Drafted in the second round (63rd overall) of the 2017 NFL Draft from Temple, Dion Dawkins joined Western New York as a versatile, athletic lineman. He took over the starting left tackle position midway through his rookie season and quickly became a key part of Buffalo's rebuilding efforts, serving as the primary protector for star quarterback Josh Allen.

Dawkins, standing 6 feet 5 inches and weighing 320 pounds, combines powerful upper-body strength with agile footwork to secure the edges of Buffalo's passing game. As a left tackle in an offense that requires the quarterback to extend plays beyond the pocket, he is adept at holding blocks well past standard timing. In the running game, his broad frame and explosive leg movement enable him to push past edge defenders, creating large openings on perimeter sweeps and zone-read plays.

Dawkins secured the starting left tackle position outright during his 2017 rookie season, starting 11 games and demonstrating he could compete with top pass rushers. By 2018, he had cemented his role on the blind side full-time, initiating a streak of consistent performance as Buffalo developed its offense around Allen.

His rise to elite status was confirmed in 2021 when he made his first career Pro Bowl while protecting Allen during an AFC East-winning season. Dawkins repeated this success in 2022 and 2023, earning consecutive Pro Bowl honors and regularly posting double-digit Approximate Value scores, all while leading one of the league's highest-scoring offenses.

Dawkins maintained his elite performance into 2024, starting 16 games and securing his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl. In 2025, he reached new personal milestones. Starting 15 games, he delivered an outstanding pass-blocking season, putting minimal pressure on Allen and effectively blocking for a versatile run game. His excellence earned him his fifth straight Pro Bowl selection, reaffirming his status among the top offensive tackles of his era. Additionally, Dawkins was recognized for his character and leadership, being named the Bills' Walter Payton Man of the Year Club Winner for the fourth year in a row.

Entering 2026, Dawkins is a respected locker room leader and franchise cornerstone. Over nine seasons in Buffalo (2017–2025), he played 143 games (137 starts) and scored two touchdown catches as an eligible receiver.

A third-round pick (71st overall) in the 2020 NFL Draft from Texas A&M, Nnamdi Madubuike arrived in Baltimore as a quick, muscular interior project with high-end explosive traits. After an apprenticeship during his rookie campaign, Madubuike steadily carved out a role on Baltimore’s interior defensive front, developing into one of the most destructive interior pass rushers in professional football.

Madubuike combines his rapid initial burst with outstanding lower-body strength and leverage. Serving as a 3-technique tackle or a robust end, he utilizes a violent arm-over maneuver and a formidable club-swipe to surpass interior guards immediately after the snap. Rather than merely occupying space, Madubuike penetrates through gaps directly, dismantling pockets from the inside outward and compelling quarterbacks to either step into outside pressure or release the ball while off-balance.

Madubuike's trajectory showed a steady climb early in his career. After a modest 1.0-sack rookie year in 2020, he expanded his playing time in 2021 (2.0 sacks, 7 TFLs) and became a full-time starter in 2022, registering 5.5 sacks and 8 tackles for loss while anchoring Baltimore’s front three.

His career reached a dominant crescendo during his breakout 2023 campaign. Operating as an unblockable force inside, Madubuike set a franchise single-season record for a defensive lineman by racking up 13.0 sacks, 33 quarterback hits, and 12 tackles for loss. He tied an NFL record by recording at least a half-sack in 11 consecutive games. His disruptive brilliance earned him his first Pro Bowl selection, Second-Team All-Pro honors, and a ninth-place finish in AP Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Following his breakout year, Baltimore rewarded Madubuike in March 2024 with a four-year, $98 million contract extension. He backed up that investment during the 2024 season, recording 43 tackles, 6.5 sacks, 17 quarterback hits, and 11 tackles for loss across 17 starts. Opposing offenses routinely keyed on his interior push with double-teams, yet Madubuike still earned his second consecutive Pro Bowl selection.

Disaster struck early in the 2025 season, however. In Week 2, Madubuike suffered a severe neck injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the campaign. What initially loomed as a potentially career-threatening setback required neck surgery and a grueling rehab process.

After being cleared by independent spine and cervical specialists, Madubuike passed his physical and was activated off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list in late July 2026. Entering the 2026 season fully healthy and cleared for action, he looks to reclaim his mantle as the focal point of Baltimore's interior pass rush. Through his first six NFL seasons, Madubuike has accumulated 32.0 career sacks, 42 tackles for loss, and 71 quarterback hits across 80 regular-season games.

The Chicago Bears picked eighth overall in the first round of the 2018 NFL Draft. Roquan Smith, from Georgia, proved himself as a top-tier interior linebacker from the start. After a successful early period with Chicago, contract talks stalled before 2022. Sensing his wish for a new beginning, the Bears traded Smith to Baltimore halfway through the 2022 season—an move that instantly changed the makeup of the Ravens' front seven.

Smith exemplifies the modern ideal inside Linebacker, blending instincts with quickness to penetrate gaps against the run and drop into passing lanes to cover tight ends and running backs. His standout qualities are his field vision and leadership; as the green-dot play-caller, he anticipates opponents’ pre-snap schemes, coordinates teammates, and adds a fierce physical presence in the middle of the field.

Arriving in Baltimore halfway through 2022, Smith quickly made a significant impact by turning an inconsistent defense into one of the league's top fearsome units. In nine games with the Ravens, he recorded 86 tackles, 2.0 sacks, and an interception, finishing the season with 169 tackles. This performance earned him his first First-Team All-Pro honor and a spot in the Pro Bowl.

In 2023, Smith elevated his performance during his first full season in Baltimore. As a key player in a defense that achieved a historic "triple crown'—leading the NFL in points allowed, sacks, and takeaways—Smith amassed 158 total tackles, 1.5 sacks, and an interception. His standout play earned him back-to-back First-Team All-Pro selections, a Pro Bowl invite, and strong consideration for AP Defensive Player of the Year.

Smith sustained that elite standard throughout 2024, once again crossing the 150-tackle mark to anchor Baltimore's defense. He earned his third straight First-Team All-Pro selection and his third consecutive Pro Bowl trip, proving to be one of the most consistent middle linebackers in football.

In 2025, Smith continued to serve as the heartbeat of Baltimore's front seven. Racking up 130 total tackles (76 solo) and a fumble recovery across 15 games, he led a late-season defensive resurgence that suffocated divisional opponents. For his efforts, he was named to his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl, becoming the only player in franchise history to earn Pro Bowl honors in each of his first four seasons in Baltimore.

Heading into the 2026 season, Smith's stint in Baltimore already stands as one of the most dominant stretch runs by a linebacker in franchise history. Across his four seasons in Baltimore (2022–2025), he has compiled 515 total tackles, 5.0 sacks, 3 interceptions, 3 First-Team All-Pro selections, and 4 Pro Bowls.

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 Hockey and Basketball Lists.

At present, we have a minor update as we have completed the next ten of the 2024 Hockey List, which you can comment on and vote on:

The new 31 to 40:

31. Pekka Rinne
32. Steve Larmer
33. Rod Brind’Amour
34. Butch Goring
35. Chris Osgoode
36. Randy Carlyle
37. Reggie Leach
38. Sergei Gonchar
39. Vladimir Konstantinov
40. Vincent LeCavalier

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.