2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame Semifinalists

Last week, the Pro Football Hall of Fame released a disappointing list of Senior Semifinalists. Yesterday, the list of 26 Modern-era Semifinalists was released. As is often the case, the list is topped by those in their first year of eligibility.

Drew Brees

Larry Fitzgerald

Philip Rivers

Frank Gore

Jason Witten

Eli Manning

Fred Taylor

Torry Holt

Steve Smith Sr.

Hines Ward

Reggie Wayne

Willie Anderson 

Lomas Brown

Jahri Evans

Richmond Webb

Steve Wisniewski 

Marshall Yanda

Robert Mathis

Vince Wilfork

Kevin Williams

Luke Kuechly

Terrell Suggs

Rodney Harrison

Earl Thomas

Darren Woodson

Adam Vinatieri

Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Philip Rivers, Frank Gore, and Jason Witten are a strong first-year group. In particular, Brees and Fitzgerald can probably start making plans for being in Canton in August. Of the remaining 21 Semifinalists, a robust 19 reached this stage of the process last year. Lomas Brown and Kevin Williams are the only newcomers. After plucking the cream of the first-year crop, it’s easy to focus on those that got close the previous year. This year, that would be a mistake. Kevin Williams is deserving of a Pro Football Hall of Fame bust. It’s ridiculous that it’s taken until his sixth-year of eligibility for him to make it to this stage. Williams is one of only five eligible players in NFL history (the entire history of the NFL!) with an All-Decade honor and and five or more first-team All-Pro selections who is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The others:

Lavvie Dilweg: five-time first-team All-Pro selections, 1920s All-Decade

Ox Emerson: five-time first-team All-Pro selections, 1930s All-Decade

Del Shofner: five-time first-team All-Pro Selections, 1960s All-Decade

Luke Kuechly: five-time first-team All-Pro Selections, 2010s All-Decade

Lavvie Dilweg and Ox Emerson have yet to gain their deserved place in the Hall for the sad reason that too many of the voters have no clue, and refuse to gain a clue, about players that played before the 1960s. Luke Kuechly somehow didn’t make it last year in his first year. He should make it in his second. 

The biggest obstacle for many of the Semifinalists is the revised voting process. Implemented last year for the simple reason that the voters had a tendency to force through too many players in their first-year of eligibility. If a change wasn’t made, the Class of 2026 would probably be the five players in their first-year of eligibility. The new voting process has made it more difficult to get through. That’s why there were only three modern-era players made it last year. It’s why Luke Kuechly is still waiting. 

If the voting was up to me, I’d go with a five-member Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Otherwise, the backlog of deserving players will grow and the voters have repeatedly shown they have no idea how to deal with long-waiting, Hall-deserving former players. 

My Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026

Drew Brees

Larry Fitzgerald

Luke Kuechly

Willie Anderson

Kevin Williams

That’s a fine Class. That’s a Class that would get me to Canton in August. I love Canton in August. I believe that the first three are easy, automatic picks. Personally, Kevin Williams is also an automatic pick. The fifth player is tough. The receiver logjam is looking like it did when Cris Carter, Andre Reed, and Tim Brown were banging on the door. I’d like to get one of Torry Holt, Reggie Wayne, Hines Ward, and Steve Smith Sr. in this Class. With Larry Fitzgerald an automatic pick, I went away from a second receiver and with offensive lineman Willie Anderson.