2024 Football Hall Call

With Super Bowl Week now underway, the NFL will be pretty much everyone's focus from now until game time.  The NFL was smart enough to spread Super Bowl Week out a little by moving the NFL Honors to Thursday night a few years ago, which was also good for me because it gave me the opportunity to spread out my Super Bowl-related posts.

One of the things that takes place at the NFL Honors every year is the announcement of the new Pro Football Hall of Fame class.  They changed the number of honorees in the Senior and Coach/Contributor categories again, so there are now four finalists in addition to the five Modern Era candidates who'll be voted in.  Technically, it's a maximum of nine new Hall of Famers, but, who are we kidding?  Once they get to that point, there's no chance they're not getting in!

While there's no sure-fire first-ballot name on the list, I do think both of the first-year candidates will get in.  I feel more confident about Antonio Gates than Julius Peppers, but I do think Peppers will get enough support in the room.  He was also better than both Dwight Freeney and Jared Allen, so, if they only want to go one defensive end, that's the way I think they'll go.

But it's also a realistic possibility that neither one will get in.  Neither screams "first-ballot Hall of Famer" the way Larry Fitzgerald and those three quarterbacks (Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees, Tom Brady) will in a few years.  For some voters, that's an important distinction reserved for the absolute best of the best.  Which is why I can just as easily see neither one getting in.  Or both getting in.  Or one and not the other.  

So, really, I have absolutely no idea who'll get in!  There are a lot of players who've been waiting a while, so this could be one of those "clean up" years where they get some of those deserving names off the board.  I especially hope they do that with the wide receivers.  Reggie Wayne, Torry Holt and Andre Johnson have all been finalists together three years in a row.  I think one of the reasons for that is because the voters can't decide between the three!  (Last year, they all made the cut from 15 to 10, but didn't from 10 to 5, most likely because they split votes.)  Well, they're eventually gonna have to decide.  Unless they want to keep all three in finalist purgatory.  Or put them all in together.  Because Larry Fitzgerald's coming down the pipeline in two years, and he was better than all of them!

Making things harder is the fact that 10 of the 15 finalists have made it this far at least twice.  At least half of them are guaranteed to wait at least another year.  Seven have been finalists three or more years in a row.  At least two of them will wait another year.  I've long thought that the Hall of Fame classes should be more than five, but that's a conversation for a different day.  As it is, here are the five Modern Era candidates who'd get my vote...

Antonio Gates, Tight End (2003-18 Chargers): Most people know the story by now.  After playing basketball in college and going undrafted, Gates went on to become one of the best tight ends in NFL history.  An eight-time Pro Bowler and six-time All-Pro, he's the all-time leader among tight ends with 116 career TD catches.  He's also the Chargers' all-time leader in receptions (955) and receiving yards (11,841).  Gates was named to the NFL All-Decade Team for the 2000s and helped usher in the generation of pass-catching tight ends that followed.

Devin Hester, Kick Returner/Wide Receiver (2006-13 Bears, 2014-15 Falcons, 2016 Ravens, 2016 Seahawks): For years, I campaigned for Ray Guy using the same argument.  "Punter is a position!"  Well, so is kick returner (as much as the NFL is trying to eliminate it).  And Devin Hester was the best ever to do it.  He returned the opening kickoff of Super Bowl XLI for a touchdown, the only time in history that has occurred.  Hester's 20 career return touchdowns (including 14 on punt returns) are an NFL record.  He was named to the All-Decade Team for both the 2000s and 2010s, and was chosen as one of two return men on the NFL 100 All-Time Team.  Kick returner is a position.  Devin Hester belongs in the Hall of Fame.

