The problem with running a Hall of Fame-related website is that many of the big ones we cover all have announcements within months of each other.  The backbone of what we do is list-related, resulting in a long push to revise what we already have, specifically now with our Football and Basketball Lists.

At present, we have a minor update as we have completed the next twenty-five of the 2024 Football List, which you can comment on and vote on:

The new 151 to 175:

151. Brian Mitchell
152. Lomas Brown
153. Tiki Barber
154. John David Crow
155. Byron “Whizzer” White
156. Gene Washington
157. Cameron Wake*
158. Boyd Dowler
159. Mike Alstott
160. Roger Brown
161. Chris Hinton
162. Eric Berry
163. Harlon Hill
164. George Christensen
165. Jimmy Smith
166. Michael Dean Perry
167. Fred Taylor
168. Drew Bledsoe
169. Billy Wilson
170. Wes Welker
171. James Brooks
172. Brandon Marshall
173. Mike Curtis
174. Eddie George
175. Art Powell 

*Denotes first year of eligibility. 

Rankings are impacted annually based on your comments and votes.

Thank you all for your patience. We will soon unveil more changes to the football and basketball lists.

Drew Bledsoe arrived in New England as the first overall pick in the 1993 draft out of Washington State and took over as the starter almost immediately. The arm was big enough that the Patriots could throw the ball down the field on a regular basis, something the franchise had not had in years. He followed the solid rookie season with a breakout year in 1994, leading the NFL in both completions and passing yards while earning the first of his three Pro Bowl selections. The volume stayed high the next season even as the team struggled, and Bledsoe kept starting every game.

The clearest peak came in 1996. Bledsoe threw for over 4,000 yards and 27 touchdowns, earned another Pro Bowl nod, and guided the Patriots through the playoffs into Super Bowl XXXI against the Packers. He completed a high percentage of his throws in the championship game and kept the offense moving, but the team fell short. He stayed productive the following year, posting 28 touchdowns and another Pro Bowl appearance while the Patriots returned to the postseason. From 1998 through 2000, the yardage totals remained strong—three straight seasons over 3,200 yards—though the team’s results fluctuated and the offensive line did not always give him clean pockets.

Everything changed early in the 2001 season. In the second game against the Jets, Bledsoe took a hard hit from Mo Lewis that caused internal bleeding and kept him out for weeks. Tom Brady stepped in and played well enough that the staff kept him in the lineup even after Bledsoe was cleared to return. Bledsoe returned in relief during the AFC Championship game against Pittsburgh, but Brady started Super Bowl XXXVI, and the Patriots won. After the season, New England traded Bledsoe to the Buffalo Bills. His time with the Patriots ended there. With the team, he finished with 29,657 passing yards and 166 touchdowns across nine seasons. He did so while serving as the clear starter and led the franchise to its first Super Bowl appearance of the modern era.

Bledsoe entered the Patriots Hall of Fame in 2011. The first overall pick who started nearly every game from his rookie year through the late 1990s left as the quarterback who stabilized the position before the next era began.

Did we make a mistake not ranking Drew Bledsoe in his first year of eligibility? Statistically speaking, we may have made a mistake, as his career statistics are more impressive than those of other Quarterbacks ranked higher than him. However, other intangibles come into play, which makes it hard for us to determine his perfect place on this list.

Sure, he has solid career totals and impressive statistical seasons, but what can never be forgotten is that once he got injured, Tom Brady stepped in and took the Patriots over the final hurdle Bledsoe never could; and that is where the problem lies. In his first year of eligibility, Bledsoe was not a semifinalist, which shows that many view him the same way we do…a very good QB who also was a bit of a stat accumulator at the end, yet has a bit of a Wally Pipp quality to him. Drew Bledsoe was very good, but a lot of things would have to go right for him to be considered a serious threat for Canton; that elusive Super Bowl (which he does have, but on the injured list) means more on a Quarterback’s Hall of Fame resume than any other position.