Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 - Finalists
 

Which 5 are deserving of induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025?

• Eric Allen, Cornerback — 1988-1994 Philadelphia Eagles, 1995-97 New Orleans Saints, 1998-2001 Oakland Raiders

• Jared Allen, Defensive End — 2004-07 Kansas City Chiefs, 2008-2013 Minnesota Vikings, 2014-15 Chicago Bears, 2015 Carolina Panthers

• Willie Anderson, Tackle — 1996-2007 Cincinnati Bengals, 2008 Baltimore Ravens

• Jahri Evans, Guard — 2006-2016 New Orleans Saints, 2017 Green Bay Packers

• Antonio Gates, Tight End — 2003-2018 San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers

• Torry Holt, Wide Receiver — 1999-2008 St. Louis Rams, 2009 Jacksonville Jaguars

• Luke Kuechly, Linebacker — 2012-19 Carolina Panthers

• Eli Manning, Quarterback — 2004-2019 New York Giants

• Steve Smith Sr., Wide Receiver — 2001-2013 Carolina Panthers, 2014-16 Baltimore Ravens

• Terrell Suggs, Outside Linebacker/Defensive End — 2003-2018 Baltimore Ravens, 2019 Arizona Cardinals, 2019 Kansas City Chiefs

• Fred Taylor, Running Back — 1998-2008 Jacksonville Jaguars, 2009-2010 New England Patriots

• Adam Vinatieri, Kicker — 1996-2005 New England Patriots, 2006-2019 Indianapolis Colts

• Reggie Wayne, Wide Receiver — 2001-2014 Indianapolis Colts

• Darren Woodson, Safety — 1992-2003 Dallas Cowboys

• Marshal Yanda, Guard/Tackle — 2007-2019 Baltimore Ravens

Ensure and reverse mortgage commercials on the line

Until Otis Taylor is on that list I am boycotting.

Jared Allen
Vinatieri
Manning
Kuechly
Gates

Vin and Eli are locks.

???? as to anyone else.

Antonio Gates
Torry Holt
Adam Vinatieri
Reggie Wayne
Darren Woodson

How does Willie Anderson make it to this finalist round?

Four Pro Bowls and three time First Team All Pro during a 13 year career on mostly bad Bungholes teams.

Hall of the Mehhhhh.

I love me some Jared Allen. One of those weird goodbyes where everybody won and nobody lost. We got great trade value and he remained a chiefs fan favorite. That was more on Carl for not wanting to pay him.

Torry Holt not in the HOF is still insane. He gets dinged for being a system wr and yet was elite with multiple coaches and catching from Bulger.

How does Kevin Williams keep getting snubbed so badly?

5x First team all pro and he can’t even make the finalists?

Going to be a lot of Fred Taylor talk around here in Jacksonville for the next few weeks

Who is on the NFL network? Those always get on/in.

Gate, Eli, Vinatieri, Wayne

Antonio Gates
Eli Manning
Steve Smith Sr
Reggie Wayne
Terrell Suggs

Gates
Holt
Manning
Wayne
Woodson

Nice to see Chiefs Legend Terrell Suggs on the list.

Jamaal Charles

Jared Allen
Gates
Smith Sr.
Suggs
Vinatieri

Sterling Sharpe

Jared Allen

Reggie Wayne

Eli Manning

Antonio Gates

Adam Vinatieri Is interesting. Who was the last kicker elected?

cant believe how few people have keuchly on the list. he was unbelievable, no doubt in my mind a surefire HOFer

Honestly can't pick just five, thats a great group most of whom deserve it

Morten Andersen

Kuechly
Jared Allen
Vinitieri
Gates
Holt

I don't think Eli will ever deserve to be elected into the HoF, but it will probably happen.

Eli will be a first ballot HOF. I used to not think he should be, but him beating the undefeated Pats SB and then beating them again is worthy of getting in.

I can’t believe we’re considering Eli Manning for the Hall of Fame..

Gates
Jared Allen
Holt
Steve Smith
Vinatieri

He didn’t play long enough in my mind.

I think he will get in too, but he is a .500 QB over his career. He is Kurt Cousins with Super Bowls.

If Eli gets in it will be for two reasons:

Last name
Two SB wins over the Tom Brady Patriots

My thinking on the topic.

Eric Allen - He's similar to Albert Lewis and Everson Walls. I don't think he was as dominating as they were, and they've waited longer, so there's some injustice here. If we have to let Allen in to get the more deserving guys in, okay. Maybe.

Jared Allen - 136 career sacks, a 22 sack season, and 8 double-digit sack seasons gets him in. Yes.

Willie Anderson - A fine player, though I don't see him as a peer of guys like Willie Roaf and Anthony Munoz. He also shouldn't get in before Joe Jacoby. No.

Jahri Evans - He has half the qualifications of Will Shields, and Will had to wait a decade to get in. Reconsider Jahri in future years. No.

Antonio Gates - Ugh. He's the tight end equivalent of Curtis Martin. Tons of stats and zero highlights. He's going to get in, so it's inevitable, but I don't think he should be a lock. Maybe.

