre-season, reuniting him with the team where he had 55 Touchdowns.   The PFHOF won’t call him (though he will be a longtime preliminary candidate), but a post-career accolade in Minnesota?  Definitely.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #23, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #39, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #47, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #70, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #108.  Peak Period: 2019-20/2022-24

The Running Back is dead.  Long live the Running Back.

When many football fans and journalists called the death of rushing, Derrick Henry (and Saquon Barkley) had other ideas, but we have been surpised by Henry before

In 2019, it felt like Derrick Henry won the Rushing Title out of nowhere, as he was in his fourth year, and he only had 1,059 Yards the year before.  In 2020, Henry won his second Rushing Title, shattering his previous mark, and joined the 2,000 Yard Rushing club, won the Offensive Player of the Year.  Had he not gotten injured during the 2021 season, Henry was on his way to his second straight OPOY.  After a bounce back in 2022 that saw him net his third 1,500-yard campaign.  

After one more year in Tennessee, it was clear that the Titans were looking to move on, and the Baltimore Ravens signed Henry to join their potent offense.  Henry was phenomenal last season, rushing for 1,921 Yards and leading the league in Rushing Touchdowns (16).  He broke 100 TDs and 11,000 Yards, and enters this season as the active leader in Rushing Yards (11,423) and Rushing Touchdowns (106), the latter number placing him in a sixth-place tie with Jim Brown. 

If Derrick Brown makes the Hall of Fame, 2024 will be the year that cements his bust.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #117, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #122, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #132 2021 Pre-Season Rank #101, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #100.  2018-19/2022-24

Last year, we said, “Barkley has a lot of catch-up to do regarding his initial Hall of Fame promise.  A player injured that badly and early always struggles, and Barkley is no different.”

Barkley is different.

No ranked player jumped higher than Barkley, who we feared injuries would take out of a Hall of Fame conversation.  Not only was he healthy on a new team (Philadelphia), but he is also a Super Bowl Champion and the defending Offensive Player of the Year.  He also joined the 2,000-Yard Rushing Club, won his first Rushing Title (2,005), his second APY Title (2,283), and, along with Derrick Henry, brought back the Running Back.

At home in Philadelphia, Barkley’s only issues will be with injury, and another monster year will put him in the Hall of Fame hunt.  We won’t bet against him again.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #67, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #71, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #81, 2021 Pre-Season #78, Rank 2020 Pre-Season Rank #84.  Peak Period: 2019-23

Splitting his 2024 Season with Cleveland and Buffalo, Amari Cooper compiled 547 Yards that pushed him just over the 10,000 plateau, but this was half of his production from his 2023 season, where he was a Pro Bowl for the fifth time.

At 31, Cooper resigned with the team that drafted him, the Las Vegas Raiders. However, if there is any Hall of Fame traction to be had, he must replicate his 2023 performance and sustain that level of excellence for years to come.  That might be a tough ask.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #33, 2023 Pre-Season #28, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #33, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #48, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #66.  Peak Period: 2017-21

Alvin Kamara has never had a 1,000-Yard Rushing Season, but the Saints Running Back has been one of the most complete dual-threat Running Backs since he debuted in 2017.

Named to the Pro Bowl in his first five seasons, Kamara won the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year and was the league leader in Touchdowns (21) in 2020.  He might be slowing down, and if it's significant, his Hall of Fame chances will plummet, but as we enter 2025, Kamara is one of New Orleans’s top offensive weapons.

What he accomplishes in 2025 could tell the tale of his Hall of Fame chances.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #89, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #100, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #112. 2021 Pre-Season Rank #106, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #117.  Peak Period: 2017-19/2022-23

In 2018, Jared Goff led the Los Angeles Rams to a Super Bowl appearance.  They did not win, and although he won two Pro Bowls, the Rams gave up on him and traded the Quarterback to the Detroit Lions.  In Stafford’s first season in L.A., he won a Super Bowl, making Goff look bad in the process, but years later, it is Goff and the Lions who are the superior team.

Goff brought Detroit to the NFC Championship Game in 2023 and was a Pro Bowl Selection in 2022 and 2024.  Last season, Goff had his best year to date, throwing for 4,629 Yards and 37 Touchdowns, but the potent Lions were bounced early in the playoffs.  Nevertheless, Goff finished fifth in the MVP race and is still young and talented enough to take the talented Lions to a Super Bowl win.   If that happens, this will result in a colossal jump for Goff.

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.  Sadly, Prescott’s hamstring injury cost him half of the season, and in the eight Games he played in, he was average, which led to a significant drop in his ranking.

Prescott enters the 2025 Season with a depleted Dallas team, but he is still a top-ten Quarterback.  He has a lot to prove this year if he has any chance of being inducted into the Hall of Fame.

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 last year, he almost won it, finishing second to Buffalo’s Josh Allen (even though Jackson was the AP First Team All-Pro).

Jackson has a winning record every season (he is 70-24 overall) and is coming off his first 4,000-yard year while still piling up the mileage on the ground (915).   He can beat you with his legs, his accuracy, and his arm, and could make history as the first QB to exceed 10,000 Rushing Yards.

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 pivot never to win it all.  Baltimore is again loaded, but it needs to get to the big dance and win it for Jackson’s legacy to be complete.

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 be ranked higher among Quarterbacks than Patrick Mahomes, but when the GOAT of the position is discussed, far more pundits speculate that it is Mahomes who has the 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 30.

Here is how good Mahomes is: last season, he broke his six-year streak of Pro Bowls, and in his “off year,” he still won 15 Games, finished sixth in MVP voting, and returned to the Super Bowl.  Mahomes enters the 2025 season with a scintillating 89-23 record, a 245-74 TD-INT ratio, and he still has a loaded roster around him (Travis Kelce, Chris Jones, to name two), and the squad is led by future Hall of Fame Coach, Andy Reid.  The Chiefs could win it all again, and if he wins a fourth title, does he enter the Mount Rushmore of the position?

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?

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.

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 13 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 Interception Return Yards (498).  It is a good resume, but Safeties have a hard time entering the Pro Football Hall, and except for 2017, there always seems to be Safeties better than him.   Smith’s Hall key will be longevity as a monster campaign at his age is unlikely.

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.

2024 Pre-Season Rank #74, 2023 Pre-Season Rank #70, 2022 Pre-Season Rank #64, 2021 Pre-Season Rank #62, 2020 Pre-Season Rank #65