From the University of Utah, where he was a two-time Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year, Eric Weddle joined the San Diego Chargers as a Second-Round Pick in 2007.  He played off the bench as a rookie.  Weddle won the starting job at Free Safety as a sophomore and became one of the top safeties of the 2010s.

Weddle usually played at FS, but could slide into Strong Safety and provide elite man-to-man coverage when needed.  Lauded for his high football IQ, Weddle became a de facto on-field coach for his squads.  Weddle went to his first Pro Bowl in 2011, the same year he co-led the league in Interceptions (7) and was also a First Team All-Pro.  He added two more Pro Bowls (2013 & 2014) and a second First Team All-Pro as a Charger, but his run in the sun ended when he signed with the Baltimore Ravens in 2016.

The Ravens had Weddle for three seasons, during which he was an annual Pro Bowl selection.  Recording 10 Picks as a Raven, Weddle was released as a cost-cutting measure, and he joined the Los Angeles Rams for 2019.  He had a good year but elected to retire, seemingly ending his career, but the Rams made an offer he couldn’t refuse. 

In 2021, Los Angeles made the playoffs but saw the Safety position decimated by injury. Weddle was coaxed out of retirement, and with his ability to learn defensive schemes quickly, he started in the Rams' Super Bowl LVI win over Cincinnati. Weddle retired a second time, but this time as a champion.  He accumulated 39 Sacks and 1,179 Tackles over his career.

Drafted in 2004 with the first overall pick by the San Diego Chargers, Eli Manning did not want to play for the Bolts, and he was quickly traded to the New York Giants, where he would play his entire career.  A four-time Pro Bowl Selection, he would take the Giants to two Super Bowl Championships, both against the heavily favored New England Patriots, the first of which was when the Pats were undefeated going into the big game.  Notably, he was Super Bowl MVP in both title games.

He retired with 57,023 Passing Yards with a TD-INT ratio of 366-244.  At the time of his retirement, Manning was seventh in Passing Yards, seventh in Completions (4,895), and seventh in Passing Touchdowns (366).  These are good numbers, but he was never in the top three in any of them, and he led the NFL in Interceptions three times.  Also, his highest finish in Passer Rating was seventh (2011), and he never had another top-ten finish.  This was the same for Completion Percentage, with only one top-ten finish, a ninth in 2010. 

Manning will likely be the most polarizing Hall of Fame candidate if he isn't already.  Peyton's younger brother is a two-time Super Bowl Champion, but was never a First or Second Team All-Pro, and has a .500 record as a starter.  We expect this to have the most comments of any first-year eligible player in 2025.

Aqib Talib was the 20^th Overall Pick in 2008, but the former Kansas Jayhawk struggled early to live up to expectations.  Winning the starting job at Left Cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in his sophomore year, Talib did well, but it was not until 2012, when he was traded to the New England Patriots, that his star began to rise.

Talib was a Second Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl Selection in 2013, his lone full season in New England, but he did not stay there, signing with the Denver Broncos as a Free Agent in 2014.  His success continued: he was a Pro Bowler in all four years in Denver, earned First Team All-Pro honors in 2016, and helped the Broncos win Super Bowl 50.

The Cornerback would finish his career with the Los Angeles Rams and Miami Dolphins and retired with 35 career Interceptions.

Zane Beadles was twice an All-MWC Selection when he played at Utah, and he stayed in the mountains when the Denver Broncos took him in the Second Round in 2010.