Torry Holt - Two seasons of 1,600+ yards. At his peak, he was dominant. Plus I like looking at his weird finger. Yes.

Steve Smith - Similar producer to Torry Holt, albeit with a longer career and less dominant peak. I think he's deserving, but after Holt gets in. Maybe.

Reggie Wayne - Similar stats to Torry Holt and Steve Smith, but geez, he played with Peyton Manning his whole career with a lower peak than those two guys. I suspect he'll inevitably get in, but maybe only in a lean year for nominees. No.

Luke Kuechly - Really short career, but really dominant. I like these guys. I don't think he should be a first-ballot guy, though. His career was short enough that he needs to wait like Jamaal Charles is. I'm fine with him going in in a future year. No.

Eli Manning - Absolutely not. Phillip Rivers should go in before the crybaby Manning is even considered. Manning whined his way to a stronger team, and Rivers manned up and did the job that Manning was too spoiled to do. Rivers is statistically a much better quarterback too. I recognize that Rivers has an anti-clutch gene, but the only reason Manning has Super Bowl rings is because he screwed over Rivers. No, no, no, not in a thousand years.

Terrell Suggs - 139 career sacks, but never really a dominant season. Won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs, of course, and is one of the scariest looking players ever. I'm not against him going in, but Jared Allen needs to go in first. Maybe.

Fred Taylor - How did this guy make only one pro bowl with a 4.6 career average? Far more deserving than Terrell Davis, but of course everyone is. He had a lower peak than Priest and Jamaal, but a longer career. Maybe he gets in after Priest and Jamaal. Maybe.

Adam Vinatieri - Did he play for a cheating team? Yeah, of course. But cheating at his position is harder, and no NFL player has scored more points. Yes.

Darren Woodson - 23 career interceptions? Is this a joke or something? After Deron Cherry is in, we can start to have a discussion about a guy who was basically an undersized linebacker. No.

Marshal Yanda - A lot lower qualifications than Will Shields. No way do I let him in on the first ballot if Will had to wait. I'd probably put him in a little before Jahri Evans, but he needs to wait for a while. No.

If I'm voting in five, I'm going with Jared Allen, Torry Holt, Adam Vinatieri, Eric Allen, and Steve Smith.

Willie Anderson isn’t getting enough love. He only gave up 16 sacks in 13 seasons. He was the best right tackle in the league for a number of years.

Gates is an absolute lock. He was a force of nature.

Eli isn't a first ballot guy but I can't argue with his resume. Those two Super Bowl runs were among the finest underdog narratives in football history. He took out the 13-3 Cowboys and Packers and then the 18-0 Patriots in 2007. Then, in 2011, the Giants destroyed the 15-1 Packers and beat Brady and Belichick again.

That is legendary stuff. In the thread about going undefeated, people kept mentioning how rings mattered more. Eli's two rings came against the considered GOAT of QBs (I disagree myself but the NFL community thinks Brady) and head coaches.

Manning can send his Gold Jacket to Spags...at no point in his career was he considered the best QB in the NFL...or feared. His brother was...and I guess they both have the same last name and have a podcast?

The Hall Of Very Good...Matt Ryan, Carson Palmer and Phillip Rivers are in that 2nd tier also. None were dominate...Ryan had one exceptional season.

Manning beat Brady twice in the Super Bowl. Otherwise, that sonofabitch would have NINE rings. I hate the Giants, hate New York, and hate all things Manning. But for that reason alone, and honestly for no other reason whatsoever, let him in.

Torry should have been in a decade ago.

It blows my mind that the long snapper we drafted in the 4th round in 2004 keeps popping up on this list.

I don’t think I realized that he played for the Bears and the Panthers. I thought he retired from the Vikings.

Steve Smith Sr.
Terrell Suggs
Adam Vinatieri
Luke Kuechly
Antonio Gates

Interesting. No Eli


<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025:<br>��Jared Allen<br>��Sterling Sharpe<br>��Eric Allen<br>��Antonio Gates</p>&mdash; Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1887699924810117439?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

My avatar can finally materialize into reality

Nor should he be.

I guess I got one right

Eli will have to wait for a bad class which could be awhile.

Only major miss is Steve Smith not getting in.

Jim Tyrer should be in the HOF. The fact that he killed his wife and committed suicide has most likely kept him out. There is no doubt the guy suffered from CTE. What a shame, because he was a machine at OT - maybe the best in his era

Eli should never get in. Love what he did in the postseason but he was the def of MID for his career.

Chiefs should be stacked in future HOF players from this decade. Also GM Bruce Vallentine, HC Andy Reid and DC Steve Spagnuolo HOF.

A 7 year career shouldn't get someone in the HoF. Some flexibility could be given if that person shattered a number of single season records.

Literally every other WR on the initial list in the OP was more deserving that Sharpe.

Called 3 of them

As it should be. Eli will likely get in one day, but he's not a 1st ballot guy.

