MODERN-ERA PLAYERS NOMINATED FOR PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2026

By John Turney 

Thirteen players in their first year of eligibility are among the list of 128 Modern-Era Players nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026. Drew Brees is the biggest name among those

The nominees, plus some short commentary

QUARTERBACKS (10): Drew Brees, Randall Cunningham, Jake Delhomme, Rich Gannon, Jeff Garcia, Eli Manning, Donovan McNabb, Steve McNair, Philip Rivers, Alex Smith

Brees will leapfrog Eli Manning and even though the process has tightened up and the division of votes makes election to the Hall more difficult than in past years, he will get his Gold Jacket right of way.

Manning was hotly debated last year, but that will be put on the back burner for now. Randall Cunningham is running out of time to be a modern-era candidate. He may have a shot as a senior, though, when the time comes.

RUNNING BACKS (21): Shaun Alexander, Mike Alstott (FB), Tiki Barber, Larry Centers (FB), 

Jamaal Charles, Corey Dillon, Warrick Dunn, Arian Foster, Eddie George, Frank Gore, Priest Holmes, Steven Jackson, Chris Johnson, Thomas Jones, Jamal Lewis, Marshawn Lynch, LeSean McCoy, Eric Metcalf (also WR/PR/KR), Lorenzo Neal (FB), Fred Taylor, Ricky Watters

A lot of backs with amazing career numbers. They also pass the eye test -- runners were just seen more often, carrying the ball 300-350 times. When you look at a chart of the accomplishments of these runners, it will give you a headache -- they are impossible to separate -- at least for me. 

WIDE RECEIVERS (18): Anquan Boldin, Donald Driver, Larry Fitzgerald, Torry Holt, Chad Johnson, Brandon Lloyd, Brandon Marshall, Derrick Mason, Herman Moore, Muhsin Muhammad, Jordy Nelson, Jimmy Smith, Rod Smith, Steve Smith Sr., Hines Ward, Reggie Wayne, Wes Welker, Roddy White

Torry Holt and Reggie Wayne have been fighting it out for a mythical 'slot' for years. Will this year be the one when one breaks out? Larry Fitzgerald will probably jump ahead of them and go in before either of them.

TIGHT ENDS (6): Vernon Davis, Zach Miller, Greg Olsen, Wesley Walls, Delanie Walker, Jason Witten

Witeon will be interesting. Big-time numbers in a numbers crunch for votes.Of the six on this list he is only one with a realistic chance -- but maybe not right away.

OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (22): Willie Anderson (T), Matt Birk (C), Lomas Brown (T), Ruben Brown (G), Ryan Clady (T), David DeCastro (G), Jahri Evans (G), Jordan Gross (T), Ryan Kalil (C), Olin Kreutz (C), Nick Mangold (C), Logan Mankins (G), Tom Nalen (C), Maurkice Pouncey (C), Jeff Saturday (C), Josh Sitton (G), Joe Staley (T), Brian Waters (G), Richmond Webb (T), Erik Williams (T), Steve Wisniewski (G), Marshal Yanda (G)

There is a push for Richmond Webb. It will be interesting if he gets a serious look before he is pushed into the Seniors category. The same applies to Wisniewski -- he's running out of time and has a strong resume. Jahri Evans might be the next offensive lineman indicted, though the new process hinders that somewhat.

Willie Anderson is in no-man's land. He cannot push through, but also keeps making semis and finals. The push for Webb might push Big Willie out of the way for a year. 

Among the centers, it's another case of a lot of guys with similar cases. Who do you pick if you cannot pick them all? None?

DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (13): John Abraham (DE also LB), Geno Atkins (DT), Jurrell Casey (DT), Elvis Dumervil (DE), La’Roi Glover (DT/NT), Robert Mathis (DE), Haloti Ngata (DT),  

Jay Ratliff (DE), Simeon Rice (DE), Justin Smith (DE), Ted Washington (NT/DT), Vince Wilfork (DT/NT), Kevin Williams (DT)

Abraham has a lot of sacks and a pile of forced fumbles, but he also played for several teams and it does not look like any of them will champion his case. Ngata gets attention among nose tackle-types.

To me, Kevin Williams is the biggest oversight. Players who were first-team All-Pro as many times as Williams are pretty rare. So far, it has not mattered to voters. Robert Mathis has gotten support before, so I would expect him on the semi-finalist list.

LINEBACKERS (14): NaVorro Bowman, Lance Briggs, Tedy Bruschi, Thomas Davis, James Farrior, London Fletcher, James Harrison, A.J. Hawk, Luke Kuechly, Clay Matthews III, Dat Nguyen, Takeo Spikes, Terrell Suggs, Lee Woodall

Suggs was good at playing the run as well as being an elite pass rusher. I wonder if that will matter. London Fletcher has a ton of tackles and a lot of splash plays for his position. But neither of those two will have as much support for Luke Kuechly. I think the former Panthers 'mike' will get a Gold Jacket this year, even with the crunch for votes.

DEFENSIVE BACKS (15): Eric Berry (S), Kam Chancellor (S), Nick Collins (S), DeAngelo Hall (DB), Rodney Harrison (S), James Hasty (CB), Carnell Lake (DB), Allen Rossum (DB), Asante Samuel (CB), Patrick Surtain (CB), Earl Thomas (S), Charles Tillman (CB), Troy Vincent (CB), Adrian Wilson (S), Darren Woodson (S)

I think it is very hard to separate the safeties. They are such different types. Among the corners, it's kind of the same thing, but, in my opinion, they are not as strong as the safeties.

Rodney Harrison has intriguing stats and the jewelry. Woodson has jewelry. Earl Thomas was a big-time playmaker. 

PUNTERS/KICKERS (7): David Akers (K), Gary Anderson (K), Jason Hanson (K), John Kasay (K), Sean Landeta (P), Shane Lechler (P), Adam Vinatieri (K)

Adam Vinatieri will eventually get in. His clutch kicking is his 'signature'. Lechler had a great gross average and even a decent net, but he was not the kind of punter I have liked -- one who has a high difference between gross and net and not a stellar inside-the-20 to touchback ratio. But, he was an All-Pro multiple times and he gets some buzz.

SPECIAL TEAMS (2): Josh Cribbs (KR/PR also WR), Brian Mitchell (KR/PR also RB)

Mitchell was good at coverage and a great punt returner. Cribbs was one of the best-ever kick returners and a very good returner on punts. He was also a guy who would cover kicks as well as return them. Hard to sort out these kinds of players. Especially when "White Shoes" Johnson and Rick Upchurch never got modern-era support. I think they had more impact on the game than Cribbs or Mitchell.