Julius Peppers, Defensive End (2002-09 Panthers, 2010-13 Bears, 2014-16 Packers, 2017-18 Panthers): Just like Gates, Peppers played basketball in college.  He actually played in a Final Four with North Carolina.  Unlike Gates, Peppers also played football in college, and he was the No. 2 pick in the 2002 Draft.  He was named Defensive Rookie of the Year that season, and Peppers would go on to be selected to both the 2000s and 2010s All-Decade Teams.  He's fourth all-time in sacks (159.5) and second in forced fumbles (52).  Beyond that, Peppers is the only player in NFL history with 100 sacks and 10 interceptions.

Reggie Wayne, Wide Receiver (2001-14 Colts): We're on Year 5 of Reggie Wayne being a Hall of Fame finalist.  Again, I think the issue is the voters can't separate the three of them, but he deserves to get the call before Torry Holt and Andre Johnson.  His partner-in-crime, Marvin Harrison is already a Hall of Famer.  So is his quarterback, Peyton Manning.  While Harrison got most of the attention, Wayne was just as good.  He recorded 1,000 receiving yards eight different times, including 1,510 in 2007.  Wayne is second to Harrison on the Colts' all-time list in most receiving categories, and he's one of just 14 players in NFL history with 1,000 career catches.

Patrick Willis, Linebacker (2007-14 49ers): Maybe it's because he only played eight years, but it seems like Patrick Willis is underappreciated for how good his career actually was.  Because he was GREAT during those eight seasons!  Willis started all 112 games of his career, was the Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2007 and was a First Team All-Pro five times (and Second Team All-Pro once).  He played in seven straight Pro Bowls, was on the NFL All-Decade Team for the 2010s, and helped the 49ers reach Super Bowl XLVII in 2012.

As for the remaining finalists, there are three Seniors and one Coach/Contributor who'll also be considered.  Once they reach this point, it's highly unlikely they don't get in, so let's just assume they're all a "Yes."  Which means joining those five in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024 will be...

Randy Gradishar, Linebacker (1974-83 Broncos): In 1977, led by their "Orange Crush" defense, the Broncos made it all the way to Super Bowl XII.  Gradishar, the best player on that defense, was then named Defensive Player of the Year in 1978.  He never missed a game, playing in 151 over his 11-year career.  He also had 20 interceptions.  When he retired, Gradishar's 2,049 career tackles were the NFL record.  A Modern Era finalist multiple times, he's long overdue to finally get the call.

Steve McMichael, Defensive Tackle (1980 Patriots, 1981-93 Bears, 1994 Packers): Slowly but surely, more and more members of that dominant 1985 Bears defense are making their way to Canton.  McMichael will be the fourth, joining Mike Singletary and fellow defensive linemen Dan Hampton and Richard Dent.  He was a force, too, being named All-Pro four consecutive times from 1985-88 and recording 95 career sacks in 227 games over 15 seasons.

Art Powell, Wide Receiver (1959 Eagles, 1960-62 NY Titans, 1963-66 Raiders, 1967 Bills, 1968 Vikings): Much like Ken Riley last year, I'm not that familiar with Art Powell.  He spent most of his career in the AFL, playing seven of his nine career seasons with the New York Titans, Raiders and Bills.  He was All-AFL in six of those seasons.  After two years in Canada, Powell played for the Eagles in 1959 before joining the Titans in the AFL's inaugural season, when he ended up leading the league with 14 touchdowns.  He finished with 81 career touchdowns and was named to the AFL All-Time Team.

Buddy Parker, Coach (1949 Cardinals, 1951-56 Lions, 1957-64 Steelers): It's ironic that in a season when the Lions came as close to the Super Bowl as they ever have in franchise history, the coach of their 1950s dynasty is a finalist for the Hall of Fame.  Just thinking of the Lions as a "dynasty" is kinda crazy.  But under Buddy Parker, they were.  He was Detroit's head coach for six seasons, won two NFL titles and lost a third Championship Game.  He also laid the groundwork for their most recent championship team in 1957 before abruptly resigning before the season started to take the Steelers job.  Parker would go on to coach in Pittsburgh for nearly a decade.