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Congratulations to the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2025 — which will be enshrined Saturday in Canton, Ohio — on this tremendous honor. I’m particularly stoked for Sterling Sharpe, one of the best receivers to ever do it despite having his career cut short due to injury. To be honest, I didn’t predict him getting in this time. I was happy to be wrong, though, and thrilled that Sharpe is finally getting the recognition he deserves.
That miss won’t stop me from providing my prediction for the Class of 2026, which will be revealed at NFL Honors in February.
ONE NOTE: This is not a list of players who I believe should get in, but rather my prediction of who will get in.
THE LOCKS
One of the reasons I thought Eli Manning would get in last year: The backlog of top-notch quarterback candidates is only growing. This is Brees’ initial appearance on the ballot, and he’s joined by another highly qualified first-timer in Philip Rivers (who, coincidentally, was traded on draft night for Manning and ultimately replaced Brees in San Diego). All that said, I don’t see Brees having to wait at all. The 13-time Pro Bowler gave New Orleans its first and only Lombardi Trophy, winning Super Bowl MVP honors in the process. A two-time Offensive Player of the Year, Brees led the NFL in passing yards seven times and authored five of the 15 5,000-yard seasons in league history. He’s getting the Hall call — immediately .
You know, if the Chargers had just taken this guy with the No. 1 overall pick in 2004 — instead of selecting Eli Manning before flipping him for Philip Rivers — San Diego would have had triplets of Drew Brees, LaDainian Tomlinson and Larry Fitz. And Antonio Gates. Oh, man — what could have been! Instead, Larry went third overall to Arizona, where he made 11 Pro Bowls and was named All-Pro three times (receiving one first-team honor and two second-team nods). The man twice led the league in receptions (103 in 2005; 107 in 2016) and did the same in receiving touchdowns (12 in 2008; 13 in ’09), while also providing one of the greatest postseason runs ever for a receiver (30 catches for 546 yards and seven touchdowns in the 2008 playoffs). Not to mention, he was the 2016 Walter Payton Man of the Year. The Hall of Fame’s had a wideout logjam for quite some time, but I expect Larry to jump the line.