Fwiw, If I had a vote, I would not vote for him. Imo, the two successful playoff runs do not make up for a very mediocre career.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Shannon Sharpe delivering the news to his brother, Sterling, that he will be a part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025: <a href="https://t.co/GyC37Jo9WG">pic.twitter.com/GyC37Jo9WG</a></p>&mdash; Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1887875870343200912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

COOL STORY, BRO:

I covered Shannon when he was at Savannah State, covered their cousin Monty at Georgia Southern, and covered Shannon and Sterling's high school coach William Hall at Glennville High.

HOF has been watered down for so long. Love that they cut it down this year. Most of the people on this list are not HOF’s.

Alex ****ing Smith. No ****ing way LMAO

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">First-time eligibles for the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026 include:<br><br>��Larry Fitzgerald<br>��Drew Brees<br>��Philip Rivers<br>��Jason Witten<br>��Frank Gore<br>��Julian Edelman<br>��Maurkice Pouncey<br>��LeSean McCoy<br>��Thomas Davis<br>��Greg Olsen<br>��Alex Smith<br>��Dez Bryant<br>��Stephen Gostkowski… <a href="https://t.co/5n2VjFfoG8">pic.twitter.com/5n2VjFfoG8</a></p>&mdash; Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1887701053526749473?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2025</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Hmm. I think that understates how good Sharpe was. Only Holt had more receptions and more yards over their first 7 years and none had more TDs. Sharpe did it in the late 80s and early 90s. Only Holt touched even the 90s (1999) during his career. The game was a bit different by then. Sharpe had to quit or there would be little doubt. He was amazing. Shannon is correct, Sterling was the better player.

Steve Smith shouldn't get in.

Just because he is eligible does not mean he will be selected.

Sterling Sharpe. No.

If Mahomes retired after this season he would still be first ballot.

A shorter career can still be HoF worthy if those 7 years were epic. Not saying that Sterling Sharpe should be in though, I think that's pretty questionable.

So they added Sterling Sharpe as the veteran candidate over Jim Tyrer.

There's no way that Sharpe is more deserving if they selectors hold true to the rules that only on-field performance is considered. But I also understand why some people might be reluctant to vote for Tyrer given, well, you know. But it's a really interesting ethical and moral dilemma about acknowledging CTE's impact on former players.

Brees, Fitzgerald and Witten look like the locks there.

Gore is interesting because the voters value longitivtiy and consistency

Mahomes has shattered records tho and, per my post, would get that flexibility. I mean... 4 SBs? Lock.

Here's a comparison of the first 7 years of stats for like-time-period HOF WRs Michael Irvin, Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, Cris Carter, and Andre Reed:

rec/yards/td, all pro, pro bowl

Sharpe: 595/8134/65, 3 AP-1, 5 PB
Irvin: 416/6935/40, 1 AP-1, 2 AP-2, 4 PB
Rice: 526/9072/93, 5 AP-1, 6 PB
Brown: 316/4734/36, 1 AP OROY, 4 PB
Carter: 327/4577/42, 1 PB
Reed: 469/6466/49, 2 AP-2, 4 PB

Sterling absolutely belongs. He quit because he medically had to. We shouldn't hold it against his greatness.

It’s interesting when you apply the same comparison to RBs in their first 4 seasons.

I'd probably never champion anyone that only made it 4 seasons. At least 7 gets a lot of players to around 30 years old. The greats tend to hang on until they are 35 but age 30 usually begins a decline until the end. Four seasons just isn't enough for anyone for me though. Even Jamaal Charles had 5 seasons of greatness and it's hard for me to argue him in.

The wife and I changed one of our vacations this year so we can attend the ceremony. Gotta see Jared get inducted. Has anybody ever been to an induction ceremony before? I was in town for the 2018 induction but I didn't attend.

Any recommendations? Is it worth it to do a package deal or just go it on our own and wing it? Any thoughts would be appreciated.

I went to the Derrick Thomas one. I just got tickets to the speech, and I probably wouldn't do it again just for that. I saw some dignitaries in the crowd, if you assume that Neil Smith is a dignitary, but I'm not the type to meet and mingle. So I basically just sat on bleachers and listened to speeches. If you're the type to circulate in the crowd at group events, maybe you'll get more out of it than I did.

I would call the trip a success, though, because I've always wanted to visit the actual Hall of Fame, and we also went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and did a Lake Erie tourist cruise. It made for a good weekend.

This will be our 3rd time in the Cleveland area so we have done most all of the other stuff. I figured the enshrinement ceremony and the Hall of Fame game would be musts. But I don't really know what all goes on during the weekend. Probably need to do some more research.

Thanks for commenting. :thumb:

I know the field is super competitive but I’m still surprised Torry holt isn’t on the radar.

It feels like he’s getting dinged for the rams offense being too good and not wanting to overaccomplish their successes. But holt was arguably a better WR much of his career than hall of famer Isaac Bruce and was crazy productive even behind martz and bulger. And he has an impressive playoff resume. I know he’s more of a bubble guy, but at this rate I don’t think he has a shot.